2017 Delaware Code
Title 24 - Professions and Occupations
CHAPTER 39. BOARD OF CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK EXAMINERS
§ 3907. Qualifications of applicants; report to Attorney General; judicial review.

(a) An applicant who is applying for examination and licensure under this chapter shall submit evidence, verified by oath and satisfactory to the Board, that such person:

(1) Has received a doctoral or master's degree in clinical social work from a college or university accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. In addition, the applicant shall submit proof satisfactory to the Board that, subsequent to the receipt of a master's degree from an accredited school of social work, the applicant has acquired 2 years of clinical social work experience acceptable to the Board. The clinical social work experience shall consist of not less than 3,200 hours, at least 1,600 hours of which shall have been under professional supervision acceptable to the Board. Acceptable supervision shall mean supervision by a licensed clinical social worker. When such supervision is not available, the applicant may be supervised by a master's level degree social worker, a licensed psychologist, or a licensed psychiatrist. Persons holding degrees from programs outside the United States or its territories must provide evidence of training and degree equivalent to accredited programs. These applicants are responsible for providing the Board with an educational credential evaluation from an agency or institution recognized by the Board for this purpose;

(2) Has not engaged in any of the acts or offenses that would be grounds for disciplinary action under this chapter; has no disciplinary proceedings or unresolved complaints pending against that person in any jurisdiction where the applicant previously has been, or currently is, licensed to practice clinical social work. Applicants who have been or who currently are licensed to practice clinical social work in another jurisdiction must provide the Board with a certified statement to this effect from the Board, or from a comparable agency of each jurisdiction in which the applicant has ever been licensed to practice clinical social work. Applicants for licensure in this State shall be deemed to have given consent to the release of such information and to waive all objections to the admissibility of such evidence;

(3) Has not been convicted of a felony sexual offense;

(4) Has submitted, at the applicant's expense, fingerprints and other necessary information in order to obtain the following:

a. A report of the applicant's entire criminal history record from the State Bureau of Identification or a statement from the State Bureau of Identification that the State Central Repository contains no such information relating to that person.

b. A report of the applicant's entire federal criminal history record pursuant to the Federal Bureau of Investigation appropriation of Title II of Public Law 92-544 (28 U.S.C. § 534). The State Bureau of Identification shall be the intermediary for purposes of this section and the Board of Clinical Social Worker Examiners shall be the screening point for the receipt of said federal criminal history records.

An applicant may not be licensed as a clinical social worker until the applicant's criminal history reports have been produced. An applicant whose record shows a prior criminal conviction may not be certified by the Board unless a waiver is granted pursuant to this chapter. The State Bureau of Identification may release any subsequent criminal history to the Board;

(5) Shall not have any impairment related to drugs or alcohol or a finding of mental incompetence by a physician that would limit the applicant's ability to undertake the practice of clinical social work in a manner consistent with the safety of the public; and

(6) Shall provide such information as may be required on an application form furnished by the Board. No application form shall require a picture of the applicant; require information relating to citizenship, place of birth, length of state residency; nor require personal references.

(b) Where the Board has found, to its satisfaction, that an application is fraudulent, or that false information has been intentionally supplied, it shall report its findings to the Attorney General for further action.

(c) Where the application of a person has been refused or rejected, and such applicant feels that the Board has acted without justification; has imposed higher or different standards for the applicant than for other applicants or licensees; or has in some other manner contributed to or caused the failure of such application, the applicant may, within 30 days of such denial, appeal the Board's decision to the Superior Court.

(d) All individuals licensed as a clinical social worker in this State shall be required to be fingerprinted by the State Bureau of Identification, at the licensee's expense, for the purposes of performing subsequent criminal background checks. Licensees shall submit by January 1, 2013, at the applicant's expense, fingerprints and other necessary information in order to obtain a criminal background check.

63 Del. Laws, c. 462, § 2; 65 Del. Laws, c. 282, § 4; 70 Del. Laws, c. 143, § 1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 224, § 5; 78 Del. Laws, c. 26, §§ 1, 2; 79 Del. Laws, c. 277, § 13.;