This website is a collaboration between the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Our goal is to provide a clearinghouse of unbiased, objective information on scope of practice policy related to addiction counselors, dental hygienists, dental therapists, licensed professional counselors, nurse practitioners, peer support specialists and physician assistants.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is a bipartisan membership organization that consists exclusively of the state legislatures of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories. Founded in 1975, NCSL serves all 7,383 state legislators and about 30,000 legislative staff. NCSL is dedicated to supporting policy innovation and communication among state legislatures through nonpartisan research, publications, technical assistance workshops, meetings and seminars, and digital services.
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) represents the chief health official in the departments of public health for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories. Incorporated in 1942, ASTHO supports efforts that protect the health of all people. It engages in a wide range of scientific, educational and policy issues on behalf of public health. Over the past 74 years, ASTHO has gained an acute understanding of contrasting state interests, attributes and needs and developed a reputation for providing high quality, nonpartisan resources and support to members as they implement a variety of policy approaches to achieve common public health goals.
This collaborative project aims to provide an easily accessible source of information as state leaders consider ways to meet the health care needs of their constituents at the right place, right time and right cost. As states experience health care workforce shortages and access challenges for rural and underserved populations, some leaders are leveraging certain providers to address the health care needs in their states. We recognize this is one of many policy options states are pursuing and encourage you to visit our respective websites to learn about other policy strategies.
We hope this website is a resource for state legislators and legislative staff, state health officials, executive branch officials and other stakeholders. Your comments and questions are welcome. Please email us.