2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 14 - Social Workers › ARTICLE 4 - Licensure › Section 4996.17.2.

4996.17.2. (a) This section applies to persons with education gained from an out-of-state school or experience gained outside of California who apply for licensure or registration and who do not qualify for a license under Section 4996.17.1.
(b) The board shall accept experience gained outside of California for the purpose of satisfying the licensure requirements if the experience is substantially the equivalent to the requirements of this chapter. If the applicant has fewer than 3,000 hours of qualifying supervised experience, the board shall accept as qualifying experience the amount of time the applicant held an active license in good standing in another state or country as a clinical social worker at the highest level for independent practice at a rate of 100 hours per month, up to a maximum of 1,200 hours.
(c) The board shall accept education gained from an out-of-state school for purposes of satisfying licensure or registration requirements if the applicant has received a master’s degree from an accredited school of social work, or complies with subdivision (e) of Section 4996.18.
(d) In addition to the experience and education described in subdivisions (b) and (c), the applicant shall pass, or have passed, the licensing examinations as specified in Section 4996.1 and pay the required fees. Issuance of the license is conditioned upon all of the following:
(1) The applicant has supervised experience as described in subdivision (b).
(2) Completion of the coursework or training specified in this paragraph taken from an accredited school or department of social work, a school, college, or university accredited by a regional or national institutional accrediting agency that is recognized by the United States Department of Education, a school, college, or university that is approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, or from a continuing education provider that is identified as acceptable to the board pursuant to Section 4996.22. Undergraduate coursework shall not satisfy this requirement. This coursework may be completed while registered as an associate, unless otherwise specified.
(A) A minimum of seven contact hours of training or coursework in child abuse assessment and reporting, as specified in Section 28, and any regulations promulgated thereunder.
(B) A minimum of 10 contact hours of training or coursework in human sexuality, as specified in Section 25, and any regulations promulgated thereunder.
(C) A minimum of 15 contact hours of training or coursework in alcoholism and other chemical substance dependency, as specified by regulation.
(D) A minimum of 15 contact hours of coursework or training in spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection, and intervention strategies.
(E) A minimum of 10 contact hours of coursework in aging and long-term care, as specified in Section 4996.25.
(F) Completion of a 12-hour course in California law and professional ethics. The content of the course shall include, but not be limited to, the following: advertising, scope of practice, scope of competence, treatment of minors, confidentiality, dangerous patients, psychotherapist-patient privilege, recordkeeping, patient access to records, state and federal laws related to confidentiality of patient health information, dual relationships, child abuse, elder and dependent adult abuse, online therapy, insurance reimbursement, civil liability, disciplinary actions and unprofessional conduct, ethics complaints and ethical standards, termination of therapy, standards of care, relevant family law, therapist disclosures to patients, the application of legal and ethical standards in different types of work settings, and licensing law and process. This coursework shall be completed before registration as an associate.
(G) At least one semester unit, or 15 hours, of instruction that includes an understanding of various California cultures and the social and psychological implications of socioeconomic position.
(3) On and after January 1, 2021, an applicant for licensure shall show proof of completion of at least six hours of coursework or applied experience under supervision in suicide risk assessment and intervention using one of the methods specified in Section 4996.27.
(4) The applicant’s license is in good standing and is not suspended, revoked, restricted, sanctioned, or voluntarily surrendered in any state.
(5) The applicant is not currently under investigation in any other state, and has not been charged with an offense for any act substantially related to the practice of social work by any public agency, entered into any consent agreement or been subject to an administrative decision that contains conditions placed by an agency upon an applicant’s professional conduct or practice, including any voluntary surrender of license, or been the subject of an adverse judgment resulting from the practice of social work that the board determines constitutes evidence of a pattern of incompetence or negligence.
(6) The applicant shall provide a certification from each state where the applicant holds a license pertaining to licensure, disciplinary action, and complaints pending.
(7) The applicant is not subject to denial of licensure under Section 480, 4992.3, 4992.35, or 4992.36.
(e) An applicant who obtained a license or registration under another state or country may qualify for licensure with the board without taking the clinical examination specified in Section 4996.1 if both of the following conditions are met:
(1) The applicant obtained a passing score on the clinical licensing examination set forth in regulation as accepted by the board.
(2) The applicant’s license or registration in that state or country is active and in good standing at the time of the application and is not revoked, suspended, surrendered, denied, or otherwise restricted or encumbered.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 647, Sec. 52. (SB 801) Effective January 1, 2022.)