Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2724 – A. No individual shall be eligible for certification by the board as a certified social worker unless the individual:
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2724
- Agency: means an organization or facility that delivers social work services and employs social workers. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2703
- Board: means the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2703
- Case management: means a method to plan, provide, evaluate, and monitor services from a variety of resources on behalf of and in collaboration with a client. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2703
- Consultation: means a problem-solving process in which expertise is offered to an individual, group, organization, or community. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2703
- Graduate school of social work: means a program within an institution of higher education which offers a full-time course of study in social work, granting a master's degree in social work or social welfare, and accredited or under candidacy by the Council on Social Work Education or its predecessor or successor organization. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2703
- Social work practice: means the professional application of social work values, theories, and interventions to one or more of the following: enhancing the development, problem-solving, and coping capacities of people; promoting the effective and humane operations of systems that provide resources and services to people; linking people with systems that provide them with resources, services, and opportunities; developing and improving social policy; and engaging in research related to the professional activities. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2703
- Social worker: means a person who holds a degree in social work, having successfully completed an undergraduate or graduate level academic social work program. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2703
- Supervision: means the professional relationship between a supervisor and a supervisee that provides guidance and evaluation of the services provided by the supervisee. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2703
A. No individual shall be eligible for certification by the board as a certified social worker unless the individual:
(1) Is of good moral character and whose screening for criminal history pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 37:2710 contains no disqualifying information.
(2) Holds a master’s degree from an accredited graduate school of social work.
B. The board may issue a social worker certificate to an individual who has completed all requirements for certification as a certified social worker. The individual may hold the certificate for no more than three years from the issuance of the original certificate.
C. An individual certified as a certified social worker may engage in advanced social work practice based on the application of social work theory, knowledge, ethics, and methods to restore or enhance social, psychosocial, or biopsychosocial functioning of individuals, couples, families, groups, organizations, and communities. The certified social worker practice requires the application of specialized knowledge and advanced practice skills which include prevention or intervention, or both, service or treatment planning and evaluation, case management, information and referral, counseling, employee assistance services, addiction services, advocacy, teaching, research, supervision, consultation, community organization, and the development, implementation, and administration of policies, programs, and activities. A social worker certified at the certified social worker level may practice clinical social work and psychotherapy within an agency under the supervision of a licensed clinical social worker. A certified social worker may work as an employee only in an agency setting, notwithstanding the definition of “agency” as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 37:2703(1) or the requirement for employment in an agency setting provided in this Subsection.
Acts 2010, No. 880, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2021, No. 215, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2022.