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Advocacy Action Center

Be the Change for MFT in Georgia

 

Welcome to your hub for advocacy! The Advocacy Action Center is your go-to resource for staying informed and actively participating in shaping the future of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) in Georgia.

 

Urgent Call to Action:

Call Governor Kemp TODAY in Support of SB 373

SB 373, GAMFT’s Licensure Portability Legislation, is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature. We need you to please Call or E-mail the Governor Kemp’s office TODAY and ask him to please sign this bill.

You can contact his office at 404-656-1776, brian.kemp@georgia.gov, or use his portal for communications here.

Calls are most effective to show your support. Simply call his office with this short and positive message, such as:

I am a Marriage and Family Therapist in Georgia calling in support of Senate Bill 373 that passed the House and Senate unanimously this year. I am asking Governor Kemp to please sign Senate Bill 373. Thank you.

Your help in this process is just as necessary today as when we first introduced the bill. Thank you for taking the time to contribute to this work!

 

In case you missed it… 

SB 373 is legislation that came from a collaboration between AAMFT and GAMFT. Its purpose is to help fully licensed MFTs from other states more easily achieve licensure in Georgia. This is good news for Georgians and for Georgia MFTs, too:

  • SB 373 will increase access to essential mental health services by removing unnecessary obstacles to licensure of qualified professionals seeking to practice in this state.
  • SB 373 also serves to strengthen the MFT profession in the United States. It blazes a trail for improved MFT licensure reciprocity and probability across the country in cooperation with the efforts of AAMFT’s strategic portability initiative called Access MFT.

To learn more visit:  AAMFT’s Access MFT website and our SB 373 fact sheet.

 

2024 Legislative Advocacy Efforts

This year, GAMFT’s advocacy efforts are focused on increasing mental health care access for Georgians through licensure portability. 

SB 373 A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Code Section 43-10A-13 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to requirements for licensure in marriage and family therapy, so as to provide for the issuance of expedited licenses by endorsement for marriage and family therapists; to provide a definition; to provide for legislative construction; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. Passed and sent to Governor.

  • Legislative Sponsors of 373 included Senators Walker, III, Larry, Jason Anavitarte, Kay Kirkpatrick, Brian Strickland, Sonya Halpern, Elena Parent, Nan Orrock, Chuck Hufstetler, Kim Jackson. Representative Alan Powell sponsored our bill in the House. 
  • 17 supporters that included: the Georgia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the Georgia Primary Care Association, Chris 180, the Foundation for Prevention of Suicide, the Georgia Mental Health Policy Partnership, Georgia Mountains Health, the Georgia Supportive Housing Association, Georgians for a Healthy Future, Grady Hospital, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, the National Alliance on Mental Illness: Georgia, Resilient Georgia, the University of Georgia: College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Valdosta State University: Marriage & Family Therapy Program, and Voices for Children.
  • Several gave testimony in support of our bill to include: Dan Upshaw, Steve Livingston, Elizabeth Appley, Kim Jones with NAMI, and Roland Barnes with the Foundation for Prevention of Suicide. 
  • GAMFT and AAMFT sent out 5,547 emails to our membership and concerned stakeholders throughout Georgia. Over 250 letters, emails, or calls were confirmed to have been sent to Legislators in support of SB 373.

Other Bills of Interest

  • Increase funds for 21 licensing technicians by $1,490,019 for one process improvement analyst, one licensing and renewal assistant, two IT positions, one administrative assistant, and one business analyst, as well as related equipment and hourly temporary employees to address backlogs while onboarding new employees for the Sectary of State’s staff supporting Licensing boards. 
  • HB 880 proposes amendments to allow military spouses to use their existing professional licenses from other states to gain employment in Georgia. Passed and sent to Governor.
  • SB 480 Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce; student loan repayment for mental health and substance use professionals serving in certain capacities; provide. Passed and sent to Governor.
  • HB 1344 BH Coordinating Council allow Dept heads to send designees plus Tanner authorizing language for Composite Board to waive supervised hours for professional licensed in another state for two years. Passed and sent to Governor.

 

Your Contribution Matters!

Please take a moment to help give input into GAMFT’s future legislative priorities: As the Legislative Committee begins planning for 2025, we would love to hear from you what issues would make the most difference in your work and practice. Go to https://gamft.org/advocacy-success/

 

Be an advocate, be a change-maker!

Register for our weekly 10am Friday Zoom drop-in meetings hosted by David Blanchard throughout 2024 Legislative Session, where you can learn more about our advocacy efforts and how to get involved. Click here to register!