Oregon’s mental health and addiction system is short thousands of workers, and state leaders say a major reason isn’t a lack of people willing to do the work — it’s a system that makes it unnecessarily hard for them to get started and stay in the field.

A draft bill aims to change that by cutting paperwork, speeding up credentialing and easing licensing bottlenecks that behavioral health leaders said Wednesday are driving burnout and keeping qualified providers from seeing patients.

The proposal, still in a conceptual stage, is based on recommendations from a task force created by Gov. Tina Kotek to take a hard look at why Oregon doesn’t have enough counselors, therapists, addiction specialists and psychiatrists, and what the state can realistically do to address the shortage.

The workforce shortage has had real consequences, according to a report by Kotek’s Behavioral Health Talent Council. Since the pandemic, waitlists for mental health and addiction treatment have stretched for months across much of Oregon.

State officials and behavioral health leaders outlined the proposal during a hearing before the Oregon House Interim Committee on Behavioral Health, describing it as a practical, cost-neutral effort to fix broken systems rather than overhaul care standards.

KC LeDell, the governor’s senior behavioral health policy adviser, told lawmakers that Oregon has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into expanding mental health and addiction treatment in recent years. But he said none of that matters if there aren’t enough providers to staff them.

“Building the beds is only half of the equation,” he said. “The true heart of our behavioral health system is people.”

The state has roughly 17,000 behavioral health workers, according to its latest workforce report. Last year, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission found that 88% of Oregon counties lack even one mental health provider per 1,000 residents, while Oregonians report the fourth-highest rate of mental illness in the nation.

LeDell said many behavioral health workers are overwhelmed by excessive paperwork, slow credentialing processes and rigid supervision rules that make it harder to enter — or remain in — the field.

He said the bill would focus on system fixes, not expanding bureaucracy or lowering professional standards.

One key piece would direct the Oregon Health Authority to create a centralized credentialing system so behavioral health providers don’t have to go through duplicative approval processes with different insurers before they can see patients.

Eli Kinsley, director of operations at Bridgeway Community Health in Salem and a vice chair of the governor’s behavioral health workgroup, said those delays can sideline new hires for weeks or even months.

“When an organization hires a new provider only to wait months for them to be credentialed, that reduces access to care and harms morale,” Kinsley said.

The bill also would require the state health authority to actively reduce unnecessary administrative requirements and report on progress to lawmakers and the governor.

At New Narrative, a Portland-area nonprofit mental health provider, a first appointment can require signing 26 documents totaling nearly 35 pages, said Julie Ibrahim, CEO of the organization and another vice chair of the workgroup.

“That intake can take an hour and a half to two hours,” Ibrahim told lawmakers. “For many clients, especially those with trauma or serious mental illness, that’s overwhelming and it interferes with building trust.”

Another key piece of the legislation tackles a long-standing bottleneck in the system: clinical supervision. Many new counselors, therapists and social workers can’t complete licensing requirements because there aren’t enough approved supervisors.

Rick Treleaven, CEO of BestCare Treatment Services, which provides community mental health in Crook and Jefferson counties, said current rules often leave rural providers stuck because they don’t have supervisors with the exact same credentials on staff.

He said the proposal would allow qualified behavioral health professionals to supervise trainees across different license types, expanding access without changing training requirements.

“We have qualified people,” Treleaven told lawmakers. “We just need to simplify this stuff.”

The proposal would consolidate licensing oversight by moving the Board of Licensed Social Workers under the Mental Health Regulatory Agency, which oversees other mental health licensing boards. Supporters say this would reduce license processing times without increasing costs.

The House expected to take up the bill during the legislative session that begins next month.

Meanwhile, Kotek’s behavioral health workgroup plans to release a full report later this month with broader recommendations focused on recruitment, retention and workforce diversity.

“This bill is only the beginning of our work,” LeDell said. “But it’s something we can do now that improves the quality of life for workers and helps get people into the field faster.”