Why This Petition Matters
New York State is currently facing a severe mental health crisis, yet our own state regulations are actively preventing qualified professionals from entering the workforce.

Currently, Licensed Master Social Workers (LMSWs) seeking to become Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) must complete three years of postgraduate clinical experience. However, under outdated NYSED regulations, they can only be supervised by an LCSW, a licensed psychologist, or a psychiatrist. Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs)—even those with years of clinical experience and the state-granted privilege to diagnose—are strictly prohibited from providing this supervision.

This bureaucratic red tape creates a massive bottleneck. It forces independent group practices to jump through complex, expensive legal loopholes (like forming separate "Friendly PC" entities) just to employ and support social workers. Worse, it leaves thousands of LMSWs scrambling to find supervisors, delaying their licensure, and keeping vital mental health professionals out of the communities that desperately need them.

The Solution: The SUPPORT Act
The Supervising Upcoming Professionals for Practice in Official Roles in Therapy (SUPPORT) Act (A00780/S6999)offers a common-sense solution.

This legislation will officially amend New York Education Law to allow applicants for clinical social work licensure to satisfy their supervised experience requirements under the guidance of a Mental Health Practitioner (such as an LMHC) who has been granted the privilege to diagnose and develop assessment-based treatment plans.

Why We Need Your Signature
Passing the SUPPORT Act will:

Expand the Supervisory Pool: LMSWs will have significantly more opportunities to gain their required clinical hours, accelerating their path to full licensure.
Reduce Administrative Burdens on Small Practices: Mental health practice owners will no longer be forced into overly complicated and costly corporate structures just to employ a multidisciplinary team of LMHCs and Social Workers under one roof.
Increase Access to Mental Health Care: By removing the artificial bottleneck on supervision, we can get more fully licensed, independent clinicians into the field faster to treat New Yorkers in need.
Acknowledge Professional Parity: It rightfully recognizes the clinical expertise and diagnostic capabilities of experienced LMHCs.
The Call to Action
We are calling on the New York State Senate Higher Education Committee, the State Assembly, and Governor Hochul to immediately pass and enact A00780/S6999.

Mental health professionals should be spending their time treating patients, not battling outdated corporate practice doctrines and arbitrary supervision restrictions.

Sign this petition to tell New York State lawmakers to pass The SUPPORT Act and modernize our mental health workforce!