On Thursday, July 1, 2010, the Board of Mental Health Practice became the third state board to reject NEHHS / Nebraska Catholic Conference desire to allow mental health service providers to drop a client "for any reason" and then refuse to make an appropriate referral to another professional that will help the client.
On June 21, 2010, the NE Board of Health refused to follow Dr. Joann Schaefer's recommendation to reject the Board of Psychology's recently approved rules and regulations, and instead voted unanimously to approve them.
The next state board to consider the issue is the Board of Alcohol and Drug Counselors. Their next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 8, 2010, with the open meeting beginning at 11:00 am, in the State Office Building, First Floor Room Z, in Lincoln. Discussion on their rules and regulations, 172 NAC 15, is on the agenda.
Dr. Schaefer stated earlier that she would refuse to let the new rules advance without the so-called compromise language. If you would like to contact Dr. Schaefer and let her know how you feel about the issue, her phone number is 402-471-8566, and her email address is joann.schaefer@nebraska.gov. Her boss is Kerry Winterer, and his number is 402-471-9433, email address kerry.winterer@nebraska.gov, and his boss, Governor Dave Heineman, can be reached at 402-471-2244, email dave.heineman@nebraska.gov.
To read Nancy Hicks' article in the July 2, 2010, Lincoln Journal Star, click here. Don't forget to check out the discussion section.
