The petitioner requests that the Board amend 18VAC115-20-52(C) to allow licensed clinical social workers to provide supervision to residents in professional counseling.

The petition for rulemaking will be published in the Virginia Register of Regulations on March 11, 2024. The petition will also be published on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall at www.townhall.virginia.gov to receive public comment, which will open on March 11, 2024 and will close on April 1, 2024. The Board will consider the petition and all comments in support or opposition at the next meeting after the close of public comment, currently scheduled for April 19, 2024. The petitioner will be notified of the Board’s decision after that meeting.

At its meeting on April 19th, the Board voted to take no action on the petition. If the Board permitted licensed clinical social workers to supervise residents in counseling, the Board would have no jurisdiction to discipline the LCSW supervisor in the event a violation of law occurred. Additionally, access to technology-assisted supervision has increased the availability of supervisors for residents in counseling. Technology-assisted supervision was not in existence at the time licensees of other boards were previously permitted to supervise counseling residents. Finally, the Board believes that residents in counseling would be better served by supervision from a licensed professional counselor given the differences in the disciplines of licensed professional counseling and licensed clinical social work.