Delaware Administrative Code
Title 24 - Regulated Professions and Occupations
Department of State
Division of Professional Regulation
3900 - Board of Social Work Examiners
Section 3900-3.0 - Licensure of Licensed Clinical Social Workers

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 two years and not more than five 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:

3.1.3 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:

3.1.6 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).

3.2.1 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 master's level social worker (LMSW), a licensed psychologist, or a licensed psychiatrist. 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:

3.2.5 Professional supervision is not acceptable to the Board where applicants for licensure have simultaneously supervised one another.