Cal. BPC § 4996.23.2 — California Code / Code bpc / Division 2 / Chapter 14 / Article 4 / Section 4996.23.2
Section 4996.23.2
Status: in_force

(a) An associate clinical social worker or applicant for licensure shall only perform mental health and related services as an employee or as a volunteer, not as an independent contractor. The requirements of this chapter regarding hours of experience and supervision shall apply equally to employees and volunteers. An associate or applicant for licensure shall not perform any services or gain any experience within the scope of practice of the profession, as defined in Section 4996.9, as an independent contractor. While an associate may be either a paid employee or a volunteer, employers are encouraged to provide fair remuneration.

(1) If employed, an associate shall provide the board, upon application for licensure, with copies of the corresponding W-2 tax forms for each year of experience claimed. For experience gained during a tax year that has not ended by the date the associate’s application for licensure is received by the board, the associate shall provide the board with a copy of their most recent pay stub.

(2) If volunteering, an associate shall provide the board, upon application for licensure, with a letter from their employer verifying the associate’s status as a volunteer during the dates the experience was gained.

(b) Employment in a private practice or professional corporation shall not commence until the applicant has been registered as an associate clinical social worker.

(c) Experience shall only be gained in a setting that meets both of the following:

(1) Lawfully and regularly provides clinical social work, mental health counseling, or psychotherapy.

(2) Provides oversight to ensure that the associate’s work at the setting meets the experience and supervision requirements set forth in this chapter and is within the scope of practice for the profession as defined in Section 4996.9.

(d) Only experience gained in the position for which the associate clinical social worker volunteers or is employed shall qualify as supervised experience.

(e) Any experience obtained under the supervision of a spouse or relative by blood or marriage shall not be credited toward the required hours of supervised experience. Any experience obtained under the supervision of a supervisor with whom the applicant has had or currently has a personal, professional, or business relationship that undermines the authority or effectiveness of the supervision shall not be credited toward the required hours of supervised experience.

(f) An associate clinical social worker or applicant for licensure who provides voluntary services in any lawful work setting and who only receives reimbursement for expenses actually incurred shall be considered an employee. The board may audit an applicant for licensure who receives reimbursement for expenses and the applicant shall have the burden of demonstrating that the payments received were for reimbursement of expenses actually incurred.

(g) An associate clinical social worker or applicant for licensure who receives a stipend or educational loan repayment from a program designed to encourage demographically underrepresented groups to enter the profession or to improve recruitment and retention in underserved regions or settings shall be considered an employee. The board may audit an applicant who receives a stipend or educational loan repayment and the applicant shall have the burden of demonstrating that the payments received were for the specified purposes.

(h) An associate or applicant for licensure shall not receive any remuneration from patients or clients and shall only be paid by their employer, if an employee.

(i) An associate or applicant for licensure shall have no proprietary interest in their employer’s business and shall not lease or rent space, pay for furnishings, equipment, or supplies, or in any other way pay for the obligations of their employer.

(j) An associate may provide services via telehealth that are in the scope of practice as outlined in this chapter.

(k) Each educational institution preparing applicants pursuant to this chapter shall consider requiring, and shall encourage, its students to undergo individual, marital, conjoint, family, or group counseling or psychotherapy, as appropriate. Each supervisor shall consider, advise, and encourage their supervisees regarding the advisability of undertaking individual, marital, conjoint, family, or group counseling or psychotherapy, as appropriate. Insofar as it is deemed appropriate and is desired by the applicant, educational institutions and supervisors are encouraged to assist the applicant to locate counseling or psychotherapy at a reasonable cost.