Political Action

Social Work Legislation

By Rebecca Gonzales, Director of Government
Relations and Political Affairs

This past year, the Legislature and the Governor signed a number of bills that are directly related to social work. Some of these bills have not been mentioned in previous columns. We officially supported all the bills listed below:

AB 404 (Eggman) Healing Arts: Behavioral Sciences: Retired Licenses

This bill clarifies that only licensees with an active or inactive license are qualified to apply for a retired license and that the license has not been suspended, revoked, or in disciplinary status. This bill also reduces the timeline to restore a retired license from retired to active status from five to three years.

AB 428 (Eggman) Healing Arts: Marriage and Family Therapists: Clinical Social Workers

This bill permits licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) applicants to remediate specified coursework by taking courses at an educational institution or continuing education provider approved by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). For LCSW applicants, the law requires that they complete coursework in spousal or partner abuse assessment. This bill clarifies this course can be remediated after an applicant has obtained their degree.

AB 506 (Mitchell) HIV Testing: Infants

This bill permits a social worker to provide written consent for an HIV test for an infant less than 12 months of age who has been taken into temporary custody or has a petition filed with the court to be adjudged a dependent of the court, under specified conditions. This bill also permits a social worker to authorize, without court order, emergency medical care to an infant who tests positive for HIV, as specified. Requires the social worker — if an infant tests positive for HIV — to provide to the physician and surgeon any available contact information for the biological mother for purposes of reporting the HIV infection to the local health officer.

SB 342 (Yee) Foster Children: Social Worker Visits

This bill helps the state meet federal foster care visitation requirements by ensuring that visits occur in the foster home group home. Second, it enables children in foster care the right to have a private discussion with their social worker in a safe place. And third, it enhances the existing foster care visitation statute to ensure that a social worker’s or probation officer’s private discussion with a foster youth does not supplant the requirement to visit the foster youth’s foster home or group home.

SB 821 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development) Healing Arts

This bill makes several technical and noncontroversial changes to provisions within the Business and Professions Code (BPC) related to the regulation of certain boards, including the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). This bill extends the effective date of the LCSW exam restructure from January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2016. It also clarifies that social workers may practice what they have been trained on.

Additionally allows LMFT, LCSW, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) applicants to gain experience hours as a W-2 employee or as a volunteer. Also specifies that LCSW applicants and interns must always be under the supervision of a supervisor who is responsible to the BBS for compliance with all laws and regulations.