Social workers: interstate compact.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how the law changes the definition of who can be called a 'licensed clinical social worker.'

Social Workers: Interstate Compact

This law allows social workers licensed in one state to work in other states if those states are part of a special agreement called the Social Work Licensure Compact.

What This Bill Does

• Approves and joins the Social Work Licensure Compact, which lets social workers with licenses from one member state practice in all other member states.
• Requires the Board of Behavioral Sciences to follow rules set by the compact and make new regulations if needed.

Who It Names or Affects

• Social workers in California
• People from other states who want to practice as social workers in California

Terms To Know

Multistate license

A special type of license that allows a person to work as a social worker in more than one state.

Social Work Licensure Compact

An agreement between states that lets social workers with licenses from one member state practice in all other member states.

Limits and Unknowns

• The law only works if California joins the Social Work Licensure Compact and a majority of the Board of Behavioral Sciences votes to do so.
• It is not clear which other states will join the compact or when they might join.

Official Summary Text

AB 427, as amended, Jackson.
Social workers: interstate compact.
Existing law, the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of clinical social workers by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law requires the board to issue a clinical social worker license to each applicant who qualifies pursuant to the act and who successfully passes a California law and ethics examination and a clinical examination.
This bill would ratify and approve the Social Work Licensure Compact, which authorizes member states to issue multistate licenses to applicants meeting specified education and experience requirements. Under the compact, a multistate license grants the holder an authorization to practice in other member states. The compact provides for the creation of a commission and requires the board to select a delegate to serve on the commission. This bill would require the board
to comply with the requirements of the compact and to adopt regulations necessary to implement that compact.
Existing law prohibits an individual from styling themselves, or holding themselves out to be, a “licensed clinical social worker,” and makes it unlawful to engage in the practice of clinical social work unless they hold a license under the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act.
This bill would instead prohibit those acts unless they hold a license under the act or under the above-described compact.
This bill would become operative only upon certification by the Director of Consumer Affairs that a majority of the board has voted in favor of joining the compact and would require the director to notify the Secretary of State and the Legislative Counsel Bureau of the date of that certification.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF