STATE OF WISCONSIN
Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional
Counseling and Social Work Examining Board
IN THE MATTER OF RULE-MAKING PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY, PROFESSIONAL
COUNSELING AND SOCIAL WORK EXAMINING BOARD
ORDER OF THE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY, PROFESSIONAL
COUNSELING AND SOCIAL WORK EXAMINING BOARD
ADOPTING RULES
(CLEARINGHOUSE RULE 14-057)
ORDER
An order of the Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board to amend MPSW 5.01 (2) and (3) relating to social worker credentials.
Analysis prepared by the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
ANALYSIS
Explanation of agency authority:
Each board shall promulgate rules for its own guidance and the guidance of the profession to which it pertains and define and enforce professional conduct and unethical practices not inconsistent with the law relating to the particular profession.
The Board shall promulgate rules establishing the minimum standards for supervised clinical training that must be completed for licensure as a clinical social worker and establish appropriate educational, training, experience, examination and continuing education requirements for each level of social worker credentials.
Related statute or rule: s. 440.071 Plain language analysis:
Section 1 removes the two requirements which are not in statute for licensure as a clinical social worker. The legislature removed the requirement that the supervised clinical social work practice be completed in no less than 2 years when it inserted the 3,000 hour requirement. This rule removes the requirement which remained in the administrative code after the statutory change. The other requirement is deleting the requirement that the 1,000 hours of face-to-face client contact include “DSM diagnosis and treatment of individuals”. The statute requires only that the 3,000 hours experience be in clinical social work practice. The requirement that the supervised experience must include Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) diagnosis and treatment of individuals is not in the statutes and creates a higher burden on the applicant than the statutory requirements.
Section 2 brings the rule in compliance with Wisconsin 2013 Act 114 which created a provision that a credentialing board may not require a person to complete the postsecondary education before the person is eligible to take an exam. The current rule allows an applicant to take the exam for social worker or advanced practice social worker prior to graduation provided the school confirms the applicant is in good standing and is within 6 months within graduation. The current rules go beyond the statutes by requiring the school to indicate the person is in good standing and limiting the ability of the applicant to decide when to take the test. This rule removes the requirement for the school to confirm the applicant is in good standing and the requirement that the student must be within 6 months of graduation. Summary of, and comparison with, existing or proposed federal regulation: None
Comparison with rules in adjacent states:
Illinois: Illinois does not require completion of education prior to taking the exam. Illinois does not require the supervised clinical hours to be completed in a specified time frame. An applicant is required to obtain 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience in clinical social work practice but does not specifically require “DSM treatment and diagnosis”.
Iowa: Iowa does not require completion of education prior to taking the exam. An applicant is required to have 2 years full time practice or 4,000 hours over a minimum of 2 years and maximum 6 years period of performing psychosocial assessment, diagnosis and treatment. At least one component of the diagnostic practice must include working knowledge of DSM.
Michigan: Michigan does not require completion of education prior to taking the exam. Michigan requires at least 4,000 hours in not less than 2 years. An applicant is required to obtain hours in clinical social work practice but does not specifically require “DSM treatment and diagnosis”.
Minnesota: Minnesota does not require the completion of education prior to taking the exam. Minnesota does not require the supervised clinical hours to be completed in a specified time frame. An application is required to have 200 hours of supervision during not less than 4,000 hours and not more than 8,000 hours of supervised clinical social work practice, which must include both diagnosis and treatment.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies:
The methodology was removing portions of the rule which are inconsistent with statutes.
