  |
Message From the President
An Update On Licensing
Paul Kurzman, PhD, ACSW
Now that social work licensing is in effect in our state – for LMSWs and LCSWs – it is time for an update.
In collaboration with the leadership of the NYS Chapter of NASW, we here
at the NYC Chapter, are working very hard to clarify ambiguities in the
law and regulations, and to ensure that implementation in Albany proceeds
smoothly.
As promised, I appointed a Licensing Implementation Task Force which is
actively engaged in securing needed clarifications and interpretations
of the current statute, monitoring the State Education Department’s
implementation of the law and its grandparenting provisions, and preparing
to recommend any modifications in the statute they see are needed.
The Task Force is under the exceptionally able leadership of our Chapter’s
First Vice-President, Jennifer Crumpley, who herself directs a large mental
health program at the Educational Alliance here in New York City.
Members of the Task Force represent a wide range of service delivery systems
and fields of practice, and I hope you will feel free to share your observations
and suggestions with them by e-mail to our Executive Director [schachter@naswnyc.org]
at any time.
Grandparenting Provisions
There are several updates that I want to provide but perhaps none is as
important as a reminder that there are only a few months left, for those
who are eligible to be grandparented (as a LMSW or a LCSW), to apply.
Unless the State Legislature decides to extend this one-time window of
opportunity, eligibility to achieve licensure through grandparenting will
expire on September 1, 2005. Previous issues of Currents outlined
these opportunities in some detail, and one can go to the Chapter’s
website [www.naswnyc.org] or to the NYS Education Department’s website
[www.op.nysed.gov] for a refresher.
Mental Health Practitioners
As we have previously reported, an omnibus Mental Health Practitioners’
statute also was enacted in 2002; it will license marriage & family
therapists, mental health counselors, creative arts therapists and psychoanalysts.
Chapter members, who also have credentials in one of these four disciplines,
have asked whether it would be advantageous for them to apply for and
secure one of these additional licenses. While for some social workers
this may be an option, those of our colleagues who are planning to do
so should consider the dilemmas which dual licensure may pose. In
addition to paying a second licensure application fee (and $155 every
3 years for licensure renewal), there may be a problem, for clients and
insurance companies, regarding under which license one is actually practicing
with a particular client on a given day. This would make a difference.
As we have previously observed, for example, persons practicing under
licensure in one of the four newly recognized mental health professions
noted above, are prohibited from providing mental health care on a continuous
basis to any client who has a diagnosis of a “serious mental illness”
(including major depression, ADHD, panic disorder, OCD, and bipolar disorder)
without first securing a medical evaluation and consultation from a physician.
In addition, unlike the specific laws that apply to our profession, there
currently is no law in NY State mandating third-party payment by insurance
carriers to practitioners providing clinical care under any of these four
new licenses. Similarly, providers practicing under these mental
health licenses (and their clients) will not enjoy the guarantee of confidentiality
(called “Privileged Communication”) that all persons practicing
as LMSWs and LCSWs currently have under Section 4508 of NY State Civil
Practice Law and Rules – which may place such practitioners’
relationships at risk in a world where privacy is increasingly difficult
to ensure.
Finally, social workers who secure a mental health license would need
to contact the current provider of their professional liability insurance
to see if practice under the aegis of this new license would (or would
not) be covered by their current social work insurance policy and premium.
In sum, for those social workers who may be eligible, pursuing a second
license as a mental health practitioner perhaps should be approached with
caution.
Continuing Education
While NASW supported the proposition that continuing education be a mandate
for triennial license renewal, the Legislature did not support this
proposal. Given feedback over the past few years from our membership,
we realize that there are reasonable arguments on both sides with respect
to this issue. On the one hand, any provision that encourages social
workers to keep up-to-date in the ever changing environment in which we
practice seems like a very good idea. And presently, we are one of only
four states in the country that do not have a continuing education requirement
for licensed social workers.
However, there is little evidence-based research to show that mandated
continuing education makes a difference with respect to practice outcomes;
and presently, social workers already incur so many costs to maintain
their essential professional credentials (e.g., licensure application,
ASWB exam fees, triennial registration, liability insurance, and NASW
membership, etc.) that the imposition of additional costs may understandably
be perceived by some as a burden.
BSW Licensure
As we all know, under our new licensing law [Chapter 420 of the Laws of
2002], the Legislature did not include a third tier of licensure for social
workers holding BSW degrees. However, there may be a window of opportunity
for experienced BSWs to qualify for licensure as Mental Health Practitioners
under the generous grandparenting provisions of the mental health practitioners’
statute noted above.
Until January 1, 2006, some BSWs with experience may qualify under Part
79 of the Commissioner’s Regulations for Mental Health Practitioners,
which implemented the law [Chapter 676 of the Laws of 2002]. While
this is a modest, one-time provision, it might be useful for BSWs and
BSW program directors to explore this prospective licensure opportunity.
Child Abuse Training
As we have noted in previous issues of Currents, unless exempted, all
licensed social workers are now required by Education Law [Section 6507(3)(a)]
– either, upon application for, or, the triennial renewal of their
license – to show evidence of having attended an approved two-hour
seminar on child abuse and neglect. Given that there are more than
50,000 social work licensees, many of whom will have a need to get such
a certificate of participation, we at NASW–NYC have finalized an
agreement with the NYS Nurses Association (which has developed friendly
web-based training) so that our members can satisfy this requirement conveniently,
online, at a nominal cost, thereby obviating their need to take time out
of their busy day to travel to an approved training location. Information
is now available on our website [www.naswnyc.org], providing an icon that
offers easy access to the training site for simple, one-stop completion
of this requirement.
And Jennifer Crumpley and her Licensing Implementation Task Force will
continue to pursue any item you bring to their attention to make certain
that the new licensing law serves us well, and, serves the best interests
of our clients. We do live in exciting times!