CE Advice

Maintaining your social work license requires more than just filing paperwork every two years. Almost every jurisdiction that issues social work licenses requires continuing education courses for renewal. Licensing boards recognize the importance of lifelong learning to the social work profession. Social workers at all levels of practice can benefit from continuing coursework in familiar subjects, or from an exploration of new topics.

Continuing education requirements vary from one jurisdiction to another; some boards require only a specific number of hours, while others mandate continuing education in social work ethics, substance abuse, or domestic violence. Each jurisdiction has final approval on any continuing education course from any source on any subject. It is your responsibility as a regulated social work professional to contact your board and verify that your continuing education plans meet their requirements.

Know where the buck stops.
The bottom line is, continuing education is the responsibility of the individual social worker—not the CE provider, the licensing board, or the professional association. It is up to you to understand your jurisdiction’s requirements for continuing education—how your jurisdiction tabulates CE time (“clock hours” versus “contact hours,” for example), which types of courses will not be accepted, etc. If you don’t know what these requirements are, you can find out by contacting your board, or by linking to the board search section of this site.

Understand the powers of the licensing board.
Your jurisdiction’s licensing/certification board always has the final say as to whether the continuing education courses you took will be approved. The Association of Social Work Board’s ACE (Approved Continuing Education) program identifies providers capable of delivering high-quality, appropriate continuing education, but it is ultimately the social worker’s responsibility to see to it that actual CE gained fits within the board’s definitions of acceptable continuing education. Familiarize yourself with your licensing board’s continuing education rules. If you’re considering a particular CE program and have a question about whether your board will accept it, contact the board for clarification before you take the course.

It isn’t just about the course.
When it comes to continuing education, details matter. Your licensing board will likely need the correct kinds of documentation verifying your attendance, and you should be able to rely on your CE provider’s record-keeping. Continuing education providers should be able to do the following:

• Issue you a signed certificate of completion for the program you completed
• Keep attendance records and other documents on file for as much as seven years after the program
• Provide qualifications of instructors, social work consultants and continuing education personnel who develop and implement the course
  

ACE-approved providers must meet these criteria.

Not all providers are equal.
You spend money—sometimes, a lot of money—for continuing education. It is disappointing to find that you spent time and money on a program that didn’t live up to its marketing claims. The reality is, just because a company advertises continuing education as useful to social workers doesn’t mean that the program will be appropriate and acceptable to your licensing board, or to you.

Several national organizations, including ASWB, review continuing education providers for program quality. Providers who pass these screenings meet stringent requirements for program development and management. While such approval is no guarantee that a particular course will be accepted by your regulatory board, recognition by these groups is way to increase your chances of getting quality continuing education.

Find out as much as possible about the providers themselves. Look for the following:

• High degree of involvement from social workers in curriculum planning and presentation
  
• Clear and effective evaluation procedures
  
• Content pertinent to social work theory, methods and practice
  
• A syllabus or general outline of the course provided at the beginning
  
• Written educational goals and specific, measurable learning objectives
  
• Web site security for registration, payment and on-line courses
  

ACE-approved providers must meet these criteria.

Keep records.
Because complying with your board’s CE requirements is the responsibility of the social worker, it’s important to keep your own records of CE sessions attended.

Choose wisely.
Remember, the continuing education systems used by boards were designed to ensure that social workers maintain the knowledge and skills necessary to practice safely throughout their careers. After you’ve made certain that the company providing the CE is qualified and well-organized, ask yourself whether the CE course you’re considering is a good fit for you. While it’s tempting to choose courses that play to your own practice strengths, you may also want to consider using CE requirements as a way to round out your social work knowledge.