Clinical Social Workers

Clinical Social Workers

We help clinical social workers start their business, complete any transactions with their business, protect their license, sell their business, hire and fire workers and maintain compliance with board rules, Minnesota law and Federal law.

In Minnesota, clinical social workers are licensed primarily by the Minnesota Board of Social Work.  The Social Work Practice Act, Minnesota Statutes, Sections 148E.001 and 148E.280, contains the state laws approved by the Legislature and Governor which regulate the practice of social work in Minnesota. The statute specifies the duties of the Board, who must be licensed to practice and who is exempted, initial licensing requirements for each of the four social work licenses, license renewal and continuing competence requirements, standards for ethical and competent practice, and the specifics of the complaint resolution process.

Licensed Social Worker

Academic Degree:  Baccalaureate degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education or the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work.

Examination:  Passing score on the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) bachelors level national social work licensure examination.

Criminal Background Check:  All applicants for initial licensure must complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check (CBC) within 90 days of the application received date under Minnesota Statutes section 214.075.  If you do not hold a current license, including a temporary license, with the Board you must submit the required fee and comply with fingerprint-based CBC requirements.  If fingerprints are not submitted to the Criminal Background Check Program Office within 90 days of the application received date, the CBC fee is void and a new CBC fee is required. 

Ethical Standards:  Must not have engaged in conduct that would be in violation of the Boards ethical standards of practice.

Supervised Practice:  Supervised practice is not required at the time of initial licensure, but is required once the license is issued. Once licensed 100 hours of direct supervision per 4,000 hours of practice is required. For more information on supervised practice, see Minnesota Statutes sections 148E.100148E.120,148E.125.

Complete Details:  Review Minnesota Statutes section 148E.055 subdivision 2 for LSW

Licensed Graduate Social Worker

Academic Degree: Graduate degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education or the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work.

Examination: Passing score on the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) masters level national social work licensure examination.

Criminal Background Check: All applicants for initial licensure must complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check (CBC) within 90 days of the application received date under Minnesota Statutes section 214.075.  If you do not hold a current license, including a temporary license, with the Board you must submit the required fee and comply with fingerprint-based CBC requirements.  If fingerprints are not submitted to the Criminal Background Check Program Office within 90 days of the application received date, the CBC fee is void and a new CBC fee is required. 

Ethical Standards: Must not have engaged in conduct that would be in violation of the Boards ethical standards of practice.

Supervised Practice: Supervised practice is not required at initial license, but required for the LGSW once the license is issued. If engaged in non-clinical practice, 100 hours of direct supervision per 4,000 hours practice is required. If engaged in clinical practice, 200 hours of supervision over 4,000-8,000 hours of practice is required. For more information on supervised practice, see Minnesota Statutes sections 148E.105,148E.106,148E.120,148E.125.

Complete Details: Review Minnesota Statutes section 148E.055, subdivision 3 for LGSW

Licensed Independent Social Worker

Academic Degree:  Graduate degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education or the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work.

Examination:  Passing score on the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) advanced generalist level national social work licensure examination.

Criminal Background Check:  All applicants for initial licensure must complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check (CBC) within 90 days of the application received date under Minnesota Statutes section 214.075.  If you do not hold a current license, including a temporary license, with the Board you must submit the required fee and comply with fingerprint-based CBC requirements.  If fingerprints are not submitted to the Criminal Background Check Program Office within 90 days of the application received date, the CBC fee is void and a new CBC fee is required. 

Ethical Standards of Practice:  Must not have engaged in conduct that would be in violation of the Boards ethical standards of practice.

Supervised Practice:  Documentation of supervised practice is required to be eligible for the LISW license. 100 hours of direct supervision per 4,000 hours of non-clinical practice is required. For more information on supervised practice, see Minnesota Statutes sections 148E.110, 148E.120148E.125.

Complete Details:  Review Minnesota Statutes section 148E.055, subd 4 for LISW

Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker

Academic Degree and Required Clinical Coursework: Graduate degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education or the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work.

 
360 Clinical Clock Hours: The LICSW license requires documentation of 360 clock hours in the following clinical knowledge areas:
  1. 108 clock hours in differential diagnosis and biopsychosocial assessment, including normative development and psychopathology across the life span
  2. 36 clock hours in assessment-based clinical treatment planning with measurable goals
  3. 108 clock hours in clinical intervention methods informed by research and current standards of practice
  4. 18 clock hours in evaluation methodologies
  5. 72 clock hours in social work values and ethics, including cultural context, diversity, and social policy
  6. 18 clock hours in culturally specific clinical assessment and intervention
 
The 360 clock hours may be satisfied through:
  1. a graduate degree program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work, or a similar accreditation body designated by the board; or a doctorate in social work from an accredited university; or
  2. graduate coursework from an accredited institution of higher learning; or
  3. up to 90 continuing education (CE) hours, not to exceed 20 hours of independent study. The CE must 1) have a course description available for public review and 2) include a post-test.
 

Examination:Passing score on the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) clinical level national social work licensure examination.

 
Criminal Background Check: All applicants for initial licensure must complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check (CBC) within 90 days of the application received date under Minnesota Statutes section 214.075.  If you do not hold a current license, including a temporary license, with the Board you must submit the required fee and comply with fingerprint-based CBC requirements.  If fingerprints are not submitted to the Criminal Background Check Program Office within 90 days of the application received date, the CBC fee is void and a new CBC fee is required. 
 

Ethical Standards of Practice: Must not have engaged in conduct that would be in violation of the Boards ethical standards of practice.

 

Supervised Practice: Documentation of supervised practice is required to be eligible for the LICSW license. 200 hours of direct supervision per 4,000 hours of clinical practice, including 1800 hours of direct clinical client contact. For more information on supervised practice, see Minnesota Statutes sections 148E.115148E.120148E.125.

 

Complete Details:  Review Minnesota Statutes section 148E.055 subdivision 5 for LICSW

 

Often times social workers will partner with other social workers, therapists or professionals to form a multidisciplinary clinic. The Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine, as well as fee splitting laws and the Minnesota Professional Firms Act are all considerations that need to be considered in these arrangements. 

Invest in experienced legal counsel so you can focus on providing quality care (and enjoying quality time for yourself) rather than guessing and worrying about the law. 

Read more our blog

Medical Spa MinnesotaCare Tax

Medical Spa MinnesotaCare Tax

Medical Spa MinnesotaCare Tax   Minnesota has the MinnesotaCare tax which may apply to services provided at a medical spa. The main issue for tax purposes is how to classify the services provided. Consult with a tax professional for your individual situation as...

read more
Telehealth Provider Location – Payment Issues

Telehealth Provider Location – Payment Issues

Service providers are enjoined to comprehend and adhere to multilevel state legislations and payment policy stipulations when delivering virtual services. From the viewpoint of licensure, it is fundamentally incumbent upon a telehealth provider to acquire licensure in...

read more
Management Services Organizations (MSOs)

Management Services Organizations (MSOs)

In the realm of healthcare, there is a noticeable proliferation of Management Services Organizations (MSOs). These entities are versatile, serving diverse purposes and assuming various forms. The esteemed legal team at Holt Law takes pride in creating MSOs nationwide...

read more
FB Twitter