With evident frustration, Governor Chris Sununu openly criticized the state Board of Mental Health Practice for its failure to implement rules to adopt new license types to reduce the workforce shortage in the field and issued a deadline of one month to take action on the matter.

Demanding immediate action, Sununu set a deadline of September 1, 2023, for the board to file a rulemaking proposal that would activate more conditional licenses in the mental health profession.

The proposal is based on a bill that became law two years ago but has not yet been put into effect.

“It has come to my attention that the Board has failed to execute its statutory obligation to establish licensing requirements for these license types,” Sununu wrote to the Board’s chair, Samuel Rosario, in a letter. “The Board’s dereliction of duty particularly given the mental health workforce shortage impacting our state is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

If the board cannot meet its obligation, Sununu said he would resort to a state law enabling him to remove public officials from their positions due to their inefficiency in office, incapacity, or unsuitability to perform their assigned responsibilities.

The legislation signed by Sununu in August 2021, known as House Bill 143, lowered the requirements for conditional licenses for mental health professionals, including social workers, mental health counselors, and marriage and family therapists.

The lowered prerequisites are designed to open the door for more individuals to enter the state’s strained mental health workforce. The reduced requirements include fewer hours of supervised experience in social work, supervised practical training, or mental health work, either within the degree-granting program or as a separate program.

For mental healthcare facilities across the state, the current shortage of mental health professionals has had a direct impact.

As of Wednesday, Hampstead Hospital reported 32 beds offline due to staffing problems, while New Hampshire Hospital faces similar issues with positions for nurses, mental health workers, and social workers remaining unfilled.

Conditional licenses, once issued, are valid for two years, and social workers with a satisfactory standing have an opportunity to renew their licenses for an additional year.

“Establishing these license types is critical to addressing the mental health workforce shortage in NH,” wrote Sununu.

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