La. Admin. Code tit. 46 § XXV-503

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section XXV-503 - LMSWs Seeking the LCSW Credential

A. Supervision for the LCSW license can begin after the MSW obtains LMSW. Supervision shall be documented on the forms provided by the board.

B. Supervision for the LCSW license is conducted by a board-approved clinical supervisor (BACS). LMSWs may obtain a list of BACS from the board's website or office.

C. The supervision contract shall be completed by the supervisor, the supervisee, and the agency supervisor and shall be submitted to the Board office by the supervisee within 60 days of the first supervision session. Lhe employment verification shall be completed by the employer and shall be submitted by the supervisee along with the supervision contract. Failure to do so shall result in supervision being issued from the date that is 60 days from the date received. A new supervision contract shall be submitted by the supervisee within 60 days of the change when the supervisee changes employment, changes supervisor and/or there is a change in the agency supervisor. If there is a change in employment, the supervisee must also submit a new employment verification. The board office will email the supervisee and supervisor a notice confirming receipt of the supervision contract and the beginning date of supervision, within 60 days of receipt of the contract.

D. LMSWs seeking the LCSW credential must complete a minimum of 5,760 hours of postgraduate social work practice and at least 3,840 hours of that postgraduate social work practice must be under the supervision of a board-approved clinical supervisor (BACS).

E. During the 3,840 hours of supervised practice, 96 hours of face-to-face supervision must occur between the supervisor and supervisee. Supervisory meetings must last no fewer than 30 minutes and no longer than 2 hours. In no case should more than 80 hours of practice occur without a supervisory meeting. Supervision credit shall not be issued for the time-period that this requirement is not met.

F. One-half (48 hours' maximum) of the supervision requirement may be met through group supervision, occurring in increments of no more than two hours per group. No more than five supervisees may participate in a supervision group. In some cases, it may be beneficial to increase the number of group supervision hours. To obtain approval for up to 72 hours of group supervision, the supervisor must submit a written request to the board indicating the rationale for the increase. The board shall consider the request at a regularly scheduled board meeting and notify the supervisor of its decision within 30 business days.

G. School social workers shall count hours of postgraduate social work practice and supervision that occurs when they are employed in a social work position.

H. Occasionally, a need may arise for supervision to occur using electronic communication rather than on a face-to-face basis. The board may consider alternatives to face-to-face supervision if the applicant can demonstrate an undue burden due to hardship, disability or travel time. All situations of remoted supervision must be approved by the board. To receive approval, the supervisee should submit a written request containing specific details to the board. The board shall consider the request at a regularly scheduled Board meeting and notify the supervisor of its decision within 30 business days. If approved, the supervisor and supervisee agree to use secure technology that provided realtime, visual contact among the individuals involved, and adheres to the confidential nature of the supervisory process.

I. The supervisee and supervisor shall keep accurate records of both the dates of supervision sessions and the time spent in supervision, as well as brief information on the content of the supervisory session. Both the supervisor and supervisee will sign for each supervisory session. This information shall be provided on the form entitled record of supervision and should be maintained by the supervisee, upon completion of supervision, this form shall be submitted to the board office. The board may also choose to randomly audit the record of supervision form to verify that supervision occurred in accordance with §503 If irregularities are found, supervision credit shall be reduced to reflect actual supervised time.

J. The supervisor shall also keep a supervision folder and it shall include the following:

1. copy of the supervision contract;

2. narrative of all supervisory sessions, including overview of cases discussed, significant decisions made; any ethical concerns; significant problems arising in supervision, and how they were resolved;

3. copies of memos and correspondence;

4. copy of evaluation of supervision form;

5. copies of the record of supervision.

K. The supervisor has a professional responsibility to honor his/her commitment to supervise responsibly, which includes covering content as indicated in the supervision contract, maintaining accurate records, making themselves available to the supervisee for required sessions and other consultations, and submitting forms on a timely basis. Should the supervisor fail to submit forms appropriately, and on a timely basis, the board reserves the right to withdraw the BACS designation from the supervisor.

L.

1. The supervisee shall provide to the board office the following documents at the end of the supervisory period:

a. evaluation of supervision;

b. record of supervision.

2. The board office does not confirm receipt of these forms. These forms will be reviewed once an application for LCSW is filed by the LMSW.

M. An evaluation of supervision form shall be submitted to the board office at the completion of that supervisor's supervisory period. Sometimes it is necessary for a supervisor to discontinue supervising a LMSW for licensure. When this occurs, no matter what length of time the supervisor actually supervised the supervisee, the supervisor must submit an Evaluation of Supervision form.

N. The professional experience verification record shall be submitted by the supervisee to the board office from each place of employment to verify dates employed and the hours of social work practice completed during the time employed. The professional experience verification record shall be completed by the employer(s).

O. If the LMSW receives supervision outside of the state of Louisiana, that supervision will be accepted if:

1. the supervisor has completed the authorized forms of the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners; and

2. the supervisor is licensed at the time of supervision at a level substantially equivalent to a LCSW-BACS in the other state and submits the license verification of out of state supervisor form (available from board office).

La. Admin. Code tit. 46, § XXV-503

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Board of Certified Social Work Examiners, LR 26:307 (February 2000), amended LR 29:2387 (November 2003), LR 34:1402 (July 2008), LR 37:2620 (September 2011), amended by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Board of Social Work Examiners, LR 40:306 (February 2014), Amended by the Department of Health, Board of Social Work Examiners, LR 43960 (5/1/2017), Amended LR 46791 (6/1/2020).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:2705(C).