House Amendment 1
H 4365 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
Social Work Interstate Compact Act

Rep. Davis proposes the following amendment (LC-4365.HA0001H):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 2, by striking Section 40-63-520(6)(b) and inserting:

   (b) investigative information that indicates that the regulated social worker represents an immediate threat to public health and safety, as may be defined by the commission, regardless of whether the regulated social worker has been notified and has had an opportunity to respond.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 2, by striking Section 40-63-520(24) and inserting:

  (24) "Social work" or "Social work services" means the application of social work theory, knowledge, methods, ethics, and the professional use of self to restore or enhance social, psychosocial, or biopsychosocial functioning of individuals, couples, families, groups, organizations, and communities through the care and services provided by a regulated social worker as set forth in the member state's statutes and regulations in the state where the services are being provided.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 2, by striking Section 40-63-540(B)(1), (2), (3), and (4) and inserting:

   
  (1) Fulfill a competency requirement, which shall be satisfied by either:
   (a) Passage of a clinical-category qualifying national exam; or
   (b) Licensure of the applicant in their home state at the clinical category, beginning prior to such time as a qualifying national exam was required by the home state and accompanied by a period of continuous social work licensure thereafter, all of which may be further governed by the rules of the commission; or
   (c) the substantial equivalency of the foregoing competency requirements which the commission may determine by rule.
  (2) Attain at least a master's degree in social work from a program that is:
   (a) operated by a college or university recognized by the licensing authority; and
   (b) accredited, or in candidacy that subsequently becomes accredited, by an accrediting agency recognized by either:
    (i) the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or its successor; or
    (ii) the United States Department of Education.
  (3) Fulfill a practice requirement, which shall be satisfied by demonstrating completion of either:
   (a) a period of postgraduate supervised clinical practice equal to a minimum of three thousand hours; or
   (b) a minimum of two years of full-time postgraduate supervised clinical practice; or
   (c) the substantial equivalency of the foregoing practice requirements which the commission may determine by rule.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 2, by striking Section 40-63-650(C) and inserting:

 (C) Notwithstanding subsection (B), the commission may deny a state's participation in the Compact or, in accordance with the requirements of section-40-63-630(B), terminate a member state's participation in the compact, if it determines that a constitutional requirement of a member state is a material departure from the compact. Otherwise, if this compact shall be held to be contrary to the constitution of any member state, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining member states and in full force and effect as to the member state affected as to all severable matters.