Sponsors (2)
The bill improves veterans' access to MFT supervision and gives the VA greater hiring flexibility by accepting national AAMFT approvals, at the cost of potential variability from state supervision standards and modest additional administrative and fiscal burdens for the VA/taxpayers.
Veterans across the VA system are likely to have increased access to qualified marriage and family therapy (MFT) supervisors, expanding availability of supervised MFT services within VA clinics.
VA health systems can hire supervisors who hold national AAMFT approval even if state-level supervisory authorization is absent, widening the hiring pool and helping address staffing shortages at VA clinics.
Qualified MFT staff and supervisors gain clearer federal eligibility criteria, reducing hiring uncertainty and administrative barriers for VA hiring managers and applicants.
Some veterans could receive supervision from providers who lack state-specific supervisory authorization, creating potential variation in adherence to state practice rules and possible impacts on quality or consistency of care.
The VA may face added administrative complexity in verifying national AAMFT approvals and managing differing supervision standards across states, increasing workload and coordination burdens for VA systems.
Broader eligibility and the related verification or alignment efforts could impose modest additional administrative costs on the VA (and thus taxpayers) for credential verification or training alignment.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows VA marriage and family therapists to qualify as clinical supervisors if they meet existing credentials and are state-authorized or AAMFT-designated approved supervisors.
Changes the VA hiring rule for marriage and family therapists so candidates who already meet the education and licensing requirements can also qualify to be clinical supervisors if they are either authorized to supervise in the State where they work or are designated as an approved supervisor by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. The change clarifies supervisor eligibility without creating new funding or program authorities.
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Julia Brownley · Last progress February 3, 2026