New York State Licensing Information for Students

The New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions.

The licensure requirements for the L.M.S.W. are:

• Have a master of social work degree from an accredited school of social work,

• Complete coursework or training in the identification and reporting of child abuse in accordance with Section 6507(3)(a) of the Education Law,

• Have good moral character, and

• Pass the A.S.W.B. (Association of Social Work Boards) Master (Advanced) examination.

You must wait until after you complete your Social Work program. The University must certify your degree before it can verify your education for New York State. Generally, this takes at least 4 weeks after graduation.

To qualify to take the A.S.W.B. L.M.S.W. examination:

• Download the necessary New York State forms

• Submit an Application (Form1) and fee ($294) to the New York State Education Department.

• Send the New York State Education Department L.M.S.W. Form 2 to Syracuse University and request that it verify your education. Syracuse University will send the completed form directly to the New York State Education Department.

• The New York State Education Department must approve your education and all application materials. They then notify Association of Social Work Boards (A.S.W.B.) when you have satisfied the examination eligibility requirements.

Get an A.S.W.B. booklet by calling 1-800-225-6880 or going online. You may register by phone, fax, mail or email. Once all required material has been received by A.S.W.B. you will receive an authorization letter which will contain your Authorization Number, the exam category for which you are registered, the jurisdiction your score will be sent to, and information on how to make an appointment to take the examination. The fee to take the Master Exam is $230.

You register for the exam in advance and then go to a local testing center to take it by you on a computer. In Syracuse, there is a testing center in the Marshall Square Mall. A complete list of test sites is available from ACT.

Because the exam is computerized, your score will be available immediately upon finishing the exam.

Test study guide materials are available in Bird Library. These materials include a booklet located at the Reserve Desk, and a CD-ROM with sample exam questions available in Media Services (lower level of the library). Several companies also sell test preparation kits. The brochure for one of these products is available in the School of Social Work Main Office. The test preparation companies also regularly advertise in such social work publications as N.A.S.W. News. A.S.W.B. also has resourced available via their website.

In this case, you do not need to submit materials to the New York State Education Department. Instead, you should review the requirements in the state where you wish to work. This information is available online from the A.S.W.B.. You can still take the social work licensing examination in New York State. The A.S.W.B. exam is accepted in any state that is part of the A.S.W.B. system, and virtually all states are. The most notable exception is California. You should speak directly with the particular state to be sure what exam system it is using.

The licensure requirements for the L.C.S.W. are the same requirements for the L.M.S.W., plus the following:

• Have a master of social work degree from an accredited school of social work with at least 12 semester hours of coursework that prepares you to practice as a clinical social worker,

• Post-degree experience in psychotherapy under the supervision of an L.C.S.W., licensed psychologist or psychiatrist. For no less than three years and no more than 6 years with a total of 2,000 client contact hours.

• Post-degree experience must be in a setting approved by the State Board for Social Work.

• Pass the A.S.W.B. Clinical examination.

To meet the experience requirement for licensure as an L.C.S.W., you must have complete supervised experience in clinical social work. Only experience in diagnosis, psychotherapy and assessment-based treatment plans, as defined in Section 7704 of the Education Law, is acceptable for L.C.S.W. licensure. And you must document that the experience meets the following conditions:

• Supervision by a qualified supervisor (see next question: What are the requirements for supervisors?)

• Experience is completed in a legally authorized setting to provide psychotherapy and clinical social work services.

• Completion of 2,000 client contact hours over the course of no less than three years and no more than six years.

Supervision of applicants for the L.C.S.W. must be provided by a:

• Physician who must be licensed by the state in which the supervision occurred and must be Board Certified in psychiatry or has completed an approved residency in psychiatry; or

• Licensed psychologist who, while supervising the applicant, was licensed as a psychologist, as determined by the Department, or who is a graduate of an American Psychological Association approved program in psychology or an equivalent program as determined by the Department; or

• L.C.S.W. in New York State, or a social worker licensed in the jurisdiction where supervision occurred, who is a graduate of a Council on Social Work Education accredited graduate program, or the equivalent as determined by the Department, and who has at least three years of post-M.S.W. degree supervised experience providing psychotherapy or who was qualified for the three-year or six-year psychotherapy privilege in New York State at the time of supervising the applicant.

• A supervisor who is not licensed in New York State must submit an Form 4Q – Approval of Qualifications to Supervise Psychotherapy.

Several types of supervision are considered acceptable:

• Individual, facility-based: The facility assigns an appropriate, qualified employee to supervise the applicant in-person with one-to-one or group sessions. The supervisor should have more experience than the applicant, superior expertise or training in a relevant practice area, or both.

• Individual, consultant: The applicant (or facility) hires an appropriately qualified individual to supervise the applicant’s clinical work in. If hired to supervise facility-based work, an appropriate agreement or contract should be reached between the facility, the consultant and the applicant. If hired to supervise a private practice, the supervisor should have experience (a minimum of three years) or documentable clinical expertise superior to that of the applicant. Note: currently New York State Office of the Professions does not recognize hours accrued in private practice settings. In addition, it recommends that an outside supervisor be hired by the facility rather than the individual.

Several types of supervision are considered acceptable:

• Individual, facility-based: The facility assigns an appropriate, qualified employee to supervise the applicant in-person with one-to-one or group sessions. The supervisor should have more experience than the applicant, superior expertise or training in a relevant practice area, or both.

• Individual, consultant: The applicant (or facility) hires an appropriately qualified individual to supervise the applicant’s clinical work in. If hired to supervise facility-based work, an appropriate agreement or contract should be reached between the facility, the consultant and the applicant. If hired to supervise a private practice, the supervisor should have experience (a minimum of three years) or documentable clinical expertise superior to that of the applicant. Note: currently New York State Office of the Professions does not recognize hours accrued in private practice settings. In addition, it recommends that an outside supervisor be hired by the facility rather than the individual.

Supervision must consist of at least 100 hours of in-person individual, or group clinical supervision distributed over the period of the supervised experience.

An acceptable setting is:

• A professional corporation, professional limited liability partnership or liability corporation that is authorized to provide psychotherapy services or provide services within the scope of practice of a L.C.S.W.

• A sole proprietorship owned by a licensee who provides services within the scope of his or her profession and services that are within the scope of L.C.S.W.

• A hospital or clinic authorized under Article 28 of the Public Health Law and authorized to provide health services, including psychotherapy;

• A facility authorized under Mental Hygiene law to provide appropriate health services, including psychotherapy;

• A facility authorized under federal law, such as the Veterans’ Administration, to provide health services, including psychotherapy;

• A public elementary, middle, or high school authorized by the Education Department to provide school social work services as defined in Part 809-2.3 of the Commissioners Regulations, including clinical social work;

• An entity defined as exempt from the licensing requirement under New York State Law or authorized under New York Law to provide psychotherapy services.

You can complete L.C.S.W. Form 6 – Plan for Supervision (PDF) and submit it to the New York State Education Department and you will be notified if your setting and supervision plan is appropriate for L.C.S.W. licensure.

New York State requires an additional credential to work as a school social worker. For provisional certification, valid for five years, you must have an accredited B.S.W. and have completed 30 graduate social work credits, including, a supervised social work internship. For permanent certification, you must have the M.S.W. and the (New York State) L.M.S.W. and have had two years of school experience in the field of pupil personnel services. For an application and further information contact the Office of Teaching, New York State Education Department.