Board of Social Work Examiners

Continuing Education Courses

Search Board-Approved Continuing Education Courses

12 AAC 18.210. CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENT. (a) A licensee applying for renewal of a social worker license shall complete the continuing education contact hours set out in this section for a biennial licensing period. For the licensee's

(1) first biennial renewal, the licensee shall complete;
(A) 21 contact hours, if the licensee has been licensed for fewer than 12 months during the concluding biennial licensing period;
(B) 45 contact hours, if the licensee has been licensed for at least 12 months during the concluding biennial licensing period; or
(2) second or subsequent biennial renewal, the licensee shall complete 45 contact hours.

(b) To be eligible for renewal, a licensee shall complete the following minimum continuing education contact hours during each biennial licensing period:

(1) six contact hours in substance abuse education;
(2) six contact hours in cross-cultural education;
(A) for the first biennial renewal, all six hours must include issues relating to Alaska Natives;
(B) for the second or subsequent biennial renewal, at least three hours must include issues relating to Alaska Natives;
(3) three contact hours in professional ethics;
(4) three contact hours in teletherapy practice;
(5) three contact hours in suicide education.

(c) The board will only accept hours earned from an academic course that a licensee audited as continuing education contact hours if

(1) the licensee only claims the hours during which the licensee attended instructional class time; and
(2) the licensee does not claim more contact hours than the academic semester credit, academic quarter credit, or other academic credit hours offered for that course; for purposes of this paragraph,
(A) one academic semester credit equals 15 contact hours
(B) one academic quarter credit equals 10 contact hours.

(d) A licensee applying for renewal shall complete at least 10 contact hours of the required continuing education contact hours under this section by attending live, live online, or synchronous training courses. The licensee may obtain the remaining hours through

(1) a correspondence program;
(2) a prerecorded videotape, audiocassette, digital medium, or other optical medium program;
(3) an asynchronous program; for purposes of this paragraph, "asynchronous" means non-real-time transmission of instruction,
(4) another individual study program.

(e) A licensee applying for renewal may not earn more than 12 contact hours of continuing education activities required under this section in one day.
(f) A licensee applying for renewal under this section may receive up to three hours of professional ethics continuing education credit under (f) A licensee applying for renewal under this section may receive up to three hours of professional ethics continuing education credit under
(b)(3) of this section once every biennial licensing period for each 150 minutes that the licensee attends a regularly scheduled board meeting.
(g) For the purposes of this section,

(1) one "contact hour" equals 50 to 60 minutes of classroom instruction between an instructor and a participant;
(2) "relating to Alaska Natives" means a structured educational experience, including a course, lecture, workshop, or other organized training that focuses on the indigenous peoples of Alaska as applicable to social work practice; and
(3) "teletherapy practice" means the use of audio, video, or data communication to perform, while physically separated from a client, the function or practice within the training required for licensure under AS 08.95 and this chapter.

Authority: AS 08.95.030 AS 08.95.040

12 AAC 18.220. APPROVED CONTINUING EDUCATION ACTIVITIES. (a) To be accepted by the board, continuing education must contribute directly to the professional competency of a social worker and must be directly related to the skills and knowledge required to implement social work principles and methods as defined in AS 08.95.990.
(b) The following continuing education activities are acceptable if they are related to social work in accordance with (a) of this section:

(1) postgraduate courses in social work given by an academic institution, either audited or for credit;
(2) courses offered by or certified by the Association of Social Work Boards;
(3) courses offered by or certified by the National Association of Social Workers or any state chapter of the National Association of Social Workers;
(4) courses offered by a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education;
(5) seminars, workshops, or mini-courses offered by professional organizations;
(6) cross-disciplinary courses, seminars, or workshops in the fields of medicine, law, behavioral sciences, or other disciplines;
(7) other courses not covered under (1) - (6) of this subsection that are specifically preapproved by the board, up to a maximum of 15 contact hours;
(8) first-time preparation and presentation of a social work course, seminar, or workshop, up to a maximum of 10 contact hours allocated among all social workers and other professionals involved; and
(9) first-time presentation or publication of an article or book chapter related to the practice of social work that was presented at a state or national association meeting or published by a publisher recognized by the profession, up to a maximum of 10 contact hours allocated among all social workers and other professionals involved.

(c) Hours spent in job orientation may not be accepted as continuing education contact hours.

Authority: AS 08.95.030 AS 08.95.040

12 AAC 18.990. DEFINITIONS.
(3) “cross-cultural education” means a structured educational experience such as a course, lecture, workshop, or other organized training that focuses on characteristics of and differences among cultures or groups; cross-cultural -13- education is not limited to clinical applications but should be relevant to the practice of social work; topics may include cross-cultural communications, contemporary anthropology, or Alaska Native cultures;
(7) “substance abuse education” means a structured educational experience such as a course, lecture, workshop, or other organized training that focuses on a misuse of psychoactive substances, as it applies to social work practices; “substance abuse education” does not include an educational experience that focuses on behavior addiction; for the purposes of this paragraph,

(A) “psychoactive substance” means a chemical substance that changes brain function and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior, and includes alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, pharmaceuticals, or illegal substances;
(B) “behavior addiction” means a behavior that produces short-term reward that may create persistent behavior despite knowledge of adverse consequences and diminished control over the behavior;

(9) “synchronous” means a real-time interaction between a licensee and a client occurring at exactly the same time, during which the licensee and client are able to communicate using real time;
(10) “teletherapy” means the use of audio, video, or data communications to perform functions or practices within the training required for licensure under AS 08.95 and this chapter and while physically separated from a client;
(11) “suicide education” means a structured educational experience such as a course, lecture, workshop, or other organized training that focuses on suicide awareness, prevention, intervention, or crisis management.

Authority: AS 08.95.030 AS 08.95.050 AS 08.95.100 AS 08.95.040