New York Socail Work Continuing Educaiton Requirements
7 Things EVERY NY Social Worker Must Know About Continuing Education
Dawn E. Shedrick, LCSW
Dawn E. Shedrick, LCSW
Continuing Education and Professional Development for Social Workers and Social Justice Organizations | Consultant | Educator
By now you might know that, as of January 1, 2015, licensed social workers (LMSWs and LCSWs) in New York are required to complete at least 36 hours of continuing education during each 3-year registration period. Yet there is a lot of confusion about the specific requirements that I'm hoping to clear up for you.
As an authorized and active continuing education provider for NY Social Workers, attendees at my trainings consistently ask for clarity and I've received calls and emails also asking for clarification. So below I offer you 7 keys to ensuring that you are adhering to the requirements...
- You might not have to complete CE hours...just yet. As much as I am a staunch poster-woman for professional development and continuing education, it's only ethical to let you know that you might not berequired to collect CE hours just yet. According to the NYS Social Work Board, you do not have to complete any continuing education within the first three years of licensure. So if you've obtained your LMSW or LCSW within the past three years, you're good. Once you renew your registration after the first three years, the clock starts ticking and you have to complete at least 36 hours of approved training.
- You might not need the full 36 CE contact hours....just yet. Many of us were well into our current license registration period when the CE requirement commenced on January 1, 2015. If you're registration is due for renewal at any time before January 1, 2018 the number of hours you must complete is prorated according to the number of months you have left in your current registration period since January 1, 2015. In simpler terms....count the number of months left before you have to renew...that is the minimum number of CE contact hours you are required to complete before your renewal. For example, my LCSW registration is due for renewal by March 1, 2017...that's 26 months from January 1, 2015 so I must complete at least 26 CE contact hours. Here's The NY Social Work Board's official chart to help you out too ---> http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/sw/swcefaq.htm#chart1
- Be sure the training provider is a current authorized CE provider. I've already met licensed social workers who have attended trainings that were NOT authorized by the NY Social Work Board. One of my recent workshop participants completed a workshop by a "pending" provider. Pending does not equal "authorized". Click this link here ---> http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/sw/swceproviderlist.htm to access the list of authorized and conditionally approved continuing education providers (you'll see my company, JenTex Training & Consulting on the list...we are legit!). Be sure to only attend trainings sponsored by these providers if you are seeking continuing education credit. If you see an advertisement for a training and would like to confirm that you'll receive CE contact hours, the advertisement must include the following approval statement: JenTex Training & Consulting, LLC, SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board of Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0136.
- Training before January 1, 2015 doesn't count. Sorry. A woman who attended one of my recent workshops asked if she could count 24 hours of certification training she completed in December 2014. I wanted to keel over for her...it was just one month shy of the January 1 start date! And what made it worse was that she is only required to complete 22 hours before her next license renewal. Ugh! So yeah...only training completed since the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2015 can be counted.
- You can complete up to 12 hours in the comfort of your home. Yup, you are allowed to complete up to 12 contact hours of self-study. The NY Board of Social Work defines self-study as a written or pre-recorded training offered by an authorized CE provider. You must complete an evaulation and receive a printed completion certificate that indicates that it was a self-study training. Better yet...you can complete an unlimited number of contact hour if you participate in a live online webinar with an approved provider..meaning that the trainer(s) is/are facilitating the training live and you have the ability to interact with them online during the training! Be sure that your completion certificate indicates that that training is a "Live Webinar"
- You can complete all of your hours in as little or as much time as you's like.There are no specific restrictions on how long it should take you to complete your CE contact hours within any given registration period. You can knock them all out at a conference or in a multi-day training...or you can spread them out over the course of 36 months. Up to you!
- Those personal development, practice-building and marketing courses don't count. Sorry! As valuable as those courses are, they are not considered as continuing education. Only "subjects that improve your knowledge, skills and abilities in the practice of licensed master social work and/or licensed clinical social work" are approved for continuing education. Practice-building and marketing courses are designed for business development, not practice/professional development. Similarly, personal development courses and programs do not count.
All of this information can be verified here -----> http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/sw/swcefaq.htm
I invite you to message me here on LinkedIn with any questions! I am in consistent contact with the folks in Albany to clarify the requirements anyway, so it would be my pleasure to support you in any way that I can.
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Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-things-every-ny-social-worker-must-know-continuing-dawn-e-
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