Keep Up! 3 Things You Need to Know About New Licensure Rules

Keep Up! 3 Things You Need to Know About New Licensure Rules

Did you know the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists updated the requirements for licensure? Rules and regulations for licensure can change quickly. Make sure you keep yourself up to date on all changes in requirements, so you don’t get left behind!

 

Social Work Rule 135-5-.04 details what exactly the practice of social work is, the licensure process, and the experience required to obtain licensure. Updating/changing this rule means the Georgia Board is changing the process to become a social worker and/or the practices/behaviors/services defined as social work. The Georgia Board announced the new changes to the rules via a document posted on their website in which they state the reason for the change.

“The purpose of the proposed adoption is to amend the rule to read more fluently, re-define supervisor credentials, allow continuing education hours to count for one year work experience and provide for additional training hours before taking the exam a fourth or more times.”

 

 

The previous regulations for supervision hours counted towards licensure were as follows:

• “The applicant must present evidence of having practiced clinical social work for a minimum of 3000 hours post social work master’s degree supervised  experience acquired over a period of no less than 36 months or more than 108  months, the first 2000 hours of experience must be under supervision and  direction in the practice of clinical social work. Applicant must submit documentation of having acquired 120 hours of supervision during this time, no more than 50% of which may be group supervision and at least 50% must be provided by a licensed clinical social worker who meets requirements to be  a duly qualified supervisor.”

 

The Georgia board changed the following:

 

“The applicant must present evidence of a minimum of 3000 hours of directed experience in the practice of clinical social work acquired over a period of no less than 36 months and no more than 60 months. Effective October 1, 2024.”

 

• “The Board, in its sole discretion, may extend the period of time in which the applicant must have acquired supervision and/or experience with adequate showing of  hardship or good cause.”

The state board has elected to remove the guidelines on extensions from the rules altogether. Instead, choosing to implement a new process for testing after the allotted period has passed.

“The exam must be passed within the one-year approval period by the Board.  If the examination has not been passed within the one-year period, to obtain approval to test again, a new application, fee and all supporting documents including the documentation of current, ongoing supervision and direction must be submitted.”

 

• “Examination… After having completed the above experience requirements the applicant must submit an application to the board for licensure and upon approval the applicant must take the first scheduled examination for which he/she qualifies, unless good cause is shown for postponement, in which case the applicant shall take the next scheduled examination.  [Upon receipt of notification that the applicant has passed the Clinical Social Work licensing examination, the Board will issue a Clinical Social Work license.] If the applicant fails the examination, the Board shall require that the applicant’s work remain supervised until the applicant has taken and passed the examination. The exam must be taken at the next scheduled exam date unless good cause is shown for postponement. The exam may be taken a total of three times. An applicant who fails the examination three times, applicant shall not engage in the private practice of counseling or psychotherapy in the State of Georgia until such time as he/she has taken and passed the examination, absent a statutory exemption.”

 

The Georgia board has added the following:

“To take the clinical social work exam a fourth or more time, an ASWB approved licensure examination preparation course, or other license preparation course approved by the Board, is required for each subsequent exam. Verification of completion of course must be submitted, along with the new application as defined above in #1, to the Board for approval prior to registering for a subsequent exam.”

As posted on the state website, the public will have an opportunity to comment upon and provide input into the proposed rule amendment at a public hearing to be held at 10:15 a.m., Friday, August 11, 2023 in the Office of the Secretary of State, Professional Licensing Boards Division, 237 Coliseum Drive, Macon, Georgia 31217. If the Board office remains closed due to the public health emergency (COVID-19), the hearing will be held via teleconference. Please see the Board’s website for information on how to join the meeting via teleconference.