Nursing Clinical Placements Collaborative
Clinical Placements Justifications
Justifications for any denied clinical placement requests will be collected through the Board of Registered Nursing’s (BRN) Clinical Facility Authorization (CFA) process prior to the January 30, 2026 deadline. Please proceed through the normal process of responding to clinical placement requests.
Effective January 1, 2025, health facilities and clinics in California are required, upon the request of a California community college or California State University with an approved school of nursing or approved nursing program, to meet with a California community college or California State University and work in good faith to meet the prelicensure nursing clinical placement needs of the California community college or California State University program, including adding additional clinical placement slots to accommodate the nursing program.
Following that meeting, health facilities and clinics are required to provide a justification if it cannot accommodate additional placement slots.
Overview
The Nursing Clinical Placements Collaborative program was established by AB 1577 (Chapter 415, Statutes of 2024) to increase transparency around clinical training opportunities for nursing students. The law supports California’s goal of expanding the nursing workforce by identifying barriers that prevent facilities and clinics from offering placements to students in CCC and CSU nursing programs.
Following meeting with a California community college or California State University program, health facilities and clinics that are unable to accept student placements must provide a justification on an annual basis. Justifications for any denied clinical placement requests will be collected through the BRN’s CFA process. These justifications will be published on HCAI’s website to inform systemwide understanding of clinical placement capacity.
Reporting Requirements
- Beginning January 1, 2025, health facilities and clinics must meet with CCC or CSU nursing programs upon request to discuss clinical placement needs.
- If a facility or clinic is unable to accommodate placements, it must submit a justification through the BRN’s CFA process by January 30 of each year, beginning in 2026.
- The justification must include the reason(s) for declining placements, such as staffing shortages, patient volume, service limitations, or scheduling constraints.
- Facilities and clinics that fail to submit a justification shall be subject to an administrative penalty of up to $1,000.
- Submitted justifications will be posted publicly on HCAI’s website until January 1, 2032, per statute.
Law and Regulations
Contact
For more information or questions about compliance, please contact:NCPC@HCAI.ca.gov