Section 105. Continued competency requirements for renewal of an active license

A. Licensed clinical social workers shall be required to have completed a minimum of 30 contact hours of continuing education and licensed social workers shall be required to have completed a minimum of 15 contact hours of continuing education prior to licensure renewal in even years. Courses or activities shall be directly related to the practice of social work or another behavioral health field. A minimum of two of those hours must pertain to ethics or the standards of practice for the behavioral health professions or to laws governing the practice of social work in Virginia.

1. The board may grant an extension for good cause of up to one year for the completion of continuing education requirements upon written request from the licensee prior to the renewal date. Such extension shall not relieve the licensee of the continuing education requirement.

2. The board may grant an exemption for all or part of the continuing education requirements due to circumstances beyond the control of the licensee such as temporary disability, mandatory military service, or officially declared disasters upon written request from the licensee prior to the renewal date.

B. Hours may be obtained from a combination of board-approved activities in the following two categories:

1. Category I. Formally Organized Learning Activities. A minimum of 20 hours for licensed clinical social workers or 10 hours for licensed social workers shall be documented in this category, which shall include one or more of the following:

a. Regionally accredited university or college academic courses in a behavioral health discipline. A maximum of 15 hours will be accepted for each academic course.

b. Continuing education programs offered by universities or colleges accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

c. Workshops, seminars, conferences, or courses in the behavioral health field offered by federal, state or local social service agencies, public school systems or licensed health facilities and licensed hospitals.

d. Workshops, seminars, conferences or courses in the behavioral health field offered by an individual or organization that has been certified or approved by one of the following:

(1) The Child Welfare League of America and its state and local affiliates.

(2) The National Association of Social Workers and its state and local affiliates.

(3) The National Association of Black Social Workers and its state and local affiliates.

(4) The Family Service Association of America and its state and local affiliates.

(5) The Clinical Social Work Association and its state and local affiliates.

(6) The Association of Social Work Boards.

(7) Any state social work board.

2. Category II. Individual Professional Activities. A maximum of 10 of the required 30 hours for licensed clinical social workers or a maximum of five of the required 15 hours for licensed social workers may be earned in this category, which shall include one or more of the following:

a. Participation in an Association of Social Work Boards item writing workshop. (Activity will count for a maximum of two hours.)

b. Publication of a professional social work-related book or initial preparation/presentation of a social work-related course. (Activity will count for a maximum of 10 hours.)

c. Publication of a professional social work-related article or chapter of a book, or initial preparation/presentation of a social work-related in-service training, seminar, or workshop. (Activity will count for a maximum of five hours.)

d. Provision of a continuing education program sponsored or approved by an organization listed under Category I. (Activity will count for a maximum of two hours and will only be accepted one time for any specific program.)

e. Field instruction of graduate students in a Council on Social Work Education-accredited school. (Activity will count for a maximum of two hours.)

f. Serving as an officer or committee member of one of the national professional social work associations listed under subdivision B 1 d of this section or as a member of a state social work licensing board. (Activity will count for a maximum of two hours.)

g. Attendance at formal staffings at federal, state, or local social service agencies, public school systems, or licensed health facilities and licensed hospitals. (Activity will count for a maximum of five hours.)

h. Individual or group study including listening to audio tapes, viewing video tapes, reading, professional books or articles. (Activity will count for a maximum of five hours.)

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 17, Issue 14, eff. April 25, 2001; amended, Virginia Register Volume 20, Issue 08, eff. January 28, 2004; Volume 24, Issue 20, eff. July 24, 2008; Volume 25, Issue 04, eff. November 26, 2008; Volume 26, Issue 06, eff. January 7, 2010; Volume 32, Issue 07, eff. December 30, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.