As used in the Social Worker's Licensing Act:

1. "Approved provider of continuing education" means an individual, group, professional association, school, institution, organization, or agency approved by the Board to conduct educational programs;

2. "Approved social work program" means a school of social work or a social work educational program that has been approved by the Board;

3. "Assessment" means the gathering of data about emotional, behavioral, mental, environmental, biopsychosocial, and interactional processes gathered in an effort to identify the client's past and current level of functioning. Assessment may also include the use of standardized psychometric testing instruments upon successful completion of appropriate, specialized courses or training;

4. "Board" means the State Board of Licensed Social Workers, which shall also be known as the State Board of Social Work;

5. "Board approved clinical supervisor" means a licensed clinical social worker who has met the qualifications determined by the Board for supervision in a clinical setting;

6. "Board approved supervisor" means a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who has met the qualifications determined by the Board for licensure as a supervisor;

7. "Case management" means a method to plan, provide, evaluate, and monitor services from a variety of resources on behalf of and in collaboration with a client;

8. "Client" means the individual, couple, family, group, organization, or community that seeks or receives social work services;

9. "Clinical social work practice" means the practice of social work by a social worker including assessment and diagnosis of behavioral disorders, treatment planning, planning intervention, case management, information and referrals, including referrals to an appropriate allopathic or osteopathic physician when the diagnosis or treatment is in question or psychiatric or medical treatment is indicated. Treatment methods include the provision of individual, marital, couple, family and group counseling and psychotherapy based on the education and training of the social worker. Treatment shall not include biological or medical treatments. The practice of clinical social work may include private or independent practice;

10. "Clinical supervision" means an interactional professional relationship between a supervisor and a social worker that provides evaluation and direction over the supervisee's practice of clinical social work and promotes continued development of the social worker's knowledge, skills, and abilities to engage in the practice of clinical social work in an ethical and competent manner;

11. "Consultation" means a problem solving process in which expertise is offered to an individual, couple, family, group, organization or community;

12. "Continuing education" means education and training which are oriented to maintain, improve or enhance the practice of social work;

13. "Continuing education contact hour" means a sixty-minute clock hour of instruction, not including breaks or meals;

14. "Conviction" means conviction of a crime by a court of competent jurisdiction including a finding or verdict of guilt, whether or not the adjudication of guilt is withheld or not entered on admission of guilt, a plea of nolo contendere, or a guilty plea;

15. "Counseling" means a method used by social workers to assist individuals, couples, families and groups in learning how to solve problems and make decisions about personal, health, social, educational, vocational, financial, and other interpersonal concerns;

16. "Diagnosis" means the use of assessment tools such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual or the International Classification of Diseases;

17. "Employment supervision" means the professional relationship between a worksite supervisor and social worker in an employment setting which provides evaluation and direction as it pertains to job-related duties. This type of supervision shall not be accepted towards licensure supervision requirements;

18. "Examination" means a standardized test or examination of social work knowledge, skills and abilities which have been approved by the Board;

19. "Implementation and evaluation" means continuing to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of the treatment plan;

20. "Independent social work practice" means the practice of nonclinical social work by a licensed social worker (LSW), licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) or licensed social worker with administration specialty (LSW-ADM) outside of an organized setting, such as a social, medical, or governmental agency, after completion of all applicable supervision requirements, in which the social worker assumes responsibility and accountability for services provided;

21. "Intervention" means application of techniques utilized to implement the treatment plan appropriate to an assessment;

22. "Licensed clinical social worker" (LCSW) means a person duly licensed to practice clinical social work under the Social Worker's Licensing Act;

23. "Licensed masters social worker" (LMSW) means a person duly licensed to practice social work under the Social Worker's Licensing Act and who holds a master's degree in social work;

24. "Licensed social work associate" (LSWA) means a person duly licensed to practice social work under the Social Worker's Licensing Act;

25. "Licensed social worker with administration specialty" (LSW-ADM) means a person duly licensed to practice administrative social work under the Social Worker's Licensing Act;

26. "Licensed social worker" (LSW) means a person duly licensed to practice social work under the Social Worker's Licensing Act;

27. "Licensee" means a person duly licensed under the Social Worker's Licensing Act;

28. "Licensure supervisor" means a licensed social worker who has met the qualifications determined by the Board for a licensure supervisor;

29. "Nonclinical social work" means the practice of social work by a social worker to include but not be limited to case management, consultation, education, advocacy and community organization, but excluding counseling in independent practice, psychotherapy, treatment and diagnosis;

30. "Nonclinical supervision" means the supervision of social work practice by a social worker to include but not be limited to case management, consultation, education, advocacy and community organization;

31. "Practice of social work" means the professional activity of helping individuals, groups or communities enhance or restore their capacity for physical, social and economic functioning and the professional application of social work values, principles and techniques in areas such as clinical social work, social service administration, social planning, social work consultation and social work research to one or more of the following ends: Helping people obtain tangible services; counseling with individuals, families and groups; helping communities or groups provide or improve social and health services; and participating in relevant social action. The practice of social work requires knowledge of human development and behavior; of social economic and cultural institutions and forces; and of the interaction of all of these factors. Social work practice includes the teaching of relevant subject matter and of conducting research into problems of human behavior and conflict. Except as otherwise provided in the Social Worker's Licensing Act, reference to the "practice of social work" shall be the practice of a person licensed under the Social Worker's Licensing Act;

32. "Private practice of clinical social work" means the practice of social work performed by a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who is wholly or in part self-employed and who assumes responsibility for the nature and quality of the services provided to the client in exchange for direct payment or third-party reimbursement, rather than a salaried employee of an organization or institution;

33. "Psychotherapy" means the use of treatment methods utilizing a specialized, formal interaction between a clinical social worker and an individual, couple, family, or group in which a therapeutic relationship is established, maintained and sustained to understand unconscious processes, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and psychosocial dynamics, and the diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, conditions and addictions;

34. "Supervision" means the professional relationship between an approved supervisor and a social worker that provides evaluation and direction over the services provided by the social worker and promotes continued development of the social worker's knowledge, skills and abilities to provide social work services in an ethical and competent manner; and

35. "Treatment planning" or "treatment plan" means the organized approach of an assessment to guide the course of behavioral health treatment based upon identified needs, problems and issues.

Added by Laws 1980, c. 124, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 1980. Amended by Laws 2003, c. 85, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2003; Laws 2011, c. 146, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2011; Laws 2014, c. 95, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2014.