AN ACT REQUIRING LICENSED SOCIAL WORKERS, COUNSELORS AND THERAPISTS TO COMPLETE CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE WORK IN CULTURAL COMPETENCY.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 20-195u of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, each clinical social worker, licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, and, on and after October 1, 2011, each master social worker licensed pursuant to this chapter shall complete a minimum of fifteen hours of continuing education during each registration period. For purposes of this section, "registration period" means the twelve-month period for which a license has been renewed in accordance with section 19a-88 and is current and valid.

(b) Continuing education required pursuant to this section shall be related to the practice of social work and shall include not less than one contact hour of training or education each registration period on the topic of cultural competency. Such continuing education shall consist of courses, workshops and conferences offered or approved by the Association of Social Work Boards, the National Association of Social Workers or a school or department of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. A licensee's ability to engage in on-line and home study continuing education shall be limited to not more than six hours per registration period. Within the registration period, an initial presentation by a licensee of an original paper, essay or formal lecture in social work to a recognized group of fellow professionals may account for five hours of continuing education hours of the aggregate continuing education requirements prescribed in this section.

Sec. 2. Section 20-195cc of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):

(a) The Commissioner of Public Health shall grant a license as a professional counselor to any applicant who furnishes evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that such applicant has met the requirements of section 20-195dd. The commissioner shall develop and provide application forms. The application fee shall be three hundred fifteen dollars.

(b) Licenses issued under this section may be renewed annually pursuant to section 19a-88. The fee for such renewal shall be one hundred ninety dollars. Each licensed professional counselor applying for license renewal shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of having participated in continuing education programs. The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to (1) define basic requirements for continuing education programs, which shall include not less than one contact hour of training or education each registration period on the topic of cultural competency, (2) delineate qualifying programs, (3) establish a system of control and reporting, and (4) provide for a waiver of the continuing education requirement for good cause.

Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 20-74t of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):

(a) On and after October 1, 2004, each alcohol and drug counselor licensed or certified pursuant to this chapter shall complete a minimum of twenty hours of continuing education each registration period. For purposes of this section, registration period means the twelve-month period for which a license or certificate has been renewed in accordance with section 19a-88 and is current and valid. The continuing education shall be in areas related to the individual's practice and shall include not less than one contact hour of training or education each registration period on the topic of cultural competency. Qualifying continuing education activities are educational offerings sponsored by a hospital or other licensed health care institutions, courses offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher education or courses offered by individuals or organizations on the list maintained by the Connecticut Certification Board, Inc. as approved providers of such continuing education activities.

Sec. 4. Section 20-195c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):

(a) Each applicant for licensure as a marital and family therapist shall present to the department satisfactory evidence that such applicant has: (1) Completed a graduate degree program specializing in marital and family therapy from a regionally accredited college or university or an accredited postgraduate clinical training program approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education and recognized by the United States Department of Education; (2) completed a supervised practicum or internship with emphasis in marital and family therapy supervised by the program granting the requisite degree or by an accredited postgraduate clinical training program, approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education recognized by the United States Department of Education in which the student received a minimum of five hundred direct clinical hours that included one hundred hours of clinical supervision; (3) completed a minimum of twelve months of relevant postgraduate experience, including at least (A) one thousand hours of direct client contact offering marital and family therapy services subsequent to being awarded a master's degree or doctorate or subsequent to the training year specified in subdivision (2) of this subsection, and (B) one hundred hours of postgraduate clinical supervision provided by a licensed marital and family therapist; and (4) passed an examination prescribed by the department. The fee shall be three hundred fifteen dollars for each initial application.

(b) The department may grant licensure without examination, subject to payment of fees with respect to the initial application, to any applicant who is currently licensed or certified as a marital or marriage and family therapist in another state, territory or commonwealth of the United States, provided such state, territory or commonwealth maintains licensure or certification standards which, in the opinion of the department, are equivalent to or higher than the standards of this state. No license shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an unresolved complaint.

(c) Licenses issued under this section may be renewed annually in accordance with the provisions of section 19a-88. The fee for such renewal shall be three hundred fifteen dollars. Each licensed marital and family therapist applying for license renewal shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of having participated in continuing education programs. The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to (1) define basic requirements for continuing education programs, which shall include not less than one contact hour of training or education each registration period on the topic of cultural competency, (2) delineate qualifying programs, (3) establish a system of control and reporting, and (4) provide for waiver of the continuing education requirement for good cause.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, an applicant who is currently licensed or certified as a marital or marriage and family therapist in another state, territory or commonwealth of the United States that does not maintain standards for licensure or certification that are equivalent to or higher than the standards in this state may substitute five years of licensed or certified work experience in the practice of marital and family therapy, as defined in section 20-195a, in lieu of the requirements of subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (a) of this section.