Code of Colorado Regulations
700 - Department of Regulatory Agencies
726 - Division of Professions and Occupations - State Board of Social Work Examiners
4 CCR 726-1 - SOCIAL WORK EXAMINERS RULES AND REGULATIONS
Section 4 CCR 726-1.14 - LICENSURE BY EXAMINATION (C.R.S. section 12-245-404)

Universal Citation: 4 CO Code Regs 726-1 § 14

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, March 25, 2025

A. Criteria for application.

1. The applicant must submit to the Board a completed application for licensure, all fees, official transcript(s), and all supporting documentation required by the Board in order for the Board to review the application for licensure.

2. Applications for licensure remain active for one (1) year. If the applicant fails to become licensed within this time period, s/he must submit a new application and fee and must meet the educational, experience, and examination requirements in effect at the time of the date of the new application. The Board, in its sole discretion, may extend an application upon written request accompanied by a showing of good cause.

3. An applicant for licensure must pass the required examination no more than five (5) years prior to the date of the application for licensure. Experience and supervision requirements that predate the application by more than five (5) years will not be accepted by the Board absent a showing of good cause, as determined by the Board. However, this may not apply in those exceptions allowable under statute concerning clinical social worker candidates.

4. All applicants for licensure have a continuing obligation to update their application with information changes from the original application at any time prior to licensure.

B. Education and Training Requirements.

1. Accredited Program. The applicant obtained a master's degree in social work from a program that was approved by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) or a doctoral degree in social work from a doctoral program within a social work education program accredited by the CSWE.
a. For the purpose of licensure as a social worker (LSW), "graduate school of social work" includes a social work program or a doctoral social work education program approved or accredited by the CSWE; or a CSWE candidacy program.
(1) If during the term of the LSW's licensure, the CSWE candidacy program is not accredited, the LSW must notify the Board within 30 days.

(2) If the LSW's program is not accredited, the board will review the LSW's education, on a case by case basis, for continuation as an LSW.

2. Foreign-trained applicants. Foreign-trained applicants must submit educational credentials to a credentialing agency utilized by the Board for evaluation of equivalency. After course equivalency is established, the Board will evaluate the educational credentials to determine whether or not the program is equivalent by the CSWE.

C. Post-Graduate Experience Requirements. The Board will approve post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice as meeting the requirements for licensure set out in section 12-245-404(2)(c), C.R.S., when that practice satisfies the requirements of this subsection.

1. Definitions. As used in sections 12-245-403 and 12-245-404(2)(c), C.R.S., and in this Rule, unless the context indicates otherwise:
a. "Individual supervision" means supervision rendered to one individual at a time.

b. "Group supervision" means supervision rendered to not more than ten individuals at one time.

c. "Post-master's experience" or "post-doctoral experience" means experience under approved supervision acquired subsequent to the date certified by the degree-granting institution as that on which all requirements for the master's or doctoral degree (whichever is applicable) have been completed.

d. "Practice in social work" means all services included within the definition of social work practice as defined in section 12-245-403, C.R.S.

e. "Clinical Supervision" means personal direction and responsible direction provided in-person or virtually by a supervisor who meets the criteria defined by the Board.
(1) "Personal direction" means direction actually rendered by the approved supervisor.

(2) "Responsible direction" or "direction" means the approved supervisor has sufficient knowledge of all clients for whom supervision is provided, including face-to-face contact with the client when necessary, to develop and to monitor effective service delivery procedures and the supervisee's treatment plan. Further, all decisions requiring the special skill, knowledge, and/or training of a social worker are made in collaboration with, and with the approval of, the approved supervisor. Such decisions include, but are not limited to: type, duration, effectiveness, and method of social work services provided; fees and billing procedures; approval of cases; and personal observation, evaluation, oversight, review, and correction of services provided by the supervisee.

f. "Consultation" describes a voluntary relationship between professionals of relative equal expertise or status wherein the consultant offers their best advice or information on an individual case or problem for use by the consultee as s/he deems appropriate in their professional judgment. Consultation is not supervision. Experience under contract for consultation will not be credited toward fulfillment of supervision requirements.

g. "Telesupervision" means clinical supervision conducted through audio/video technology such as videoconferencing or telephone.

2. Certification of Completion. Each applicant shall file with the Board a verified statement signed by their approved clinical supervisor, upon forms supplied by the Board, a verified statement signed under penalty of law by their approved supervisor(s) attesting to the applicant's satisfactory completion of the required post-degree work experience and supervision hours towards licensure as defined in Rule 1.14 under supervision and attesting to the applicant's having met the generally accepted standards of practice during the supervised practice.

3. Clinical Supervision.
a. The Board will accept any of the following as a supervisor:
(1) A licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who, at the time of supervision, was licensed by the Board in the jurisdiction in which the applicant's services were performed.

(2) A social worker may be approved as a supervisor, who, at the time of the supervision, was licensed at the highest possible level in another jurisdiction in which the applicant's services were performed. The Board will consider post-degree supervised experience obtained in another jurisdiction by an individual who is not certified or licensed as a social worker in the other jurisdiction, if the jurisdiction in which such person was practicing did not provide for such certification, licensure listing or registration. The applicant's supervisor shall document to the satisfaction of the Board their competence in the same field of social work as that in which the applicant is seeking licensure.

(3) The Board may, at its discretion, approve hours supervised in another jurisdiction so long as they were supervised fully according to that jurisdiction's laws, rules, and regulations, as verified by the applicant's documentation.

(4) In other rare instances when an LCSW supervisor cannot be secured through tele-supervision such as military personnel working or living overseas, or when circumstances necessitate in-person supervision and an LCSW is not available, the Board, at its discretion, may approve a non-LCSW if:
(a) The applicant documents, to the Board's satisfaction, that telesupervision is not available and/or adequate for all required supervision hours.

(b) Supervision by a non-LCSW supervisor compromises no more than half of the supervisor's clinical work experience hours (1860), providing no more than half (48 hours) of the total (96) required hours of supervision.

(c) A non-LCSW supervisor is a mental/behavioral health license in good standing, from a nationally recognized profession.

(d) The applicant furnishes from the prospective non-LCSW supervisor:
(i) Documentation to the satisfaction of the Board, of the proposed supervisor's competence in the field of social work

(ii) Documentation showing the supervisor's completion of either a CSWE accredited school's supervision training or that of a nationally or regionally recognized social work professional organization or a government or nonprofit organization; the training must be led by a social worker and focus on MSW students or MSW graduates; and

(iii) A written attestation statement of the proposed non-LCSW supervisor's alignment with the Social Work Code of Ethics.

(iv) Documentation of meeting the CSWE's competencies (e.g. transcripts or CEUs).

b. The approved supervisor shall keep records that will enable them to effectively train, evaluate, and credit the applicant for licensure with the exact number of hours of acceptable post-degree practice of social work as defined in section 12-245-403, C.R.S., and the exact number of hours of supervision completed in compliance with this Rule. The approved supervisor shall keep and make available the records for five years from the date of supervision.

4. Number of hours of post-degree experience practicing social work under supervision.
a. The post-degree experience practicing social work under supervision cannot be completed in fewer than twenty-four months and may involve supervision by more than one approved supervisor as defined in these Rules.

b. The two years of post-degree experience practicing social work under supervision required by section 12-245-404(2)(c), C.R.S., must have at least 3,360 hours of applied social work practice obtained in such a manner that they are reasonably uniformly distributed over a minimum of twenty-four months.

c. The post degree hours required under Rule 1.14 must meet the following requirements:
(1) Clinical social work practice for LCSW licensure (as noted in section 12-245-408, C.R.S.):
(a) At minimum, half of the work experience hours (1,680) must include a professional relationship that involves treatment, diagnosis, testing, assessment, or counseling. One or more may occur during any of the following activities:
(i) Assisting individuals or groups to alleviate mental disorders;

(ii) Understanding unconscious or conscious motivation;

(iii) Resolving emotional, relationship, or attitudinal conflicts; or

(iv) Modifying behaviors that interfere with effective emotional, biopsychosocial or intellectual functioning.

(2) The required post-degree work experience and supervision hours noted in Rule 1.14 will only count towards licensure if the applicant is registered as a clinical social worker candidate pursuant to section 12-245-404(4)(a), C.R.S.; licensed, registered or certified in another profession that is authorized to practice those activities stated in section 12-245-202(14), C.R.S.; or listed in the Colorado State Board of Unlicensed Psychotherapists as required in section 12-245-703, C.R.S.; or practicing in an exempt facility as permitted by section 12-245-217(4), C.R.S. This requirement must be met prior to accumulating post-degree work experience and supervision hours.

d. Teaching hours are not acceptable for those hours accumulated under Rule 1.14(C)(4)(c)(1).

5. Number of hours of post-degree supervision.
a. Applicants must receive a minimum of 96 hours of supervision, at least forty-eight of which must be in-person or telesupervision, individual supervision.

b. The post-degree supervision hours must be reasonably distributed over the hours of supervised experience in social work practice in a manner consistent with the accrual of the hours of supervised post-degree experience.

c. With respect to supervision of the teaching of the practice of social work practice (see Rule 1.14), the supervision hours must be reasonably distributed over the teaching experience in a manner consistent with the accrual of the hours of teaching experience.

C. Examination. In accordance with sections 12-245-204(4)(b), 12-245-404(1)(c), 12-245-404(2)(d), C.R.S., the Board establishes these requirements for the licensing examination to demonstrate professional competence in social work. The Board shall admit applicants to the examination once the educational requirements have been met.

1. Jurisprudence Examination. Applicants shall be required to pass a Board developed jurisprudence examination.

2. National Examination. Social work applicants shall take the appropriate examination required for the level of licensure sought, and as approved by the Board.
a. Reexamination. In the event an applicant fails to receive a passing grade on the examination, s/he may apply to the testing service, as contracted with the Board, for reexamination and is subject to the requirements of testing service.

3. Application. An applicant for licensure shall apply directly to the testing service the Board may contract with at the time, to sit for the appropriate examination.

4. Exam Results. Pass/fail examination results will be valid for up to five years after the date of the examination. An applicant who holds a current license in Colorado as a licensed social worker (LSW) may be exempt from this provision, if at the time of submitting an Application for Upgrade from LSW to licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), the applicant has a current, active license in good standing in Colorado as an LSW, and has taken and passed the appropriate examination required for an LCSW.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Colorado may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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