24 Del. Admin. Code § 3900-3.0 - Licensure of Licensed Clinical Social Workers
3.1 Experience. In addition to the requirements set forth in Section 2.0, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) applicant must meet the following experience requirements:
3.1.1 The applicant must provide documentation, verified by oath and acceptable to the Board, of not less than 3,200 hours of post-degree supervised clinical social work experience, acceptable to the Board, obtained over a period of not less than 2 years and not more than 5 years. The required 3,200 hours of post-degree clinical social work experience shall be under professional supervision acceptable to the Board. Supervision acceptable to the Board means the professional relationship between a clinical supervisor and a social worker that provides evaluation and direction over the services that the social worker provides and promotes continued development of the social worker's knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide social work services in an ethical and competent manner. The required 3,200 hours of total experience must be completed under the professional supervision of an individual who meets the requirements of subsection 3.2.
3.1.2 In addition to the requirements set forth in subsection 3.1.1, 1,600 of the required 3,200 hours must be clinical experience hours completed under the direct professional supervision of an individual who meets the requirements of subsection 3.2. Direct supervision acceptable to the Board means supervision overseeing the supervisee's application of clinical social work principles, methods or procedures to assist individuals in the continued development of social work knowledge, skills and abilities. The 1,600 hours of supervised clinical experience must be fulfilled as follows:
3.1.2.1 Within the required 3,200 hours of post-degree supervised clinical social work experience, 1,600 clinical experience hours must be completed under direct professional supervision, which means that at least 100 hours shall be 1-to-1 supervision provided by an approved supervisor, pursuant to the requirements of subsection 3.2. The direct supervisory contact must be on a 1-to-1 face-to-face basis or by live video conferencing. Up to 100% of 1-to-1 supervision may be by live video conferencing, at the discretion of the supervisor. Supervision by telephone or e-mail is expressly not permitted.
3.1.3 Hours completed under the supervision of an individual who does not meet the requirements of subsection 3.2 will not count towards the fulfillment of the 3,200 hours of supervised experience.
3.1.4 Supervision must be verified by the "Supervisory Reference Form" which must be completed by the supervisor(s).
3.1.5 Each applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Board through the Supervisory Reference Form(s) that the applicant has satisfactorily completed each of the following practice skills during the 1,600 hours of professionally supervised clinical social work experience:
3.1.5.1 Provides adequate clinical diagnoses and biopsychosocial assessments;
3.1.5.2 Performs short-term and/or long-term interventions;
3.1.5.3 Establishes treatment plans with measurable goals;
3.1.5.4 Adapts interventions to maximize client responsiveness;
3.1.5.5 Demonstrates competence in clinical risk assessment and intervention;
3.1.5.6 Recognizes when personal issues affect clinical objectivity;
3.1.5.7 Recognizes and operates within own practice limitations;
3.1.5.8 Seeks consultation when needed;
3.1.5.9 Refers to sources of help when appropriate; and
3.1.5.10 Practices within established ethical and legal parameters.
3.1.6 Use of professional values, professional knowledge, professional identity and use of self and disciplined approach to the practice environment should be reflected in each of the above listed practice skills.
3.1.7 The Board has the discretion to request a copy of supervisory logs from an applicant who has applied for licensure and who does not provide Supervisory Reference Form(s) or to supplement or clarify the information included on the Supervisory Reference Form(s).
3.2 Acceptable supervisors
3.2.1 Supervision provided by an LCSW in any state or U.S. territory is acceptable to the Board.
3.2.2 When professional supervision by an LCSW is not available, the applicant may be supervised by a licensed psychologist, or a licensed psychiatrist.
3.2.2.1 Grandfathering. Subject to subsection 3.2.2.2, an applicant who started or completed supervision by a licensed master's level social worker (LMSW) on or before September 26, 2024 will meet the Board's supervision requirements, except that an applicant who will not complete the supervision requirements on or before March 26, 2025 must continue any necessary supervision under the supervision of an LCSW, licensed psychologist, or licensed psychiatrist. An LMSW who is supervising an applicant as of September 26, 2024 may continue to supervise the applicant until March 26, 2025.
3.2.2.2 The applicant must provide a compelling clinical reason for utilizing a non-LCSW supervisor. To establish that an LCSW is or was not available to provide supervision, an applicant must submit a notarized statement, on a form provided by the Board, explaining the efforts made to obtain such supervision. The Board has the discretion to accept or reject the applicant's statement that supervision by an LCSW is or was not available.
3.2.3 If a supervisor is or was not an LCSW licensed by the Board, the supervisor must attest that the supervisor has read and is familiar with the requirements for licensure in Delaware, including the applicable statutes, rules and regulations, and that the supervisor has the training to provide clinical supervision.
3.2.4 In addition to these requirements, the LCSW applicant's supervisor must attest to compliance with the following requirements:
3.2.4.1 Has been in practice for at least 3 years post-licensure without having been subject to any disciplinary action;
3.2.4.2 Has obtained a minimum of 3 hours of continuing education (CE) related to clinical supervision; 3 hours of CE in cultural competency and/or diversity and 6 hours in ethics within 4 years of the application; and
3.2.4.3 Has no more than 7 total supervisees at any given time.
3.2.5 Professional supervision is not acceptable to the Board where applicants for licensure have simultaneously supervised one another.
Notes
27 DE Reg.
28 DE Reg.
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