License: Social Worker, Registered

Department of Health Professions Board of Social Work

6606 West Broad Street

4th Floor

Richmond, VA 23230-1717

(804) 662-9908

Requirements for licensure by examination as a licensed social worker. A. In order to be approved to sit for the board-approved examination for a licensed social worker, an applicant shall: 1. Meet the education requirements prescribed in 18VAC140-20-60 A. 2. Submit in one package to the board office: a. A completed notarized application; b. The application fee prescribed in 18VAC140-20-30; and c. Official transcript or transcripts in the original sealed envelope submitted from the appropriate institutions of higher education directly to the applicant. B. In order to be licensed by examination as a licensed social worker, an applicant shall: 1. Meet the education and experience requirements prescribed in 18VAC140-20-60; and 2. Submit, in addition to the application requirements of subsection A, the following: a. Documentation, on the appropriate forms, of the successful completion of the supervised experience requirements of 18VAC140-20-60 along with documentation of the supervisor's out-of-state license where applicable. An applicant whose former supervisor is deceased, or whose whereabouts is unknown, shall submit to the board a notarized affidavit from the present chief executive officer of the agency, corporation or partnership in which the applicant was supervised. The affidavit shall specify dates of employment, job responsibilities, supervisor's name and last known address, and the total number of hours spent by the applicant with the supervisor in face-to-face supervision; b. Verification of a passing score on the board-approved national examination; and c. Documentation of applicant's out-of-state licensure where applicable. Education and experience requirements for licensed social worker. A. Education. The applicant shall hold a bachelor's or a master's degree from an accredited school of social work. Graduates of foreign institutions must establish the equivalency of their education to this requirement through the Foreign Equivalency Determination Service of the Council on Social Work Education. B. Master's degree applicant. An applicant who holds a master's degree may apply for licensure as a licensed social worker without documentation of supervised experience. C. Bachelor's degree applicant. Supervised experience in all settings obtained in Virginia without prior written board approval will not be accepted toward licensure. Supervision begun before November 26, 2008, that met the requirements of this section in effect prior to that date will be accepted until November 26, 2012. 1. Hours. Bachelor's degree applicants shall have completed a minimum of 3,000 hours of supervised post-bachelor's degree experience in casework management and supportive services under supervision satisfactory to the board. A minimum of one hour and a maximum of four hours of face-to-face supervision shall be provided per 40 hours of work experience for a total of at least 100 hours. 2. Experience shall be acquired in no less than two nor more than four years from the beginning of the supervised experience. D. Requirements for supervisors. 1. The supervisor providing supervision shall hold an active, unrestricted license as a licensed social worker with a master's degree, or a licensed social worker with a bachelor's degree and at least three years of postlicensure social work experience or a licensed clinical social worker in the jurisdiction in which the social work services are being rendered. If this requirement places an undue burden on the applicant due to geography or disability, the board may consider individuals with comparable qualifications. 2. The supervisor shall: a. Be responsible for the social work practice of the prospective applicant once the supervisory arrangement is accepted by the board; b. Review and approve the assessment and service plan of a representative sample of cases assigned to the applicant during the course of supervision. The sample should be representative of the variables of gender, age, assessment, length of service and casework method within the client population seen by the applicant. It is the applicant's responsibility to assure the representativeness of the sample that is presented to the supervisor. The supervisor shall be available to the applicant on a regularly scheduled basis for supervision. The supervisor will maintain documentation, for five years post supervision, of which clients were the subject of supervision; c. Provide supervision only for those casework management and support services activities for which the supervisor has determined the applicant is competent to provide to clients; d. Provide supervision only for those activities for which the supervisor is qualified; and e. Evaluate the supervisee in the areas of professional ethics and professional competency. 3. Supervision between members of the immediate family (to include spouses, parents, and siblings) will not be approved. Examination requirement. A. An applicant for licensure by the board as a social worker or clinical social worker shall pass a written examination prescribed by the board. B. The board shall establish passing scores on the written examination. C. A candidate approved by the board to sit for an examination shall take that examination within two years of the date of the initial board approval. If the candidate has not passed the examination by the end of the two-year period here prescribed, the applicant shall reapply according to the requirements of the regulations in effect at that time.