A. Purpose
Professional supervision for the LCSW candidate is intended
to enhance professional development and competency and equip the applicant for
autonomous practice. Supervision means the direct review, for the purpose of
training or teaching by a supervisor, of the supervisee's interaction with a
client or client system. The purpose of supervision shall be to promote the
development of the supervisee's social work skills. Supervision occurs through
multiple methods, including live supervision, video/audiotape review and case
report. It must be a process clearly distinguishable from personal
psychotherapy and is conducted in order to serve professional goals.
Interactions which do not constitute supervision include:
peer supervision; supervision by current or former family members or any other
person with whom the nature of the personal relationship prevents or makes
difficult the establishment of a professional supervisory relationship; or a
primarily didactic process wherein techniques or procedures are taught in a
group setting, classroom, seminar, staff development, orientation or
role-playing as a substitute for current social work practice.
B. Prior Approval
All plans for professional post-Master's supervision must be
approved by the Board prior to the beginning of said supervision, i.e., no
retroactive approval of professional supervision will be granted.
Supervisor Approval: A
LCSW who is providing post-Master's supervision to an LCSW candidate must be a
Board-approved LCSW Supervisor, having met all requirements for Supervisor's
and submitted the applicable fee.
LCSW Candidate Approval for
Supervision: A LMSW seeking to become licensed at the LCSW
level must meet all requirements, have submitted all fees and receive written
approval by the Board prior to initiating the supervision experience.
Out-of-state Supervisor: An LCSW who is a
board-approved Supervisor (or its equivalent) in another state, may qualify as
a Mississippi supervisor if the Board finds that he or she meets qualifications
substantially similar as those required by the Board. A separate application
and verification by the respective boards shall be required. In addition, the
applicant must be licensed in the state of Mississippi and pass the Mississippi
LCSW supervisor test.
C.
Approval Procedure
LMSWs wishing to apply for LCSW status must:
1. Hold an active LMSW license with no
pending complaint or disciplinary action and is otherwise in good standing as
evidenced in Board records throughout the duration of the supervisory
process;
2. Submit an Application
to Enter into the Contract for Supervision toward LCSW Status and processing
costs (See Schedule: Part 1902, Chapter 2, Rule 2.3, A)
3. Submit a Plan of Supervision which meets
all points required by the Board (See Part 1902, Chapter 2, Rule 2.3, B) and
the Outline for the Plan for Supervision provided by the Board in the Guide for
Supervision (which may be accessed on the Board's website). All points must be
covered in sufficient detail for review by the Social Work Credentials
Committee and subsequent Board approval. This supervision plan must designate
that the candidate intends to take the ASWB clinical exam. All supervisory
efforts must be aligned with the candidates chosen track of desired
expertise.
4. Licensees who have
completed supervision hours in other jurisdictions may apply to have those
hours count towards their LCSW supervision in Mississippi if the Board finds
that the other jurisdiction processes are similar to Mississippi and
appropriate verification is received from the originating jurisdiction. The
applicant is responsible for ensuring that the Board receives acceptable
verification from the originating jurisdictions.
D. Supervisor's Qualifications and
Responsibilities
Supervision for the LCSW candidate must be provided by an
LCSW who is a Board-approved LCSW Supervisor.
1. Certification as a Supervisor requires:
a. a minimum of two years of verifiable
practice at the LCSW (clinical or macro) level,
b. completion of a Board approved supervision
course for a minimum of sixteen (16) hours for initial approval as a supervisor
and, thereafter, two (2) hours continuing education in supervision during each
biennial renewal period. No supervision continuing education is required for
the first renewal period. All supervision training must be approved by the
Board in order to be considered for this purpose. Supervision trainers must be
an approved LCSW supervisor. Effective April 1, 2009, all Board-approved
supervisors must have completed the Board-approved supervision training
required by this paragraph on or before July 1, 2011, in order to maintain
their status as Board-approved supervisors. If supervisory training
requirements were not met by July 1, 2011, approved supervisor status expired
on that date and the licensee is required to meet all requirements set forth in
these Rules and Regulations to become an approved supervisor.
c. submission of an application for
supervisory designation,
d. an LCSW
license in good standing as evidenced in Board records throughout the duration
of the supervision process,
e.
initial and ongoing_approval from the Board, and
f. payment of the required processing costs
(See Schedule: Part 1902, Chapter 4, Rule
4.3, B).
2. The LCSW Supervisor must
maintain his/her license as a LCSW in accordance with licensure laws of the
State of Mississippi. Board approved supervisor status remains in effect
contingent upon the supervisor maintaining a current license in good standing
with the Board and completing the Board-approved supervisor training required
by these Rules and Regulations, during each license biennial renewal
period.
3. Initial supervisor
approval expires on the date the licensee's regular license next expires.
Thereafter, renewal of supervisor approval begins and expires on the same date
for the supervisor's regular social worker's license. To renew the approved
supervisor status, a supervisor must document at the time of license renewal
that during the concluding license period the supervisor completed a Board
approved supervision course for a minimum of sixteen (16) hours and two (2)
hours continuing education in supervision.
4. It shall be considered unethical for an
LCSW without clinical expertise to supervise a LMSW candidate seeking to become
a clinician.
5. Supervisor may not
supervise more than seven (7) LMSWs who are in candidacy for the LCSW at any
one time. No plan of supervision will be approved if the contracted supervisor
is supervising more than seven (7) licensed master social workers who are in
pursuit of the LCSW licensure designation. If the supervisor provides
supervision for up to seven (7) supervisees, only 50% of the supervision can
take place in a group format. Hence, 50% of supervisory interactions must take
place in the form of individual, face-to-face interaction.
6. The LCSW Supervisor may provide
supervision utilizing the following acceptable modes:
a. Individual supervision shall mean a
maximum of two (2) supervisees meeting with one supervisor;
b. Group supervision shall consist of a
minimum of three (3) and a maximum of seven (7) supervisees meeting with one
supervisor.
E.
The Supervisory Experience
1. Supervision
must occur within an agency, institution, or group practice setting. A LMSW
practicing independent of an agency, institution, or group practice setting
will be practicing outside Board regulations, and therefore, will not be
considered a candidate for LCSW supervision, and may face disciplinary
action.
2. In order to be approved
by the Social Work Discipline Specific Committee of the Board, the supervision
application and experience must include the following:
a. A contractual agreement between social
worker and supervisor;
b. A Plan of
Supervision, approved by the Board, utilizing the plan outline provided by the
Board;
c. The supervisee having a
minimum of one hour per week face-to-face supervision with the LCSW supervisor
for a minimum of one hundred (100) hours. The supervision period must be for a
minimum period of twenty-four (24) months and may not exceed thirty-six (36)
consecutive months.
Within sixty (60) calendar days prior to the end of the
thirty-six (36) month supervision time period, the supervisor or supervisee
must notify the Board in writing of any extenuating circumstances (i.e. Major
Medical Issues, Loss of Employment, Family Crisis, etc), anticipated by the
supervisor and/or supervisee that would require an extension of the supervisory
period. Any request for an extension of the supervision period must be
accompanied by supporting evidence of the extenuating circumstances. An
extension will be limited to six months beyond the thirty-six (36) month
maximum. Retroactive requests for extensions will be considered on a
case-by-case basis.
Supervisees may receive up to four (4) hours credit for
developing the supervision plan collaboratively with their prospective
supervisor;
For supervisors and supervisees who are not employed within
the same agency, there must be a written plan approved by the Board to address
how the LCSW Supervisor will insure that the face-to-face supervision is
observed or carried out. Such face-to-face supervision must include onsite
visits to the supervisees practice location at least once per six (6) month
supervision period;
Supervision may include alternate means of supervision by
audiovisual electronic device (i.e. skype, facetime, webex, etc.) provided
there is direct, interactive, live exchange between the supervisor and
supervisee or provided that communication is verbally or visually interactive
between the supervisor and the supervisee. It is incumbent that the supervisor
and supervisee recognize the risks of sharing confidential information of
clients and ensure that measures are in place that protect confidentiality
through electronic encryption or related methods. No more than one-fourth (1/4)
of the required hours may be by alternate means to direct face-to-face contact
for a total of twenty-five (25) hours;
d. During the supervision period, the LMSW
must complete a minimum of one-thousand (1,000) hours of face-to-face client
contact;
e. Evaluations should
document personal growth and improvement in specific areas from one evaluation
period to the next evaluation period. See Instructions for Supervisors,
Supervision Evaluation For Post-Master's Professional Supervision. Written
evaluations from the supervisor must be submitted to the Board for review at
six (6) month intervals and approved by the Board before beginning the next six
(6) month supervision and evaluation period. A copy of each evaluation must be
maintained in the LCSW Supervisor's file for a period of three (3) calendar
years.
3. The applicant
seeking LCSW designation must submit with the final evaluation forms, three (3)
form letters of reference from appropriate professionals which indicate that
the applicant's conduct is congruent with social work law and ethics and that
there are no violations of standards of practice as set forth in the statute
and the regulations. Forms are available on the Board's website.
F. How To Change Supervisors
1. If it is necessary for supervision to be
terminated, prior to the completion of the supervision experience between an
LCSW candidate and their LCSW supervisor, the terminating supervisor is
responsible for completing a current evaluation form and a Termination of
Supervision Form on which the LCSW supervisor shall verify the total number of
supervised hours. The documents must be submitted to the Board for review
within thirty (30) calendar days of the termination of supervision.
2. The Board shall review the supervision
record along with the termination contract to determine the extent to which the
supervision process is completed up to the date submitted to the
Board.
3. If supervision is to be
continued with another LCSW supervisor, the LMSW in candidacy for the LCSW must
submit to the Board:
a. a new Application to
Enter Into Contract for Supervision toward LCSW status, listing the prospective
LCSW Board approved supervisor;
b.
the supervisory contract signed by the new LCSW Board approved supervisor;
and
c. any revisions necessary to
the plan under the new supervision agreement.
G. Termination of Supervision Agreement
The Board, on its own motion or on the complaint of any
party, and after notice and an opportunity to be heard, may terminate or
suspend a supervision agreement/contract for cause.
