18VAC140-20-50. Education and experience requirements for licensed clinical social worker.

A. Education. The applicant shall hold a minimum of a master's degree from an accredited school of social work. Graduates of foreign institutions shall establish the equivalency of their education to this requirement through the Foreign Equivalency Determination Service of the Council of Social Work Education.

1. The degree program shall have included a graduate clinical course of study; or

2. The applicant shall provide documentation of having completed specialized experience, course work or training acceptable to the board as equivalent to a clinical course of study.

B. Supervised experience. Supervised experience obtained prior to December 23, 1998, may be accepted towards licensure if this supervision met the requirements of the board which were in effect at the time the supervision was rendered. Supervised experience obtained in nonexempt settings in Virginia without prior written board approval will not be accepted toward licensure.

1. Registration. An individual who proposes to obtain supervised post-master's degree experience in Virginia shall, prior to the onset of such supervision:

a. Register on a form provided by the board and completed by the supervisor and the supervised individual; and

b. Pay the registration of supervision fee set forth in 18VAC140-20-30.

2. Hours. The applicant shall have completed a minimum of 3,000 hours of supervised post-master's degree experience in the delivery of clinical social work services or the equivalent in part-time experience. A minimum of one hour of individual face-to-face supervision shall be provided each week for a total of at least 100 hours.

a. Experience shall be acquired in no less than two nor more than four years.

b. Supervisees shall average no less than 15 hours per week in face-to-face client contact for a minimum of 1,380 hours in the two-year period. The remaining hours may be spent in ancillary duties and activities supporting the delivery of clinical services.

3. An individual who does not become a candidate for licensure after four years of supervised experience shall submit evidence to the board showing why the training should be allowed to continue.

C. Requirements for supervisors.

1. The supervisor shall be a licensed clinical social worker in the jurisdiction in which the clinical services are being rendered with at least five years post-Master of Social Work clinical experience. The board may consider supervisors with commensurate qualifications if the applicant can demonstrate an undue burden due to geography or disability.

2. The supervisor shall:

a. Be responsible for the casework activities of the prospective applicant as set forth in this subsection once the supervisory arrangement is accepted;

b. Review and approve the diagnostic assessment and treatment plan of a representative sample of the clients assigned to the applicant during the course of supervision. The sample should be representative of the variables of gender, age, diagnosis, length of treatment and treatment method within the client population seen by the applicant. It is the applicant's responsibility to assure the representativeness of the sample that is presented to the supervisor. The supervisor shall be available to the applicant on a regularly scheduled basis for supervision. The supervisor will maintain documentation, for five years post supervision, of which clients were the subject of supervision;

c. Provide supervision only for those casework activities for which the supervisor has determined the applicant is competent to provide to clients;

d. Provide supervision only for those activities for which the supervisor is qualified; and

e. Evaluate the supervisee's knowledge and document minimal competencies in the areas of an identified theory base, application of a differential diagnosis, establishing and monitoring a treatment plan, development and appropriate use of the professional relationship, assessing the client for risk of imminent danger, and implementing a professional and ethical relationship with clients.

3. Supervision between members of the immediate family (to include spouses, parents, and siblings) will not be approved.

D. Supervision requirements for applicants in exempt practices. Individuals may obtain the required supervision and experience without registration of supervision provided such experience:

1. Is obtained in an exempt practice; and

2. Meets all other requirements for supervised experience as set forth in this section.

Statutory Authority

§54.1-2400 and Chapter 37 (§54.1-3700 et seq.) of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR620-01-2 §2.2, eff. July 6, 1989; amended, Virginia Register Volume 6, Issue 26, eff. October 24, 1990; Volume 9, Issue 5, eff. December 30, 1992; Volume 12, Issue 3, eff. November 29, 1995; Volume 15, Issue 5, eff. December 23, 1998; Volume 24, Issue 23, eff. September 4, 2008.

Part III
Examinations

18VAC140-20-70. Examination requirement.

A. An applicant for licensure by the board as a social worker or clinical social worker shall pass a written examination prescribed by the board.

B. The board shall establish passing scores on the written examination.

C. A candidate approved by the board to sit for an examination shall take that examination within two years of the date of the initial board approval. If the candidate has not taken the examination by the end of the two-year period here prescribed, the applicant shall reapply according to the requirements of the regulations in effect at that time.

Statutory Authority

§54.1-2400 and Chapter 37 (§54.1-3700 et seq.) of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR620-01-2 §3.1, eff. July 6, 1989; amended, Virginia Register Volume 6, Issue 26, eff. October 24, 1990; Volume 9, Issue 5, eff. December 30, 1992; Volume 12, Issue 3, eff. November 29, 1995; Volume 15, Issue 5, eff. December 23, 1998; Volume 24, Issue 23, eff. September 4, 2008.