Occupational therapy board cites improved enforcement and seeks fee flexibility; association backs reduced hand-therapy training hours

Christine Wittlisbach, vice president of the Board of Occupational Therapy, and executive officer Austin Porter told the joint committee that the board regulates approximately 17,000 occupational therapists and 4,000 therapy assistants, has improved disciplinary intake timelines and licensing throughput, and adopted a strategic plan addressing licensing, enforcement and outreach.

Wittlisbach said the board is monitoring fund condition and has requested statutory fee authority to avoid being capped out by the statutory renewal fee limit. Executive staff explained that rising Department of Consumer Affairs prorated costs, increased enforcement expenditures and higher personnel costs are driving fee requests.

Representatives of the Occupational Therapists Association of California supported the sunset extension and emphasized a proposal to reduce required on-the-job advanced practice hand therapy training from a substantially larger figure to 80 hours of supervised on-the-job training, which the association said aligns curriculum updates and will increase access to services.

The committee asked for further details about the board's fund projections and any alternatives to fee increases, and no formal votes were taken during the hearing.