Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
An applicant may be granted a license as a Licensed Social
Worker (LSW) if he or she submits to the Board a properly-completed application
for such licensure, accompanied by all of the following:
(1) Satisfactory written or electronic
documentation that he or she possesses one of the following combinations of
education and social work experience:
(a) A
baccalaureate degree in social work (BSW) from an undergraduate school or
program of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, or a
degree from a foreign educational institution which is equivalent to a
baccalaureate degree in social work as determined by the Council on Social Work
Education; or
(b) A baccalaureate
degree in a field other than social work from an accredited college or
university, plus a minimum of 3500 hours of work experience over not less than
two years in the provision of social work services as an employee of an agency,
health care facility or unrelated individual and under the direct supervision
of an individual who meets the requirements of 258 CMR 9.05(2) below;
or
(c) A minimum of two and
one-half years (75 semester hours or 100 quarter hours), but less than four
years, of undergraduate college education at an accredited college or
university, plus a minimum of 8,750 hours of work experience over not less than
five years in the provision of social work services as an employee of an
agency, health care facility or unrelated individual and under the direct
supervision of an individual who meets the requirements of 258 CMR 9.05(2)
below; or
(d) Two years (60
semester hours or 80 quarter hours) of undergraduate college education at an
accredited college or university, plus a minimum of 10,500 hours of work
experience over not less than six years in the provision of social work
services as an employee of an agency, health care facility or unrelated
individual and under the direct supervision of an individual who meets the
requirements of 258 CMR 9.05(2) below; or
(e) One year (30 semester hours or 40 quarter
hours) of undergraduate college education at an accredited college or
university, plus a minimum of 14,000 hours of work experience over not less
than eight years in the provision of social work services as an employee of an
agency, health care facility or unrelated individual and under the direct
supervision of an individual who meets the requirements of 258 CMR 9.05(2)
below; or
(f) A high school
diploma, or its equivalent, plus a minimum of 17,500 hours of work experience
over not less than ten years in the provision of social work services as an
employee of an agency, health care facility or unrelated individual and under
the direct supervision of an individual who meets the requirements of 258 CMR
9.05(2) below.
(2) In
the case of any applicant who is applying for licensure pursuant to any
provision of 258 CMR 9.05(1) other than 258 CMR 9.05(1)(a), satisfactory
written or electronic documentation that he or she completed the required work
experience in the provision of social work services under the direct
supervision of, and received individual, face-to-face supervision at a rate of
not less than one hour of supervision for every thirty-five (35) hours of work
experience from:
(a) An individual who holds
a license as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker issued by the
Board,
(b) An individual who meets
the requirements for licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, but is exempt from the licensure
requirement pursuant to
258 CMR
9.02(1),
(c) An individual who holds a license from
another jurisdiction which authorizes that individual to provide clinical
social work services as an independent practitioner, if the requirements for
the issuance of that license are, in the opinion of the Board, substantially
equivalent to the requirements for licensure as a Licensed Independent Clinical
Social Worker in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
(d) An individual who holds a license as a
Licensed Certified Social Worker issued by the Board pursuant to
258
CMR 9.04;
(e) An individual who meets the requirements
for licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Licensed Certified
Social Worker, but is exempt from the licensure requirement pursuant to
258 CMR
9.02(1);
(f) An individual who holds a license from
another jurisdiction for which the requirements for licensure in that
jurisdiction are, in the opinion of the Board, substantially equivalent to the
requirements for licensure as a Licensed Certified Social Worker in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts; or
(g) An individual who holds at least a
baccalaureate degree in social work (BSW) from an undergraduate school or
program of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, or a
degree from a foreign educational institution which is equivalent to a
baccalaureate degree in social work as determined by the Council on Social Work
Education.
(3)
Satisfactory written or electronic documentation that he or she has passed the
Basic licensure examination administered by the Association of Social Work
Boards, or its successor agency, or an equivalent examination as determined by
the Board, not more than two years prior to the date of his or her
application;
(4) A minimum of three
professional references, on forms furnished for that purpose by the Board or
its agent, from persons familiar with the applicant's professional experience
in the field of social work, attesting that the applicant is of good moral
character and has demonstrated that he or she will conduct his or her
activities as a social worker in accordance with generally accepted standards
of professional social work practice. One such reference shall be from the
person who supervised the applicant in his or her most recent social work
employment setting, a person who is licensed by the Board as a Licensed
Certified Social Worker or Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, or a
person who is eligible for such licensure pursuant to
258
CMR 9.03,
258
CMR 9.04 or
258 CMR
9.07; and
(5) Payment of the licensure fees prescribed
by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance pursuant to M.G.L. c. 7,
§ 3B.
