Title of Regulation: 18VAC140-20. Regulations Governing the Practice of Social Work (amending 18VAC140-20-70).

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

Public Hearing Information: No public hearings are scheduled.

Public Comment Deadline: September 5, 2018.

Effective Date: September 20, 2018.

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: Regulations are promulgated under the general authority of § 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia, which provides the Board of Social Work the authority to promulgate regulations to administer the regulatory system, and under a specific mandate in Chapter 82 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly.

Purpose: The purpose of the amended regulation is to make the process of licensure less burdensome for a few applicants who have difficulty in passing the examination, but the amended regulation will continue to protect the public by requiring oversight and supervised practice after repeated failures.

Rationale for Using Fast-Track Rulemaking Process: The regulation requiring an extra year or supervised practice after two failures of the examination is more burdensome than the board intended. An applicant could fail the examination twice in the first six months; the board intended that the additional year of supervision be required after failure to pass the examination within two years. Therefore, the proposal is using the fast-track rulemaking process to more closely reflect the board's intent. The amended regulation will give a few applicants multiple chances to pass the licensure examination before they must register for supervision. The provision is permissive and not controversial.

Substance: The board has amended 18VAC140-20-70 to revise the requirement that an applicant who has failed the licensure examination twice must register for supervision and complete another year as a supervisee before approval to retake the examination is granted. The revised regulation will allow an applicant to retake the examination as many times as he wishes within two two-year periods before he has to complete an extra year of supervised practice. The examination may be taken up to four times in a year, so an applicant would potentially be able to take it 16 times before he is required to have an additional year of supervised practice.

Issues: There are no real advantages or 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. The Board of Social Work (Board) proposes to allow an applicant to retake the social worker or clinical social worker licensing examination as many times as the applicant wishes within two two-year periods before he or she has to complete an extra year of supervised practice.

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

Estimated Economic Impact. Originally, an applicant for a social worker or clinical social worker license was allowed a two-year period in which to pass the licensing exam without being required to register for supervision for an additional year. In a recent action¹ the Board inadvertently reduced the two-year window by limiting the number of times an applicant can retake the exam to only two attempts. For example, under the recently amended language an applicant who fails the exam twice within the first six months of the two-year period is required to register for supervision. The board proposes to remove the two-exam limitation and allow an additional two-year period to pass the exam before the supervision requirement is triggered. Under the proposed change, applicants will be allowed to take the licensure exam as many times as they like over a four-year window. The exam is offered four times a year, or 16 times over four years.²

The proposed change is beneficial to the applicants. The applicants will have up to 14 more times to pass the exam prior to triggering the supervision requirement. More chances to retake the exam will reduce the likelihood of having to obtain one additional year of supervised experience. Obtaining supervised experience could be costly. Some workplaces such as government agencies, hospitals, or schools may be providing free supervision; but at workplaces that do not, the applicant must find a supervisor and must pay for it. Online research³ indicates that supervisors usually charge about the same as their hourly therapy rate, which ranges from $100 to $150, but also provide group supervision to up to five supervisees at $35 to $50 per person. An applicant is required to obtain at least one hour of supervision for every 40 hours of experience, or 50 hours per year allowing for vacation. The cost of obtaining 50 hours of supervision at $35 per hour and $150 per hour would be $1,750 and $7,500 respectively. Thus, the proposed regulation will benefit those who pass the exam after the first two attempts.

In addition, according to the Department of Health Professions, passage of the examination, graduation from an accredited school of social work, and supervised experience all together would still demonstrate minimal competency. Thus, the proposed regulation should produce a net benefit.

Businesses and Entities Affected. Applicants for licensure as a social worker or a clinical social worker, and their potential supervisors, are potentially affected by the proposed amendment. Since the beginning of 2018, two candidates who failed the exam twice were required to obtain an additional year of supervision.

Last year, 367 individuals passed the exam and were consequently licensed in Virginia. Information from the Association of Social Work Boards indicates that in 2016 the passage rate for first time test takers was 78% nationally, and ranged among the three Virginia schools from 47% to 90%. The passage rate for repeat test takers was 36% and ranged from 14% to 41% among Virginia schools.

Localities Particularly Affected. The proposed amendment does not affect any particular locality more than others.

Projected Impact on Employment. The proposed change will increase the chances of an applicant obtaining a license without an additional year of supervision. Thus, this action will allow affected individuals to practice their social work profession sooner, but at the same time reduce demand for supervision. Given that only two people were affected since the beginning of 2018, no significant impact on employment is likely.

Effects on the Use and Value of Private Property. No significant effect on the use and value of private property is expected.

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. The proposed amendment does not significantly affect small businesses.

Alternative Method that Minimizes Adverse Impact. The proposed amendment does not have costs and other effects on small businesses.

Adverse Impacts:

Businesses. The proposed amendment does not have adverse impacts on businesses.

Localities. The proposed amendment will not adversely affect localities.

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

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¹http://townhall.virginia.gov/l/ViewStage.cfm?stageid=7381.

²Source: Department of Health Professions.

³See for example https://socialworklicensure.org/articles/social-work-supervision, accessed on March 29, 2018.

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

Summary:

The amendments revise requirements so that an applicant may retake the licensure examination as many times as the applicant wishes within two two-year periods before the applicant has to complete an extra year of supervised practice. The examination may be taken up to four times in a year, so an applicant would potentially be able to take it 16 times before the applicant is required to have an additional year of supervised practice.

Part III
Examinations

18VAC140-20-70. Examination requirement.

A. An applicant for licensure by the board as a social worker or clinical social worker shall pass a written examination prescribed by the board.

1. The examination prescribed for licensure as a clinical social worker shall be the licensing examination of the Association of Social Work Boards at the clinical level.

2. The examination prescribed for licensure as a social worker shall minimally be the licensing examination of the Association of Social Work Boards at the bachelor's level.

B. A candidate An applicant approved by the board to sit for an examination shall take that examination within two years of the date of the initial board approval. If the candidate applicant has not passed the examination by the end of the two-year period here prescribed, the applicant shall reapply according to the requirements of the regulations in effect at that time in order to be approved for another two years in which to pass the examination. After an applicant has failed the examination twice, he shall be required to register for supervision and complete one additional year as a supervisee before approval to re-take the examination is granted.

C. If an applicant for clinical social work licensure has not passed the examination within the second two-year approval period, the applicant shall be required to register for supervision and complete one additional year as a supervisee before approval for another two-year period in which to re-take the examination may be granted.