NAC641B.140. Licensed independent social worker: Internship required for licensure.

     1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 of NAC 641B.126, an applicant for licensure as a licensed independent social worker must complete an internship consisting of not less than 3,000 hours of supervised, postgraduate social work. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 3, the required work must be:

     (a) Undertaken in a program that is approved by the Board before the applicant begins the program. The program must include, without limitation:

          (1) An examination, if deemed necessary by the Board;

          (2) An appropriate setting, as determined by the Board;

          (3) Supervision of the applicant by a supervisor who has been approved by the Board; and

          (4) A plan of supervision that has been approved by the Board.

     (b) Completed not earlier than 2 years or later than 3 years after the Board approves the program. For good cause, the Board will grant a specific extension of this period.

     (c) Conducted pursuant to the requirements and standards set forth by the Board. For good cause, the Board will withdraw its approval of a particular program.

     2. Upon application to the Board by an applicant who is currently a licensed social worker or a licensed associate in social work, the Board will approve and accept for licensure supervised postgraduate hours completed in an agency that provides social work services if the applicant:

     (a) Has been continually licensed as a social worker for the immediately preceding 10 years; and

     (b) Provides evidence satisfactory to the Board of continuous supervision by a licensed social worker for at least 5 of the immediately preceding 10 years.

     3. An applicant who has completed 3,000 hours of supervised, postgraduate social work in another state may submit evidence of the satisfactory completion of that work to the Board for its consideration. The Board will approve that work and accept it for licensure if the Board determines that the experience of the applicant is substantially equivalent to the current standards established by the Board for those applicants who complete their work in this State.

     4. The following activities do not qualify as supervised, postgraduate social work:

     (a) Instruction in techniques or procedures through classes, workshops or seminars.

     (b) Orientational programs.

     (c) Practice which is not under the supervision of an agency. The Board will consider a person to be under the supervision of an agency if:

          (1) Each client who is served by the intern is a client of the agency and that fact is clearly set forth on each contract, release, agreement for financial reimbursement and billing statement which relates to that client;

          (2) All records regarding clients belong to the agency and the agency has provided for their confidentiality and safekeeping;

          (3) The agency appoints a specific employee of the agency to act as the board-approved supervisor of the intern, if such an employee is available, or otherwise approves a nonemployee to do so;

          (4) The appointed supervisor reviews the work of the intern in the manner required for supervisors of interns;

          (5) The appointed supervisor is granted complete access to all records of the agency related to the practice of the intern; and

          (6) Any compensation for the services of the intern is provided directly by the agency.

     (d) Any other activity that the Board determines is not within the scope of the practice of social work.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Exam’rs for Social Workers, eff. 9-20-88; A 5-15-92; 10-25-93; R113-98, 1-13-99; R079-02, 1-9-2003; R142-08, 2-11-2009)