(The Center Square) — An audit by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's office found that the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists didn't query a national database when making licensing decisions and didn't have an internal timeline for processing complaints.
The audit report also said that the board – which regulates the psychology profession and is composed of six members appointed by the governor – didn't report to the National Practitioner Data Bank four out of the nine cases where it issued sanctions for professional misconduct, which can include sexual harassment of clients, unprofessional behavior and substandard care.
The LSBEP says it has already implemented or is in the process of implementing the recommendations made by the auditor's office in the report.
The report also said that the board has not conducted background checks on 378 of its 857 current licenses (44.1%) to determine whether they were sanctioned by another state. These licensees were approved before August 2008, when the LSBEP began conducting background checks as a condition of licensure. The board isn't required by state law to conduct background checks on license renewals.
Auditors evaluated the board from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2021 to determine whether the board was effectively regulating the profession.
The report says the biggest issue with the board not using the National Practitioner Data Bank is it could issue a license to a practitioner who'd be sanctioned by a licensing board in another state for misconduct.
Auditors also found that the board received 71 complaints that contained 152 allegations and closed 63 of them, requiring an average of 338 days to resolve. The report says that the board doesn't internally track disciplinary actions, lacks the authority to impose a graduated system of fines and doesn't have a process to monitor whether licensees are compliant with board orders.
According to the report, one of the licensees that was licensed before background checks were conducted in August 2008 was arrested for driving while intoxicated in 2017, but falsely reported no new crimes or arrests on renewal forms for the next three years. Complaints were filed against him with the LSBEP after his 2017 arrest and a lawsuit was filed against him in October 2020. The board received another complaint in April 2021 involving allegations of sexual harassment of a client, substandard care and substance abuse.
The report says both complaints were still active as of February 2022 and the licensee still holds their license to practice in Louisiana.
The LSBEP has starting using the NPDB to query new applicants as of November 30, 2021 and will be fully compliant by July. The board also says it will establish a process for tracking complaints that will prioritize those that present the largest risk to the public. The auditor's office recommended that lawmakers authorize the board to levy fines on non-compliant licensees.
