Title of Regulation: 18VAC140-20. Regulations Governing the Practice of Social Work (amending 18VAC140-20-105).

Statutory Authority: § 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Hearing Information: No public hearings are scheduled.

Public Comment Deadline: February 22, 2017.

Effective Date: March 9, 2017.

Agency Contact: Jaime Hoyle, Executive Director, Board of Social Work, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23233-1463, telephone (804) 367-4406, FAX (804) 527-4435, or email jaime.hoyle@dhp.virginia.gov.

Basis: Section 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia authorizes the Board of Social Work to promulgate regulations to administer the regulatory system with a specific mandate enacted by Chapter 82 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly to include provisions for the satisfaction of board-required continuing education through the delivery of health care services, without compensation, to low-income individuals receiving health services through a local health department or a free clinic organized in whole or primarily for the delivery of those health services.

Purpose: The purpose of the amended regulation is to comply with the mandate of the General Assembly and to provide an incentive for licensees to volunteer professional services to free clinics or public health centers. While a licensed clinical social worker or a licensed social worker can satisfy two hours of continuing education with six hours of volunteer service, the clinical social worker is still required to have 28 hours and the social worker is required to have 13 hours of approved continuing education necessary to acquire new knowledge and skills. Therefore, the public health is served by a potential increase in badly needed volunteer service for health care, but public safety is not sacrificed by eliminating most or all of the continuing education hours required for renewal.

Rationale for Using Fast-Track Rulemaking Process: The allowance of hours for volunteer service to be counted towards the continuing education requirement is a mandate of the General Assembly. A licensee is not required to provide volunteer service but may be credited with continuing education hours for doing so. The provisions are permissive and not controversial.

Substance: The board has adopted amended regulations to allow licensed clinical social workers to count two hours of the 30 hours and licensed social workers to count two hours of the 15 hours required for annual renewal to be satisfied through delivery of professional services, without compensation, to low-income individuals receiving health services through a local health department or a free clinic organized in whole or primarily for the delivery of those services. One hour of continuing education may be credited for three hours of providing such volunteer services, as documented by the health department or free clinic.

Issues: The advantage to the public is the incentive given for clinical social workers and social workers to volunteer their services in exchange for credit towards meeting continuing education requirements. There are no disadvantages to the public. There are no advantages or disadvantages to the agency or the Commonwealth.

Department of Planning and Budget's Economic Impact Analysis:

Summary of the Proposed Amendments to Regulation. Pursuant to Chapter 82 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly,¹ the Board of Social Work (Board) proposes to allow six hours of volunteer work to be substituted for up to two hours of continuing education biennially for clinical and non-clinical social workers.

Result of Analysis. The benefits likely exceed the costs for all proposed changes.

Estimated Economic Impact. Chapter 82 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly requires all health boards to promulgate regulations to accept volunteer work provided to low-income individuals through local health departments or free clinics in lieu of the required continuing education. Pursuant to the legislative mandate, the Board proposes to accept three hours of volunteer work in satisfaction of one hour of continuing education from clinical and non-clinical social workers. The limit on the continuing education hours that can be satisfied by volunteer work is two hours every two years. Currently, clinical and non-clinical social workers are required to take 30 and 15 hours of continuing education every two years respectively for biennial renewal of their licenses.

The proposed change will allow affected professionals to substitute volunteer work for continuing education. The educational value of volunteer services may vary depending on each person's experience. However, the two-hour limit on the continuing education hours that can be gained through this method is a relatively small portion of the biennially required 30 or 15 hours.

Also, it is not clear whether the ratio of required three hours per continuing education hour is sufficient by itself to provide enough incentives to offer volunteer service.  It appears easier for social workers to spend one hour acquiring continuing education than to spend three hours providing free services. However, it is reasonable to expect that the additional incentive provided by the proposed regulation would lead to increased volunteer hours by convincing social workers who are indecisive at the margin about providing such services. The proposed regulation will also help those professionals who have already been providing volunteer services at the qualified locations by allowing them to earn continuing education credit for their charity work.

In any event, the proposed regulation allows substitution of volunteer work for continuing education, but does not mandate it. A professional choosing to do volunteer work in lieu of the continuing education reveals that he or she benefits more from doing so.

Businesses and Entities Affected. Currently, there are 6,458 clinical social workers and 739 social workers licensed in Virginia. According to data provided by the Virginia Employment Commission, there are 444 establishments in the industry category of the affected entities, which include mental health services not directly affected by the proposed regulation (e.g., clinical psychologists' and psychoanalysts' offices, etc.). All of the 444 establishments in that category satisfy the small business criteria. The number of continuing education providers is not known.

Localities Particularly Affected. The proposed changes apply statewide.

Projected Impact on Employment. The proposed regulation may lead to a decrease in demand for continuing education services. However, the two-hour limit on the continuing education hours that can be gained through this method is a relatively small portion of the biennially required 30 or 15 hours.  In addition, the substitution of voluntary work for continuing education hours is voluntary and may not be exercised by all practitioners.

Effects on the Use and Value of Private Property. The potential impact on the asset value of continuing education providers is not known with certainty, but appears to be small.

Real Estate Development Costs. No impact on real estate development costs is expected.

Small Businesses:

Definition. Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia, small business is defined as "a business entity, including its affiliates, that (i) is independently owned and operated and (ii) employs fewer than 500 full-time employees or has gross annual sales of less than $6 million."

Costs and Other Effects. All of the affected social work establishments are small businesses. The proposed amendments do not impose costs on them. Most providers of continuing education services are probably small businesses as well. The proposed regulation may decrease the demand for their services by a small amount.

Alternative Method that Minimizes Adverse Impact. There is no known alternative that minimizes the potential small adverse impact on providers of continuing education services while achieving the same goals.

Adverse Impacts:

Businesses. The proposed amendments do not have an adverse impact on non-small businesses.

Localities. The proposed amendments will not adversely affect localities.

Other Entities. The proposed amendments will not adversely affect other entities.

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¹ http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?161+ful+CHAP0082

Agency Response to Economic Impact Analysis: The Board of Social Work concurs with the analysis of the Department of Planning and Budget.

Summary:

Pursuant to Chapter 82 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly, the amendments allow licensed clinical social workers and social workers to substitute six hours of volunteer work for two hours of continuing education required by the Board of Social Work.

18VAC140-20-105. Continued competency requirements for renewal of an active license.

A. Licensed clinical social workers shall be required to have completed a minimum of 30 contact hours of continuing education and licensed social workers shall be required to have completed a minimum of 15 contact hours of continuing education prior to licensure renewal in even years. Courses or activities shall be directly related to the practice of social work or another behavioral health field. A minimum of two of those hours must pertain to ethics or the standards of practice for the behavioral health professions or to laws governing the practice of social work in Virginia. Up to two continuing education hours required for renewal may be satisfied through delivery of social work services, without compensation, to low-income individuals receiving health services through a local health department or a free clinic organized in whole or primarily for the delivery of those services, as verified by the department or clinic. Three hours of volunteer service is required for one hour of continuing education credit.

1. The board may grant an extension for good cause of up to one year for the completion of continuing education requirements upon written request from the licensee prior to the renewal date. Such extension shall not relieve the licensee of the continuing education requirement.

2. The board may grant an exemption for all or part of the continuing education requirements due to circumstances beyond the control of the licensee such as temporary disability, mandatory military service, or officially declared disasters upon written request from the licensee prior to the renewal date.

B. Hours may be obtained from a combination of board-approved activities in the following two categories:

1. Category I. Formally Organized Learning Activities. A minimum of 20 hours for licensed clinical social workers or 10 hours for licensed social workers shall be documented in this category, which shall include one or more of the following:

a. Regionally accredited university or college academic courses in a behavioral health discipline. A maximum of 15 hours will be accepted for each academic course.

b. Continuing education programs offered by universities or colleges accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

c. Workshops, seminars, conferences, or courses in the behavioral health field offered by federal, state or local social service agencies, public school systems or licensed health facilities and licensed hospitals.

d. Workshops, seminars, conferences or courses in the behavioral health field offered by an individual or organization that has been certified or approved by one of the following:

(1) The Child Welfare League of America and its state and local affiliates.

(2) The National Association of Social Workers and its state and local affiliates.

(3) The National Association of Black Social Workers and its state and local affiliates.

(4) The Family Service Association of America and its state and local affiliates.

(5) The Clinical Social Work Association and its state and local affiliates.

(6) The Association of Social Work Boards.

(7) Any state social work board.

2. Category II. Individual Professional Activities. A maximum of 10 of the required 30 hours for licensed clinical social workers or a maximum of five of the required 15 hours for licensed social workers may be earned in this category, which shall include one or more of the following:

a. Participation in an Association of Social Work Boards item writing workshop. (Activity will count for a maximum of two hours.)

b. Publication of a professional social work-related book or initial preparation/presentation of a social work-related course. (Activity will count for a maximum of 10 hours.)

c. Publication of a professional social work-related article or chapter of a book, or initial preparation/presentation of a social work-related in-service training, seminar, or workshop. (Activity will count for a maximum of five hours.)

d. Provision of a continuing education program sponsored or approved by an organization listed under Category I. (Activity will count for a maximum of two hours and will only be accepted one time for any specific program.)

e. Field instruction of graduate students in a Council on Social Work Education-accredited school. (Activity will count for a maximum of two hours.)

f. Serving as an officer or committee member of one of the national professional social work associations listed under subdivision B 1 d of this section or as a member of a state social work licensing board. (Activity will count for a maximum of two hours.)

g. Attendance at formal staffings at federal, state, or local social service agencies, public school systems, or licensed health facilities and licensed hospitals. (Activity will count for a maximum of five hours.)

h. Individual or group study including listening to audio tapes, viewing video tapes, reading, professional books or articles. (Activity will count for a maximum of five hours.)