An Overview of the LCSW Licensing Process

NASW California Chapter

March 2015 Revised

Licensing Requirements Change Every Year

Presentation Goals

Why get licensed?

Provide an overview of the basic process

A new exam structure

Strategies for success

Key timeframes and resources

Info to assist in decision-making

Why Get Licensed?

More job opportunities

Higher Salaries – median salary over $62k v

$57k

Better promotional possibilities

Advanced post graduate training and

education

Not just psychotherapy or private practice

Overview of Licensing Process

Graduate with a MSW from a CSWE accredited

university

Take certain pre-licensure courses

Register as an associate clinical social worker

(ASW)

Accumulate 3,200 supervised work experience hours

and 104 supervision hours

Take and pass two California LCSW exams:

– Standard Written (knowledge)

– Clinical Vignette (skill)

Complete Pre-licensure Required Coursework

The BBS requires you to complete certain

additional coursework before applying for the

LCSW exam.

You can complete this coursework as part of

your MSW degree or afterward while you are

earning the required hours of supervised

work experience

Required Coursework Pre Exam

Child Abuse Assessment and Reporting (7

hours)

Human Sexuality (10 hours)

Substance Abuse and Dependency (15

hours)

Required Courses Pre Exam

Spousal Abuse Assessment and Reporting

(15 hours for those who entered degree

program after 1/1/2004; Course can be any

length for those who entered a degree

program from 1/1/1995 to 12/31/2003)

Aging and Long Term Care (10 Hours only

for those who entered a degree program on

or after 1/1/2004; For all others this is not a

pre-licensure requirement)

Obtain Required Coursework

You can find a list of specific courses that are

offered by your school, and meet these

requirements on the BBS web site. Go to:

http://www.bbs.ca.gov/app-reg/lcs_schools.shtml

Find you school, and select “Additional Courses

Required.”

(Note, this list may not be up to date)

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY- DOMINQUEZ HILLS

Child Abuse Assessment: SW 580 Seminar in Child Welfare Issues

Human Sexuality?

Alcoholism and Other Chemical Dependency?

Spousal or Partner Abuse?

Aging and Long-Term Care?

Courses not listed may fulfill a pre-licensure requirement, but the student will need

to submit a syllabus or course description to verify the course content meets a pre-

licensure course requirement.

Board of Behavioral Sciences

Additional LCSW Courses Required for Licensure

EXAMPLECSU Courses Acceptable for Pre-Licensure

Course Requirements

BBS Requirement MSW Course

Human Sexuality SW 551 Advanced Practice I: Family

Chemical

Dependency

SW 510C Human Behavior & Social Environment

Child Abuse

Assessment

SW 454(585) Practices and Policies of Public Child

Welfare

Spousal/Partner

Abuse

SW 551 Advanced Practice I: Family

Aging and Long

Term Care

?

Note: Applicant only needs to take one course to fulfill a given pre-licensure requirement.

If multiple courses are listed for a requirement the

student has the option of deciding which course to

take.

The list reflects only the information the educational

institution provided to the Board.

Courses not listed may fulfill a pre-licensure

requirement, but the student will need to submit a

syllabus or course description to verify the course

content meets a pre-licensure course requirement.

Required Coursework - Notes

Pay attention to whether the course or CE

provider is approved. NASW is always

approved.

Keep the course description and/or syllabus

for any course you took that you believe

fulfills the requirements.

The BBS may need the materials to verify the

course content

Obtain Required Coursework

If you need to take these courses:

Coursework must be taken from a BBS

approved provider.

NASW-CA is an approved provider and

offers all of this coursework in online or in-

person courses.

New CA Law & Ethics Requirement

Effective January 1, 2014, all ASW

applicants must have completed training or

coursework in California law and professional

ethics for clinical social workers. This

coursework may be embedded within more

than one course and must cover certain topic

areas. See Business and Professions Code

Section 4996.18 for further information about

course content requirements.

CA Law & Ethics Requirement

BBS: All CA schools meet this requirement but you should always reaffirm with the BBS

CONTENT and SUBJECT MATTER

a. Contemporary professional ethics and statutes, regulations, and court decisions that

delineate the scope of practice

b. The therapeutic, clinical, and practical considerations involved in legal and ethical practice,

including family law

c. The current legal patterns and trends in the mental health professions

d. The psychotherapist-patient privilege, confidentiality, dangerous patients, and the

treatment of minors with and without parental consent

e. A recognition and exploration of the relationship between a practitioner’s sense of self and

human values, and his or her professional behavior and ethics

f. Differences in legal and ethical standards for different types of work settings

g. Licensing law and process

Apply for registration as an ASW

After graduation, apply to become an Associate Clinical Social

Worker (ASW), you’ll need a sealed transcript

Required before starting on pre-licensure hours

ASW Application packet can be downloaded from the “Forms

and Publications” section of the BBS Web site:

www.bbs.ca.gov/forms.shtml

When do you register?

– Estimate how long it will take you to collect 3,200 work

experience hours, (within 6 year timeframe)

– Don’t register until you’re ready to start collecting hours

The ASW Packet

Completed one page application

Check or money order for $75

– Official copy of academic transcripts in school’s

sealed envelope. Make sure date degree

conferred is included.

– Live Scan fingerprint (keep a copy for your

records)

– Provide info on any prior convictions or discipline

– Allow at least 60 days for processing – March 2

ASW Notes

You cannot begin accruing hours until the

BBS has issued you an ASW registration

number.

Check the BBS website “Online License

Verification” to see if your number is posted.

You should receive a letter in the mail 7-10

days after your number is posted.

Pay attention to any coursework noted that

you will need to complete along the way

Gain Clinical Experience

Once registered as an ASW, gain 3,200 hours of

supervised experience,104 weeks of supervision

Hours can be paid work (W-2 employee, not 1099

independent contractor), and/or volunteer

2,000 in clinical psychosocial diagnosis,

assessment, and treatment with no less than 750

hours being face to face psychotherapy.

LCSW Scope

The practice of clinical social work is defined as a service in which a

special knowledge of social resources, human capabilities, and the

part that unconscious motivation plays in determining behavior, is

directed at helping people to achieve more adequate, satisfying, and

productive social adjustments. The application of social work principles

and methods includes, but is not restricted to, counseling and using

applied psychotherapy of a nonmedical nature with individuals,

families, or groups; providing information and referral services;

providing or arranging for the provision of social services; explaining or

interpreting the psychosocial aspects in the situations of individuals,

families, or groups; helping communities to organize, to provide, or to

improve social or health services; or doing research related to social

work.

LCSW Scope

Psychotherapy, within the meaning of this chapter, is

the use of psychosocial methods within a

professional relationship, to assist the person or

persons to achieve a better psychosocial adaptation,

to acquire greater human realization of psychosocial

potential and adaptation, to modify internal and

external conditions which affect individuals, groups,

or communities in respect to behavior, emotions, and

thinking, in respect to their intrapersonal and

interpersonal processes.

Clinical Hours

1,200 in client-centered advocacy, consultation,

evaluation, and research.

1,700 gained under a LCSW, the remainder can be

under another licensed mental health professional

Always renew your ASW number on time. Hours

don’t count if your ASW has expired

Keep track of your supervision documents

– Responsibility statements, supervisory plans, clinical social

work experience verifications

Remember to Renew Your ASW Registration Every Year

Once you are registered with the BBS, you must renew your

registration every year in order to count supervised experience

and weeks of supervision towards the examination eligibility

requirements. If your registration expires or lapses, you will not

be able to count supervised experience or weeks of supervision

gained for the period in which the registration is invalid.

The BBS recommends renewing your registration at least 60

days in advance of the registration expiration date. The

expiration date appears on your registration certificate. The

BBS sends courtesy renewal reminders to your address of

record, and you can also print a Manual Registration Renewal

Application off of the BBS Web site.

Supervisors

Find a qualified supervisor:– LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, Psychologist, Psychiatrist. Licensed

for at least 2 years, taken15 hour supervision course

Can be your work supervisor, or a contracted outside

supervisor.

You can also pay for a supervisor. Make sure there

is a signed agreement between the supervisor and

employer conferring authority and responsibility

Supervision

One hour of direct supervisor contact is required for a

minimum of 104 weeks

Two hours of direct supervisor contact is required for any

week in which more than 10 hours of face-to-face

psychotherapy is performed for each setting which

experience is gained.

An hour of direct supervisor contact equals one hour of

individual supervision or two hours of group supervision

No more than 5 hours of supervision may be credited in a

single week

NEW: Records must be kept for 7 years, longer for minors

Supervisor Notes

Finding a supervisor includes finding the right match

and setting mutually agreed goals and

responsibilities

Meet with your supervisor every week for at least

one hour of individual supervision or two hours of

group supervision.

Group supervision maximum is 8

Supervisors can only supervise 3 in private practice

Keys to Clinical Supervision

Considerations in finding a supervisor:

Meet legal requirements as well as personal

and professional goals

Develop a supervisory plan. Review exam

outline or handbook with supervisor prior to

collecting hours to make sure topical areas

are covered

Stay abreast of requirements by checking

BBS website or subscribing to email alerts

The Six-Year Rule

“The Board cannot accept hours of experience older than six (6) years from the time a person applies for the LCSW license. The law does not allow the Board to make exceptions.”

Ex: The Board receives Joy’s LCSW application on 4/3/2012. The Board will only accept experience gained from 4/3/2006 to 4/3/2012.

File LCSW Application

File the application after all of the required

coursework and clinical hours are completed

Download and complete the LCSW

application found on the BBS website under

Forms and Publications.

Can continue to work and provide therapy

but must be registered as an ASW and

supervised

Current processing time: Check BBS website

Common Application Errors

Not filling out the form completely or

correctly.

Not submitting the application and all of the

required materials together in one envelope.

Not mailing the original copies to the BBS

and keeping a copy for personal records.

Prepare for Exams

Preparation = Total experience and

education.

Perform assessment of clinical strengths and

weaknesses.

Develop a study plan and implement it 4-6

months prior to sitting for exam.

Current CA Only: Exam Plan

The LCSW examination plan consists of the seven

content areas: biophysical assessment, diagnostic

formulation, treatment plan and development,

resource coordination, therapeutic interventions,

legal mandates, ethical standards.

In each content area, the examination plan describes

examination content in terms of the task statements

and knowledge areas resulting from the occupational

analysis.

It is important that candidates prepare for the

examination by studying the examination plan.

Current CA Only Exams: Standard Written

The LCSW written examinations measure

knowledge and skills required for LCSW

practice, and represents a standard of

performance that LCSW Subject Matter

Experts agree is the minimum acceptable

level for licensing in the profession

Current CA Only Exams: Clinical Vignette

The Written Clinical Vignette examination is directly

related to clinical practice situations. Therefore,

supervised clinical experience increases the

likelihood of success in the examination.

The types of clients and the overall presentation of

the clinical situations and issues in the clinical

vignettes are consistent with mainstream practice for

entry-level LCSW

National Exam

Examination Restructure - Effective Date

Changed to January 1, 2016

SB 821 (Chapter 473, Statutes of 2013) was

recently signed by the Governor. This bill

changes the effective date of the Board's

upcoming restructure of its examination

process from January 1, 2014 to January 1,

2016.

Exam Restructure (Jan. 1, 2016)

Graduate with MSW, register as an ASW

Take the CA Law & Ethics Exam within one year.

Those with a non passing score must take a 12 hour

law & ethics course before the next retry.

Exam attempt must be made annually.

Pass the CA Law & Ethics exam before proceeding

to the National Exam (ASWB)

Within 6 years of ASW registration

Exam Notes

According to current law, a registration

cannot be renewed after six years. If a

registrant’s registration expires, he or she

must pass the law and ethics exam in order

to obtain a subsequent registration number.

National Exam

This exam must be passed within seven

years of an individual’s first attempt. If it is

not passed within this timeframe, the

individual’s eligibility to further attempt the

exam is placed on hold.

He or she must then pass the current version

of the law and ethics exam before re-

establishing eligibility to take the clinical

exam.

Keep LCSW File Active

Once eligible to sit for exams, the applicant

must sit for one exam per year to keep the

file active.

Ex: Brett fails the exam on 10/4/2014. He

must take it again before 10/3/2015 to keep

his file active.

Take an exam twice in one year?

Possibly

Exams rotate every 6 months

Cannot retake the exact same exam

Strategies for Success

Understand the process prior to starting and

carefully read and complete applications.

Be proactive and take full responsibility.

View clinical hours and supervision as

essential to becoming competent.

Getting Answers to Questions

80% of all questions can be answered by

• Searching the BBS website OR

• Reading the social work section of the

Laws and Regulations (updated annually

in January).

California Licensing Board

The Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS)

BBS Website: www.bbs.ca.gov

E-mail: BBSWebMaster@dca.ca.gov

In subject line put Attn LCSW Evaluator

Call LCSW Evaluators: (916) 574-7851 or

7852

Strategies for Success

Complete clinical supervision hours within the six-year time frame.

Document clinical experience and supervision hours as you go.

Develop and implement a study plan 4-6 months prior to sitting for an exam.

Take one exam per year until both are passed.

Strategies for Success

Determine your greatest weaknesses and

develop strategies to overcome them.

Complete the coursework prior to completing

supervision hours.

Ask questions of the BBS and NASW-CA.

Refer to “How to obtain a LCSW in CA” at

www.naswca.org.

Professional Liability Insurance

A must regardless of where you work

NASW’s Assurance Services Inc. program

provides NASW professional social worker

support:

– Directly: Ethics consultation, info and education

– Indirectly: License board and policy monitoring,

advocacy

http://www.naswassurance.org

Licensed and From Another State?

There is no license reciprocity, you must

show completion (equivalency) of all CA

requirements

CSWE accredited MSW or CSWE evaluated

out of country degree

Meet all required course and experience

requirements

Out of State Experience Hours

If you have been licensed as a clinical social

worker in another state for at least four years,

you have met the Board's experience

requirements for licensure.

If you have been licensed as a clinical social

worker in another state for less than four

years, you must provide verification that you

completed 3,200 hours of supervised work

experience and 104 weeks of supervision

Moving to Another State?

Research the state’s licensing requirements

on the Association of Social Work Boards

website. www.aswb.org.

Members contact the state’s NASW chapter

with the questions.

NASW National Web www.socialworkers.org

CA License Statistics (1/1/2015)

Marriage and Family Therapists 37,455

MFT Interns (IMFs) 22,586

Licensed Clinical Social Workers 22,304

Associate Social Workers (ASWs) 16,742

Money Considerations

$32-40 Live Scan Fingerprint

$75.00 ASW Registration Application

$75.00 ASW Annual Registration Renewal

$100.00 Law & Ethics Exam (estimate)

$260.00 ASWB Advanced Clinical Exam

? Pay for Supervision ($60 to $120 per hour)

? Pre-license coursework (in-person, online)

? Exam Prep Course

EXPEDITED LICENSURE FOR SPOUSES OR DOMESTIC PARTNERS OF ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY PERSONNEL

For an applicant’s license/registration to be expedited, the

applicant must:

– Supply evidence that they are married to, or in a domestic

partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member

of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to

a duty station in California under official orders, and;

– Hold a current license/registration in another state, district

or territory of the United States in the profession or vocation

for which the applicant is seeking a license/registration.

Web Resources

NASW “How to Become a LCSW” Document

Under “Hot Topics” at www.naswca.org

NASW Links to Licensing Resources

Under “Licensing” at www.naswca.org

NASW Pre-licensure Coursework

Under “Professional Development” www.naswca.org

Web Resources

BBS Forms and Publications

www.bbs.ca.gov/forms.shtml

BBS Subscriber List

www.dca.ca.gov/webapps/bbs/subscribe.php

BBS Newsletters

www.bbs.ca.gov/forms.shtml#exam

Web Resources

BBS Laws and Regulations (updated annually)

www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/publications/lawsregs.pdf

Association of Social Work Boards www.aswb.org

National NASW Websites www.socialworkers.org

www.helpstartshere.org