[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 24, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51958-51960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21022]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 26
[Docket No. PRM-26-4; NRC-2010-0269]
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists; Notice
of Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of receipt.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and
requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking dated March 24,
2010, and supplemented on July 12, 2010, filed by the California
Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) (petitioner). The
petition was docketed by the NRC and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-
26-4. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to add
marriage and family therapists (MFT) as substance abuse experts (SAEs).
DATES: Submit comments by November 8, 2010. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC
is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date.
ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2010-0269 in the subject line
of your comments. For instructions on submitting comments and accessing
documents related to this action, see ``Submitting Comments and
Accessing Information'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document. You may submit comments by any one of the following
methods.
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and
search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-2010-0269. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, telephone 301-492-3668;
e-mail [email protected].
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
E-mail comments to: [email protected]. If you do not
receive a reply e-mail confirming that we have received your comments,
contact us directly at 301-415-1966.
Hand Deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland
20852 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. during Federal workdays
(Telephone 301-415-1966).
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at
301-415-1101.
[[Page 51959]]
For a copy of the petition, write to Betty Golden, Rules,
Announcements, and Directives Branch (MS TWB-5 B1M), Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules,
Announcements, and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative
Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone 301-492-3667, toll free 800-368-
5642, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Submitting Comments and Accessing Information
Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted
on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site http://www.regulations.gov. Because your comments will not be edited to remove
any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against
including any information in your submission that you do not want to be
publicly disclosed. The NRC requests that any party soliciting or
aggregating comments received from other persons for submission to the
NRC inform those persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to
remove any identifying or contact information, and therefore, they
should not include any information in their comments that they do not
want publicly disclosed.
You can access publicly available documents related to this
document, including the following documents, using the following
methods:
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and have
copied for a fee publicly available documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O-
1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS):
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are
available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain
entry into ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's public
documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to
[email protected]. The ADAMS accession numbers for the petition are
ML102030370 (March 24, 2010 letter) and ML102000432 (July 12, 2010
letter).
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and supporting
materials related to this action, including the petition for
rulemaking, can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching on
Docket ID NRC-2010-0269.
Background
On March 24, 2010, the NRC received a request submitted by CAMFT
for the NRC to amend its regulations at 10 CFR 26.187(b) to add
marriage and family therapists (MFTs) as substance abuse experts (SAE).
The NRC requested additional information on the petitioner's request.
The petitioner provided this supplementary information to the NRC in a
letter dated July 12, 2010, and the request has been docketed as a
petition for rulemaking and assigned Docket No. PRM-26-4. The
petitioner states that its interest in the requested action is to
pursue changes in law, whether statutory or regulatory, that increase
professional opportunities for MFTs, and that treat the profession on
par with the other mental health disciplines.
The Petition
The petitioner states that MFTs should be included as SAEs for the
following reasons:
(1) The petitioner believes that this amendment would enable MFTs
who are qualified to address substance abuse issues by virtue of their
education, training, and experience to evaluate individuals who have
violated the NRC's fitness for duty policies. The petitioner states
that these MFTs would also be able to make recommendations concerning
education, treatment, return to duty, follow-up drug and alcohol
testing, and aftercare. The petitioner states that many MFTs in
California perform this work on a daily basis, both in inpatient and
outpatient treatment settings. The petitioner states that ``qualified''
means that the MFT providing these services would meet the ``basic
knowledge'' requirement presented in 10 CFR 26.187(c) (i.e.,
demonstrated knowledge of and clinical experience in the diagnosis and
treatment of alcohol and substance abuse disorders), and would comply
with any continuing education requirements. The petitioner states that,
in California, MFTs receive the same amount of required instruction in
substance abuse issues that psychologists receive. MFTs also receive
the same amount of required instruction that licensed clinical social
workers receive.
(2) The petitioner believes that the role of a SAE should be open
to any mental health professional, regardless of licensure, who can
demonstrate that he or she is qualified to be a SAE. The petitioner
states that in the NRC's response to Industry Comment 2 (in the 10 CFR
Part 26 proposed rule, ``Fitness for Duty Programs,'' published on
August 26, 2005; 70 FR 50441), the NRC addressed the question of
whether only licensed physicians could be SAEs. The petitioner states
that the NRC concluded that the ``SAE need not be a licensed physician,
but would be required to have extensive expertise, such as a licensed
or certified social worker, psychologist, or others listed in Sec.
26.187(b), and additional qualifications specifically related to
substance abuse disorders.'' Consequently, the petitioner believes that
under the NRC's own rationale for the position of SAE, the emphasis is
not on a particular license designation. Rather, the emphasis is on
whether the individual licensee has ``extensive expertise'' in
diagnosing and treating alcohol and substance abuse issues. The
petitioner states that MFTs should be included in the list of
credentialed professionals because they are recognized by the
Department of Health and Human Services, along with psychiatry,
psychology, clinical social work and psychiatric nursing as one of the
five core mental health disciplines in the United States, and they are
trained to assess and treat substance abuse issues.
(3) The petitioner states that California law allows MFTs and
licensed clinical social workers to diagnose and treat mental
disorders. The petitioner believes that if licensed clinical social
workers are included on the list of professionals to diagnose and treat
mental disorders, then MFTs should also be included. The petitioner
states that in California there is much overlap of the professional
duties and responsibilities of marriage and family therapists,
psychologists, and clinical social workers, especially in the area of
alcohol and substance abuse counseling. The petitioner believes that
all of these professions have licensees who, by virtue of their
education, training, and experience, have ``extensive expertise'' in
diagnosing and treating alcohol and substance abuse issues. The
petitioner believes that, if the NRC allows licensed or certified
social workers and licensed or certified psychologists to be SAEs, it
should also allow MFTs to be SAEs.
(4) The petitioner believes that the trend of the Federal
Government is to include MFTs as providers of substance abuse services
within government programs. The petitioner states that the Department
of Transportation recently amended its regulations to allow MFTs
[[Page 51960]]
to be ``substance abuse professionals'' and to perform counseling
services with its employees, and the Federal Health Resources Services
Administration has included MFTs on its list of five core mental health
disciplines.
(5) The petitioner states that the licensing and regulation of MFTs
is done by all fifty states. The petitioner states that although
licensing is conducted by individual states, the vast majority of
states require candidates to pass the national MFT examination, which
is administered by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy
Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB). The National MFT examination tests
prospective MFTs on their knowledge of substance abuse issues and
treatment. The petitioner states that in terms of substance abuse
issues, the AMFTRB tests prospective MFTs on their knowledge of how
substance abuse and dependency affect the individual and the
functioning of his or her family; the effects of addictive behavior on
the individual and the family system; and addiction treatment
modalities.
The petitioner provided the following documents as attachments to
its petition for rulemaking. These documents are not included in this
publication. (See the ADDRESSES section of this document for
instructions on accessing a copy of the petition for rulemaking.)
California Business & Professions Code Sec. 498.36, Sec.
1887.3, Sec. 29, Sec. 2914, Sec. 1382.3, and Sec. 4996.2;
Yale School of Medicine Bulletin;
NAADAC Guide to Certification; and
Employee Assistance Professionals Association, ``How to
Become a CEAP''.
In summary, the petitioner believes that MFTs should be included in
the list of credentialed professionals presented in 10 CFR 26.187(b).
The petitioner states that it realizes the importance of the role SAEs
play in safeguarding the United States and its citizens, and believes
that the members of CAMFT who are qualified to be SAEs would be a
credit to the NRC.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of August 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-21022 Filed 8-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P