New Jersey Social Work CE Requirement Statutes

This information below has been obtained directly from the New Jersey Board of Social Work Website and is current as of August 2024. Please visit  New Jersey Board of Social Work for full information and details.

13:44G-6.2 CREDIT-HOUR REQUIREMENTS 

a) An applicant for a biennial license or certification renewal shall complete the applicable continuing education credits as follows: 1) An LCSW shall complete a minimum of 40 credits of continuing education, of which at least 20 of the 40 credits shall be in courses or programs directly related to clinical practice; of the remaining 20 credits, five credits shall be related to ethics, and three credits shall be in the subject area of social and cultural competence. If the LCSW earns more than 40 credits during a biennial period, the LCSW may carry a maximum of eight surplus credits into a succeeding biennial period; 2) An LSW shall complete a minimum of 30 credits of continuing education, five of which must be related to ethics and three of which shall be in the subject area of social and cultural competence. If the LSW earns more than 30 credits during a biennial period, the LSW may carry a maximum of six surplus credits into a succeeding biennial period; and 3) A CSW shall complete a minimum of 20 credits of continuing education, five of which must be related to ethics and three of which shall be in the subject area of social and cultural competence. If the CSW earns more than 20 credits during a biennial period, the CSW may carry a maximum of four surplus credits into a succeeding biennial period. b) If an applicant initially obtains a license or certificate within the second year of a biennial license period, the applicant shall complete not fewer than one-half of the minimum required credits of continuing education. A CSW or LSW shall complete three credits in ethics related courses and two credits in the subject area of social and cultural competence. An LCSW shall complete a least 10 of the 20 credits in programs which directly relate to clinical STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL WORK EXAMINERS LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY Chapter 44G Page 17 of 60 Last Revision Date: 4/15/2024 practice and, of the remaining 10 credits, three shall be in ethics related courses and two shall be in the subject area of social and cultural competence. c) A licensee shall complete at least three of the prescribed contact hours of continuing education as required by (a) above in the subject area of social and cultural competence. For the purposes of this subsection, social and cultural competence includes, but is not limited to, an understanding of the cultural context of relationships; issues and trends in a diverse society related to such factors as culture, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, mental and physical characteristics, education, family values, religious and spiritual values, socioeconomic status; and unique characteristics of individuals, couples, families, ethnic groups and communities including any of the following: 1) Multicultural and pluralistic trends, including characteristics and concerns between and within diverse groups nationally and internationally; 2) Attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences, including specific experiential learning activities; 3) Individual, couple, family, group, and community strategies for working with diverse populations and ethnic groups; 4) Counselors' roles in social justice, advocacy and conflict resolution, cultural selfawareness, the nature of biases, prejudices, process of intentional and unintentional oppression and discrimination, and other culturally supported behaviors that are detrimental to the growth of the human spirit, mind, or body; 5) Theories of multicultural counseling, theories of identity development and multicultural competencies; and 6) Ethical and legal considerations relating to issues of diversity. d) Continuing education credits that could be allocated to general social work, clinical practice, ethics, or social and cultural competence shall only be counted once and shall not be allocated for more than one category. For instance, a course which could be allocated towards clinical practice or ethics shall count towards either clinical practice or ethics, but not both. e) Commencing with the biennial renewal period beginning on September 1, 2018, a licensee shall complete at least one of the prescribed contact hours of continuing education as required by (a) above in topics concerning prescription opioid drugs, including the risks and signs of opioid abuse, addiction, and diversion. STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL WORK EXAMINERS LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY Chapter 44G Page 18 of 60 Last Revision Date: 4/15/2024 13:44G-6.3 CONTENT AREAS FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT a) The Board shall grant continuing education credit only for programs or courses which are directly related to social work practice and which are advertised and available on a nondiscriminatory basis. b) The following content areas are acceptable for continuing education credit: 1) Theories and concepts of human behavior and the social environment; 2) Social work practice, knowledge and skills; 3) Social work research, program evaluation or practice evaluation; 4) Management/administration/social policy; and 5) Social work ethics, including, but not limited to, topics in boundary relationships, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, and recordkeeping. c) The following content areas are unacceptable for continuing education credit: 1) Personal development; and 2) Supervisory sessions. 13:44G-6.4 SOURCES OF CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS AND CREDIT-HOUR CALCULATIONS a) The Board shall grant credit only for continuing education programs or courses that are at least one instructional hour long, and are directly related to social work practice. For purposes of this subchapter, an "instructional hour" represents a 60-minute clock hour with no less than 50 minutes of content within the hour. Programs or courses may include one 10- minute break for each instructional hour. b) A licensee or certificate holder shall complete and be able to verify such completion of a continuing education program or course in order to receive continuing education credit. The Board shall grant a licensee or certificate holder continuing education credit for each two year period. c) As of November 19, 2012, a licensee or certificate holder may obtain continuing education hours only from the following sources: STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL WORK EXAMINERS LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY Chapter 44G Page 19 of 60 Last Revision Date: 4/15/2024 1) Attendance at programs or courses offered by the ASWB: one credit for each hour of attendance; 2) Attendance at programs or courses offered by providers approved by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): one credit for each hour of attendance; 3) Attendance at programs or courses offered by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) or state chapters of the NASW: one credit for each hour of attendance; 4) Attendance at programs or courses offered by providers approved by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) or state chapters of the NASW: one credit for each hour of attendance; 5) Attendance at programs or courses offered by the Child Welfare Training Academy within the New Jersey Department of Children and Families; one credit for each hour of attendance; 6) Attendance at programs or courses given at State and national social work association conferences, where the criteria for membership is an academic degree in social work: one credit for each hour of attendance; 7) Attendance at continuing education programs offered by an academic institution accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education: one credit for each hour of attendance; 8) Attendance at continuing education programs provided by institutions accredited, or in candidacy for accreditation, by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE): one credit for each hour of attendance; 9) Completion of undergraduate or graduate-level coursework in an academic program accredited, or in candidacy for accreditation, by the CSWE: five credits for each course credit; 10) Completion of undergraduate or graduate-level coursework at an academic institution accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education that is not accredited, or not in candidacy for accreditation by, the CSWE: three credits for each course credit awarded up to a maximum of one-half of the required continuing education credits; 11) Attendance at in-service training provided by an organization that provides social work services and which is licensed by or under contract to provide social work-related STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL WORK EXAMINERS LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY Chapter 44G Page 20 of 60 Last Revision Date: 4/15/2024 services with the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Health, or the Department of Human Services, in a subject matter related to the setting in which the licensee or certificate holder works: one credit for each hour of training up to a maximum of one-half of the required continuing education credits. Such in-service training shall not include staff meetings, job training, training on administrative procedures or policies, quality assurance or case reviews, or case management; 12) Attendance at in-service training provided by an organization accredited by the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), the Council on Accreditation (COA), the Council on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), the Family Service Association of America (FSAA), or the Joint Commission, in a subject matter related to the setting in which the licensee or certificate holder works: one credit for each hour of training up to one-half of the required continuing education credits. Such in-service training shall not include staff meetings, job training, training on administrative procedures or policies, quality assurance or case reviews, or case management; 13) Attendance at programs or courses approved by boards that license social work practice in other states: one credit for each hour of attendance; 14) Attendance at programs or courses related to the practice of social work that are recognized or approved by the Alcohol and Drug Counselor Committee, the State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners or the Professional Counselor Examiners Committee: one credit for each hour of attendance; 15) Publishing a refereed article in a professional journal within the preceding biennial period: nine credits per article; 16) Teaching appointments for courses offered in academic institutions accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education: 15 credits for each new course which a licensee or certificate holder teaches within a biennial cycle. For the purposes of this paragraph, "new" represents a course that the licensee or certificate holder has not taught previously in any educational setting; 17) Presentations at workshops, training sessions and seminars: 1.5 credits for each hour of a new offering up to a maximum of nine credits. For the purposes of this paragraph, "new" represents a workshop, training session, and seminar that the licensee or certificate holder has not taught previously in any educational setting; and 18) Attendance at programs or courses approved by an entity recognized by the Board pursuant to N.J.A.C. 13:44G-6.7. STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL WORK EXAMINERS LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY Chapter 44G Page 21 of 60 Last Revision Date: 4/15/2024 d) Continuing education programs, courses, coursework, or training recognized by (c) above shall meet the requirements of N.JA.C. 13:44G-6.2 and 6.3