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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7198
January Session, 2019
AN ACT CONCERNING SO CIAL WORKERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 20-195q of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
(a) No person shall (1) use the title "licensed master social worker" 3
or any initials associated with such title, or (2) advertise services under 4
the description of a licensed master social worker, as defined in section 5
20-195m, unless such person is licensed as a master social worker 6
pursuant to this chapter. 7
(b) No person shall (1) use the title "licensed clinical social worker" 8
or any initials associated with such title, or (2) advertise services under 9
the description of a licensed clinical social worker, as defined in section 10
20-195m, unless such person is licensed as a clinical social worker 11
pursuant to this chapter. 12
(c) No person shall (1) use the title "social worker" or any initials 13
associated with such title, or (2) advertise services under the 14
description of "social worker", unless such person has earned a 15
baccalaureate, master's or doctorate degree in social work from a social 16
work program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education or, 17
if educated outside of the United States or its territories, has completed 18 Substitute Bill No. 7198
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an educational program deemed equivalent by said council. 19
[(c)] (d) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit: (1) A student enrolled 20
in a doctoral or master's degree program accredited by the Council on 21
Social Work Education from performing such work as is incidental to 22
his course of study, provided such person is designated by a title 23
which clearly indicates his status as a student; (2) a person licensed or 24
certified in this state in a field other than clinical social work from 25
practicing within the scope of such license or certification; (3) a person 26
enrolled in an educational program or fulfilling other state 27
requirements leading to licensure or certification in a field other than 28
social work from engaging in work in such other field; (4) a person 29
who is employed or retained as a social work designee, social worker, 30
or social work consultant by a nursing home or rest home licensed 31
under section 19a-490 and who meets the qualifications prescribed by 32
the department in its regulations from performing the duties required 33
of them in accordance with state and federal laws governing those 34
duties; [(5) for the period from October 1, 2010, to October 1, 2013, 35
inclusive, a master social worker from engaging in independent 36
practice; (6)] (5) a social worker from practicing community 37
organization, policy and planning, research or administration that 38
does not include engaging in clinical social work or supervising a 39
social worker engaged in clinical treatment with clients; [(7)] (6) 40
individuals with a baccalaureate degree in social work from a Council 41
on Social Work Education accredited program from performing 42
nonclinical social work functions; and [(8)] (7) a person who holds a 43
professional educator certificate issued by the State Board of Education 44
pursuant to section 10-145b, with a school social worker endorsement, 45
from using the title of school social worker to describe such person's 46
activities while working in a public or nonpublic school in the state. 47
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 20-195s of the general statutes is 48
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 49
October 1, 2019): 50
(a) An individual licensed as a master social worker pursuant to 51 Substitute Bill No. 7198
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section 20-195n may: (1) Practice clinical social work under 52
professional supervision; and (2) offer a mental health diagnosis 53
provided such diagnosis is offered in consultation with a physician 54
licensed pursuant to chapter 370, an advanced practice registered 55
nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378, a psychologist licensed 56
pursuant to chapter 383, a marital and family therapist licensed 57
pursuant to chapter 383a, a professional counselor licensed pursuant to 58
chapter 383c or a clinical social worker licensed pursuant to this 59
chapter. [Except as provided in subsection (c) of section 20-195q, a] A 60
licensed master social worker may not engage in independent practice. 61
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 20-195q
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 20-195s(a)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 2(a), "Except as provided in subsection (c) of section 20-195q,
a" was bracketed, the opening and closing brackets around "(c)" were
deleted, "(d)" and "as amended by this act," were deleted and "A" was
inserted after the closing bracket for consistency with the provisions of
Section 1(d).
PH Joint Favorable Subst.