1. (a) Definition.

   1. (1) “Social work continuing education (SWCE)” has been defined as those formalized activities that are directed at developing and enhancing an individual’s social work knowledge base and service delivery skills in applicable area of planning and administration, education, research, or direct service with:

      1. (A) Individuals;
      2. (B) Couples;
      3. (C) Families; and
      4. (D) Groups.

   2. (2)

      1. (A) An SWCE credit hour represents one (1) clock hour (sixty (60) minutes) of a SWCE activity.
      2. (B) A credit hour represents actual time of the SWCE activity.
      3. (C) For example, a workshop that begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. with a one-hour lunch break would provide five (5) credit hours for the participant.
      4. (D) An exception would be for volunteer services provided under the Volunteer Health Care Act, Arkansas Code § 20-8-801 et seq., in which a credit hour represents eight (8) hours of volunteer services.
   3. (3) Credits must be a minimum of fifteen (15) minutes or more to qualify.

   4. (4) Academic credit hour.

      1. (A) One (1) academic credit hour is equivalent to fifteen (15) clock hours for the purpose of license renewal.
      2. (B) Credit for auditing an academic course will be for the actual number of clock hours in attendance, not to exceed the academic clock hour equivalent.
      3. (C) Academic credit hours will not apply towards license renewal until the completion of the course.

2. (b) Basic requirements.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) Each licensee is required to complete thirty (30) credit hours of SWCE during each two-year licensure period.
      2. (B) Of the thirty (30) hours, a minimum of three (3) hours must be in professional ethics with no more than fifteen (15) hours of independent study.

   2. (2)

      1. (A) SWCE may be documented on the form for reporting continuing education supplied by the Arkansas Social Work Licensing Board or any other form provided the same information is presented.
      2. (B)

3. (i) A typed or computerized list of training that is kept by the social worker’s employer is acceptable for documentation.

   1. (ii) The list must include the:
4. (a) (a) Same information as the form for reporting SWCE; and

5. (b) (b) The employer’s name, address, and phone number.

   1. (C) The licensee and the licensee’s supervisor or employer must sign the list certifying that the social worker attended all the sessions listed.
   2. (3) Documentation of the SWCE must be maintained by the licensee for a period of two (2) years following the renewal date.

   3. (4)

      1. (A) After each renewal period, the board will, at its discretion, audit a percentage of the renewal applications to ensure that the continuing education requirements have been met.
      2. (B) Each audited licensee will be required to provide documentation of all the continuing education hours listed on his or her summary sheet.

   4. (5)

      1. (A) A continuing education course will not be allowed more than once during the two-year renewal period.
      2. (B) If the course name is the same, the social worker has the responsibility to make sure the content has changed since the last date the course was taken.

      3. (C) The social worker may be required to provide documentation of the changes.

         1. (c) Examples of acceptable social work continuing education:

   5. (1)

      1. (A) Seminars, workshops, or courses oriented to the enhancement of social work:

         1. (i) Practice;
         2. (ii) Values;
         3. (iii) Skills; and
         4. (iv) Knowledge.
      2. (B) Cross-disciplinary offerings from medicine, law, administration, education, and the behavioral sciences are acceptable if they are clearly related to the enhancement of social work practice.
      3. (C) Clock hour credit will be given for the actual number of hours in attendance.
      4. (D) In-service training provided by the employer using presenters from the staff or from outside agencies.
      5. (E) Training specifically related to policies and procedures of an agency may not be counted;

   6. (2)

      1. (A) Academic social work courses or social work-related courses such as mental health, administration, health and social research, psychology, sociology, human growth and development, child and family development, counseling, and guidance taken for credit or audited.
      2. (B) An official transcript may be used to verify courses taken for credit.
      3. (C) One (1) academic credit hour is equivalent to fifteen (15) clock hours for the purpose of license renewal.
      4. (D) Credit for auditing will be for actual clock hours in attendance, not to exceed the academic clock hour equivalent;

   7. (3)

      1. (A) Presentation for the first time of:

         1. (i) An academic social work course;
         2. (ii) An in-service training;
         3. (iii) A workshop or seminar; or
         4. (iv) Other professional seminar.
      2. (B) A copy of the course syllabus and verification that the course, workshop, or seminar was presented may be used as documentation.
      3. (C) The actual number of hours of presentation plus an equal number of hours for preparation will be allowed.
      4. (D) The total number of clock hours for both preparation and presentation of all first-time courses shall not exceed ten (10) hours per renewal period;

   8. (4)

      1. (A) Preparation for the first publication of a professional social work paper that has been published in a recognized professional journal.
      2. (B) A copy of the paper and verification of publication must be submitted to the board for evaluation and certification of the number of hours of credit to be allowed.
      3. (C) A maximum of ten (10) clock hours will be allowed during each two-year licensure period;

   9. (5)

      1. (A) Independent home studies/online courses that provide credit directed at developing and enhancing the licensee's knowledge base and service delivery skills in the applicable areas of social planning, administration, education, research, or direct service with:

         1. (i) Individuals;
         2. (ii) Couples;
         3. (iii) Families; and
         4. (iv) Groups.
      2. (B) A maximum of fifteen (15) clock hours will be allowed during each two-year licensure period; and

   10. (6)

       1. (A) To be considered as face-to-face hours for credit, webinars must be both live and interactive.

       2. (B) If audited, the licensee must submit sufficient documentation to show that the webinar was live and interactive.

          1. (d)
   11. (1) The board does not preapprove continuing education workshops.
   12. (2) It is the licensee’s responsibility, using his or her professional judgment, to determine the workshops that are applicable and appropriate to his or her professional development as a social worker and that they meet the definition of SWCE.
   13. (3) If a licensee submits documentation for training that is not clearly identifiable as SWCE, the board will request a written description of the training and how it applies to the individual’s professional development as a social worker.

   14. (4)

       1. (A) If the board determines that the training cannot be considered SWCE, the individual will be given three (3) months to replace the disallowed hours.

       2. (B) Those hours:

          1. (i) Will be considered replacement hours; and
          2. (ii) Cannot be counted during the next licensure period.
6. (e) If credit is not given for the SWCE submitted, the licensee may request a hearing before the board.

7. (f)

   1. (1) Extenuating circumstances that prevent licensees from completing the continuing education requirement will be reviewed on an individual basis.
   2. (2) Extension requests must be made prior to expiration in accordance with 17 CAR § 100-108(b)(7).

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: “(Ark. Code Ann. §17-103-203)”