Official Statement Regarding HB366 - Need for Increased Qualified Supervision Training - Mental Health Professions in Utah

Sep 21, 2026

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Official statement addresses Utah mental health workforce and supervision requirements in response to HB366. It supports regulatory changes enabling interstate compact reciprocity for Social Work practice, removing supplemental ASWB testing for MSWs, and offering alternative licensure pathways when ASWB exam results fail. It emphasizes qualified supervisor training, cross-discipline supervision access, and best practices including defined supervision course hours, ethical supervision training, continuing education, DOPL supervision contract compliance, and mentoring to strengthen public protection.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Interstate compact and Social Work reciprocity

Removing supplemental ASWB testing exams

Alternative licensure pathways after ASWB failure

Review of ASWB value for BSW licensure

Qualified supervision training under HB366

Cross-discipline supervision model

Proposed qualified supervisor certification program

Best practices for ethical cross-professional supervision

Course and continuing education requirements

Ethical, legal, and risk-management training

Currently, WE support the following regulatory reforms: The passage of an interstate compact, allowing participating states' licensees reciprocity to practice Social Work in those participating states. This interstate compact would greatly expand the professional impact of all Social Workers, and remove arbitrary geographic barriers limiting our most vulnerable populations in accessing critical Social Work services. The removal of supplemental ASWB testing exams forMSWs. Currently in the State of Utah, MSW's must pass two exams: the Master's level exam upon initial licensure as a CSWand a Clinical level ASWB exam upon the completion of 3000 supervised hours of clinical practice. This added testing burden does little to establish competence nor protect the public. We believe that this double testing is an unnecessary restriction on the Social Work labor force. We hold that the final Clinical level ASWB exam is sufficient to demonstrate clinical proficiency to practice as an Licensed Clinical Social Worker in our state. An alternative path to licensure for MSW's who have been failed by the ASWB exam. We believe there are acceptable alternatives for a Social Worker to prove professional competence. Institutional bias of this sole competence measure has recently confirmed what the Utah Social Work practice community has longsuspected: significant discrepancies in pass rates disproportionately affect our social work colleagues in historically marginalized groups. We believe that providing alternatives to licensure where competency can be reasonably established through supervisor endorsement, peer recommendations and other measures of competence should be available to Social Workers disadvantaged by the discriminatory bias in the ASWB exam. Our values, ethics and principles drive high quality Social Work care and services across every community in the State of Utah. Social Work as a profession is unique and distinct. We support Social Work education and degrees in Social Work, as this is the best preparation for a strong career as a Social Worker of quality in the State of Utah. We support our many local social work agencies and partners and agree that a thorough scrutiny of the value of an ASWB exam for bachelor’s prepared Social Workers licensure is timely and warranted. Efforts in other jurisdictions have found this brings no additional protection to the public. November 29, 2022, Official Statement Regarding HB366 and need for increased qualified supervision training, Thank you for all your time and efforts on behalf of the mental health professions. We recognize your dedication to providing access to supervision for those pursuing a license in mental health. When HB366 was passed in 2019, the supervision regulations were changed to allow Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW), Clinical Mental Health Counselors (CMHC), and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) to supervise across professions. The long-standing MFT Licensing Act Rule requiring MFT supervision training remained in place. This training now extends to those licensed mental health practitioners outside the MFT discipline who will supervise AMFTs. While HB366 poses a number of major challenges for mental health professionals in Utah, such as portability, it has resulted in us coming together as associations to organize, strategize, and plan ways to address our shared concerns. We would be happy to work with you and others to explore more effective ways to address workforce shortages and supervision access. In 2019, UMHCA, UAMFT, and NASW-UT joined together in support of maintaining qualified supervisor training requirements for those mental health professionals who meet DOPL requirements (2-years post independent practice) to obtain certification by completion of a UAMFT sponsored course to supervise AMFTs. We have seen success in this model and are proposing a similar model for LCSWs , LMFTs, and CMHCs to engage in supervision of ACMHCs an

FAQs

What reforms does the statement support for Social Work practice in Utah?

It supports passage of an interstate compact to enable license reciprocity, removal of supplemental ASWB testing exams for MSWs, and alternative licensure pathways for MSWs who fail the ASWB exam.

Why does the statement oppose double ASWB testing for MSWs?

It argues the additional testing burden does little to establish competence or protect the public, and that the final Clinical level ASWB exam is sufficient to demonstrate clinical proficiency for Licensed Clinical Social Worker practice in Utah.

What qualified supervision training changes does HB366 introduce for mental health professionals?

HB366 allows Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Clinical Mental Health Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists to supervise across professions, while requiring supervision training that extends beyond MFT discipline to those supervising AMFTs.

Sep 21, 2026

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