Mental Health Workforce Reforms

June 19, 2017

Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D.

Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D, is the Foundation’s Chief Research Officer and Right on Crime Senior Fellow. Previously the Vice President of Policy and Director of Right on Crime, the Foundation’s criminal justice reform initiative, Cohen was instrumental in the passage of the First Step Act, federal legislation that borrowed from successful changes to prisons and sentencing that he had helped pass in conservative states. In addition to leading the Foundation’s work on criminal justice, he is also the lead researcher of firearms policy.

Eliminating unnecessary regulations surrounding APRNs, peer support specialists, and telemedicine will increase options for mental health providers and lead to job growth. The state should consolidate health profession licensing and regulation into a single board with advisory panels similar to TDLR that is controlled by public appointees rather than market participants and consider a certification process rather than licensure for certain mental health professions.

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Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D.

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