I am in support of adjustments and amendments to allow supervisee's and supervisors to use virtual means while providing support to client's and for the pursuit of LCSW certification. I support this as a LCSW. 

Thanks 

Sarah Hickey 

Therapist,LCSW

I appreciate the Board taking this into consideration.  Given the COVID-19 PHE, it has been challenging for SISWs to ensure that they are able to do "normal" f2f contact in order to meet their hours for licensure.  It is a challenge for some of our clients to be able to access advanced forms of communication, and we struggle to help them gain access to services.  Expanding this option will benefit not only the new clinicians, but also the clients we serve.  Thank you. 

This pandemic has impacted the field of Social Work and the delivery of clinical services in an unprecedented manner.  In order to be resilient as a profession and to ensure we have adequate social workers for the future, we need to respect and give credit for all of the many ways new clinicians are working incredibly hard to meet the needs of their clients and the goals of the Social Work profession.  Supervisees in Social Work have been creatively engaging clients since the beginning of this pandemic, and continue to do so.  One of the ways this is occurring is by telephonic sessions.  I think everyone would agree that when possible, truly face to face services are ideal, however those clients who may be homebound and who do not have the resources or access to the technology required for video conferencing, can still be served telephonically.  As a result, clinical social work services provided by phone and under the supervision of a licensed clinician, should count towards the "face to face" hours needed to meet the licensure requirements.  Thank you for your consideration.  

The global pandemic has had a tremendous, unprecedented impact on how social workers are delivering clinical services. Although face to face clinical services are ideal and best practice, they have not always been the safest or most accessible option during this time.   In order to continue to serve clients when face to face contact is not safe, social workers have utilized technology  such as phones for continuity of care. Therefore, I believe that clinical social work services that have been delivered by phone, and under the supervision of a licensed social worker, should "count" towards the licensure requirements of face to face hours. Thank you for your consideration! 

To allow the ability to use telephonic communication towards Clinical Supervision during the PHE.