The Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act have increased demand for behavioral health workers and changed the way policy makers regulate behavioral health scope of practice (SOP) to benefit patient care. Expansion of occupational SOPs is a potential solution for addressing the demand for increased diversity of services.

This report describes a study that collected data on SOPs for 10 different behavioral health occupations across all fifty states to compare provider authority and potential barriers to changes in SOPs.