Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart
1.
Purpose of continuing education.
The purpose
of mandatory continuing education is to:
A. promote the health and safety of the
residents of Minnesota who receive services from licensees; and
B. promote the continuing professional
competence of providers of these services.
The continued development and maintenance of competence are
ongoing activities and the ethical responsibility of each licensee. Continuing
education is only required of licensed marriage and family therapists. Licensed
associate marriage and family therapists are not required to complete
continuing education for license renewal.
Subp. 2.
Continuing education
requirements.
Licensees must complete a minimum of 40 hours of
board-approved continuing education every two years. Three hours in ethical and
professional studies education covering professional ethics, family law,
professional socialization, professional organizations, legal issues, or
interprofessional cooperation must be included in the required 40 hours.
Board-approved supervisors must meet the continuing education requirements
specified in part
5300.0170, item D. The required
number of hours shall be prorated for persons who are initially licensed during
a given reporting period. Licensed marriage and family therapists must attest
to the board as to completion of the required hours upon renewal of the license
in each odd-numbered year.
Subp.
3.
Attestation of continuing education
completion.
At time of license renewal in each odd-numbered year or
at the time of application for reinstatement of a license, a licensed marriage
and family therapist must attest to completion of a minimum of 40 approved
continuing education hours since last renewal or the minimum number required
for reinstatement. Failure to complete the attestation required will result in
nonrenewal of licensure.
Subp.
4.
Documentation.
All licensees shall retain
original documentation of completion of continuing education hours for a period
of five years. The information must include:
A. course or activity title;
B. name of sponsor of the course or
activity;
C. continuing education
approval number assigned by the board;
D. date the licensee attended or completed
the program or activity;
E. number
of continuing education hours for the program or activity; and
F. signed certificate of attendance.
For purposes of this subpart, a receipt for payment of the fee
for the program or activity is not sufficient evidence of completion of the
required hours of continuing education.
A copy of a transcript demonstrating successful completion can
be used to document academic coursework. Individual activities may be
documented with a copy of the program where the licensee is a presenter, a
notice of publication of written material, or other material requested by the
board.
In the case of independent study, a summary of the topic, a
comprehensive list of resources used to study the topic, the hours (including
dates) spent in independent study, and the applicability of the study to the
licensee's work must be included.
Subp. 5.
Audit of continuing
education.
The board may conduct random audits for the purpose of
verifying continuing education each reporting year. A licensee who is being
audited must provide verification of the required number of continuing
education hours by submitting documentation described in subpart
4. Failure to submit required
documentation shall be grounds for disciplinary action.
Subp. 6.
Courses; board approval
required.
Continuing education activities must be approved by the
board. Activities may be approved for all attendees when submitted by the
sponsor as prescribed in subpart
7 or a licensee may request
individual approval as prescribed in subpart
8.
The board shall consider the following factors in determining
whether an activity should be approved:
A. the activity's relevance to the
therapeutic practices of marriage and family therapy;
B. the activity's relevance to the
development and maintenance of professional skills or marriage and family
therapists;
C. whether the activity
is structured on sound educational principles and fits into one of the
following categories:
(1) structured
educational programs with an instructor as a part of conventions, workshops,
seminars, lectures, interactive media, and graduate and postgraduate courses
from regionally accredited institutions. All course work must include the areas
described in item D; and
(2) home
study courses related to marriage and family therapy as described in item D.
Programs must have an independently graded test component;
D. relation of the activity's proposed topics
to the body of marriage and family therapy knowledge, emphasizing systemic
approaches or theory, research, or practice of psychotherapeutic work with
couples or families;
E. continuing
education for marriage and family therapy that includes the following areas:
(1) historical and theoretical foundations
and contemporary conceptual directions of the field of marriage and family
therapy;
(2) assessment, diagnosis,
and treatment in marriage and family therapy including both dysfunctional
relationship patterns and cognitive, affective, behavioral, or nervous
disorders;
(3) family studies
including the life cycle of the family, the process and modification of family
structures over time, and issues related to ethnicity, race, socioeconomic
status, culture, gender, and sexuality;
(4) human development including human
behavior, personality theory, sexuality, psychopathology, behavior pathology,
and physical and mental impairments and disabilities that affect normal
development;
(5) ethics and
professional studies covering legal responsibilities and liabilities of
licensure, responsible business practices, clinical practice, research, family
law, and confidentiality issues; and
(6) supervision in marriage and family
therapy including theories and practices;
F. whether the instructors or developers of
the activity are qualified by practical or academic experience to teach,
lecture, make presentations, or develop courses; and
G. whether the activity is at least one hour
in length. Time for home study activities is based on developer's research on
average time required for completion.
Subp. 7.
Sponsor's application for
course approval.
Individuals, organizations, associations,
corporations, educational institutions, or groups intending to offer a
continuing education activity must submit to the board a completed application
on a form provided by the board accompanied by the appropriate nonrefundable
fee. The sponsor must comply with items A to D to receive activity
approval.
A. The application for
approval must be submitted at least 60 days before the activity is scheduled to
begin if the sponsor wishes to receive notification of board approval prior to
the commencement of the program.
B.
The application must include the following information to enable the board to
determine whether the course meets the standards for board approval specified
in subpart
6:
(1) a statement of the objectives of the
activity and the knowledge the participants will have gained upon completion of
the activity;
(2) a description of
the content and methodology of the activity which will allow the participants
to meet the objectives;
(3) a
description of the method to be used by the participants to evaluate the
activity;
(4) a list of the
qualifications of each instructor or developer that shows current knowledge and
skill in the activity's subject;
(5) a description of the certificate or other
form of verification of attendance distributed to each participant upon
successful completion of the activity;
(6) a statement that the sponsor agrees to
retain attendance lists for a period of five years from the date the activity
occurs; and
(7) a copy of any
proposed advertisement or other promotional literature for the
activity.
C. If the
board approves an activity, the sponsor shall receive a board approval number.
The approval remains in effect for one year from the date of initial approval.
Upon expiration, a sponsor must submit to the board a new application for
activity approval as required by this subpart.
D. Materials advertising approved activities
may include a statement that the program has been approved by the Minnesota
Board of Marriage and Family Therapy for a certain number of continuing
education hours.
E. The sponsor
must submit proposed changes in an approved activity to the board for its
approval.
F. The board shall deny
approval of an activity if it does not meet the criteria in subpart
6. The board shall notify the
sponsor in writing of its reasons for denying approval of an
activity.
G. The board shall revoke
approval of an activity if a sponsor fails to comply with this subpart, or if a
sponsor falsifies information requested by the board in the application for
approval of an activity.
Subp.
8.
A licensee's application for course approval.
A. A licensee must apply individually for
approval of continuing education activities that have not been approved by the
board. The licensee must submit information required in item B, as well as
other information the board deems necessary to evaluate the course for
approval.
B. A licensee shall
complete and submit to the board, on a form provided by the board, the
following information:
(1) the name and
address of the organization sponsoring the activity;
(2) a detailed description of the content of
the activity;
(3) the name and
credentials of each instructor or presenter; and
(4) the location, including the name and
address of the facility, at which the activity will be conducted.
C. Licensees seeking approval for
an activity not previously approved by the board are encouraged to seek board
approval before attending the activity.
D. If the activity does not meet the
standards in subpart
6, the board shall deny
approval. The board shall notify the licensee in writing of its reasons for
denying approval of an activity under this subpart.
Subp. 9.
Sources of
credit.
Continuing education credit may be applied for the
following programs that comply with the requirements of subpart
6:
A. programs specifically listed in subpart
6, item C;
B. teaching a marriage and family course in
an institution accredited by a regional accrediting association. Continuing
education hours may be earned only for a single time the licensee teaches the
course. The course must be related to marriage and family therapy as described
in subpart
6. Ten continuing education
hours may be earned for each semester credit hour taught. Documentation of this
activity will consist of verification by the institutions department that the
licensee taught the course for an assigned number of credits or
hours;
C. development and
conducting of original research directly related to marriage and family therapy
as described in subpart
6. This activity must be
preapproved by the board. Hours of credit for this activity shall be determined
by the board based on the nature of the project;
D. authoring, editing, or reviewing in an
area of marriage and family therapy as described in subpart
6. Continuing education hours
may be earned only in the year of publication. The maximum hours earned are as
follows:
(1) author of a professional book, 40
hours;
(2) author of a professional
book chapter or journal article, 20 hours;
(3) editor of a professional book or journal,
40 hours; and
(4) journal article
review, three hours per manuscript;
E. developing and delivering presentations at
workshops, seminars, symposia, meetings of professional organizations, or
postgraduate institutes. The presentation must be related to marriage and
family therapy as described in subpart
6. One hour of development
time equals one continuing education hour and up to three hours of development
time may be claimed for each hour of presentation. Continuing education hours
may be earned only for a single presentation by the licensee on the subject
developed; and
F. individually
designed continuing education activity. Licensees may submit proposals for
continuing education activities that do not meet the guidelines in this part.
The proposal request must include the following:
(1) the rationale for pursuing an
individually designed activity;
(2)
specific goals and objectives, and an explanation of how the goals and
objectives are related to the enhancement of the licensee's professional
skills;
(3) an outline of the
topics addressed in the activity;
(4) a description of related resources and
activities;
(5) the proposed
documentation of completion of activity; and
(6) the estimate of time to be expended on
the activity and the number of continuing education hours requested. The board
shall determine the number of hours credited for completion of such activity.
Items D to F require preapproval. The applicant must obtain
preapproval forms from the board.
Subp. 10.
Hours of
credit.
Continuing education shall be credited on an hour-for-hour
basis except as noted in subpart
9.
Subp. 11.
Exemption from continuing
education requirements.
A licensee whose license has not expired
and who meets any of the following conditions is exempt from continuing
education requirements in this part if the licensee files with the board an
affidavit specifying that the licensee:
A. is retired from practice and does not
perform marriage and family therapy services on a volunteer or free
basis;
B. is permanently disabled
and unable to practice marriage and family therapy, accompanied by a signed
statement from the licensees physician; or
C. has been granted emeritus status as
specified in part
5300.0315.
Subp. 12.
Discontinuance of exemption
from continuing education requirements.
A licensee claiming
exemption under subpart
11 who later decides to
resume practice must submit to the board, before resuming practice, a written
notice that the licensee intends to resume practice. The licensee must also
submit evidence that the licensee has completed continuing education
requirements that are equivalent to what the requirements would have been
without the exemption for the five years or any portion of the five years
immediately preceding the date of the notice of intent to resume
practice.
Statutory Authority: MS s
148B.31;
148B.33;
148B.37;
214.06
