Section 338.2901. Definitions.

Rule 1. (1) As used in these rules:

(a)   "Act" means 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.1101 and   known  as  the  public health code.

(b)    "Approved supervisor" means a licensed social worker who has met the qualifications to work in that field of practice.  Only  a  licensed master's social worker may act as an approved supervisor for a licensed bachelor's social worker, a licensed master's social worker, a limited  licensed bachelor's social worker, and a limited licensed master's social worker. Either a licensed master's social worker or a licensed bachelor's social worker may act as an approved supervisor for a social service technician.

(c)    "Approved provider of continuing education" means an individual, group, professional association, school, institution, organization, or agency approved by the board of social work to conduct educational programs.

(d)   "Bachelor's degree" means a degree awarded by a  social  work education program that  meets  the  educational  standards  set  forth  in  R 338.2906.

(e)   "Board" means the board of social work.

(f)   "Case management" means a method to plan, provide, evaluate, and monitor services from a variety of resources  on  behalf   of  and  in collaboration with a client.

(g)   "Client" means the individual, couple, family, group, organization, or community that seeks or receives social work services.

(i)   "Clinical social  work   practice"  means   the  use  of  assessment, and treatment, and intervention methods that utilize a specialized and formal interaction between a social worker and an individual, a couple, a family, or a group in which a professional relationship is established. Clinical social work practice may include 1 or more of the following: advocating for care; protecting the vulnerable; providing forensic practice functions; increasing  social   well-being;  providing  education,  and  resources; providing psychotherapy; providing case management for complex and high-risk cases; serving on community  committees;  and,    providing clinical  supervision  or direction of clinical programs.

(j)    "Consultation" means a problem-solving and/or educational process in which expertise is offered to an individual, group, agency, organization, or community.

(k)   "Continuing education" means education and training that are oriented to maintain, improve, or enhance social work knowledge, values, and skills.

(l)     "Continuing education contact  hour" means  a  60-minute  clock   hour  of instruction and does not include breaks or meals.

(m)     "Macro social work" means the term in section 18501(g)(ii) of the act and includes, but is not limited to, community organizing; program planning and development; administration of community services or programs; assessment of client needs for macro community programs or services; coordination and/or evaluation of service delivery; advocacy on behalf of persons or groups with unmet service needs; analysis and development of social welfare policy; organizational analysis; and, provision  of training about community needs and problems.

(n)   "Master's degree" means a  degree  awarded  by  a  social  work education program that  meets  the  educational  standards  set  forth  in  R

338.2906.

(o)    "Private practice" means the provision of social work services by a licensed master's  social  worker   who  assumes  responsibility   and accountability for the nature and quality of the services provided  to   the client in exchange for direct payment or third-party reimbursement.

(p)   "Psychosocial assessment" means  a  mutual  process  between  a  social worker and a client to gather and organize information and to draw inferences from that information to develop a plan of treatment or action that  will  maximize   client strengths   and   lead   toward   effective client-generated solutions.

(q)    "Psychotherapy" means the assessment, diagnosis, or treatment of mental, emotional,  or behavioral  disorders,  conditions,  addictions,   or

other bio-psychosocial  problems  and  may  include   the   involvement of the intrapsychic, intrapersonal, or psychosocial dynamics of individuals.

(r)   "Under the supervision of a licensed bachelor's or a licensed master's social worker" means an interactional professional relationship between a supervisor and a supervisee that provides evaluation and direction over the supervisee's practice of social work and promotes continued development of the social worker's knowledge, values, skills, and abilities to engage in the practice of social work in an ethical and competent manner.

(2)    As used in section 18507 of the act, "an associate degree in social work at a college approved by  the   board  that  includes  supervised instructional field experience" means an associate degree from a  program that  requires completion of not less than 18 semester hours or not less than 27 quarter hours of social work courses and the completion of   a social  work  field placement or internship of not less than 350 hours under the supervision of a licensed bachelor's or licensed master's social worker. This  subrule takes effect October 8, 2004.

(3)   As used in section 18507 of the act, "successfully completed 2 years of college" means the completion of 60 semester or 90  quarter  hours of college-level courses, while maintaining a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0. This subrule takes effect January 1, 2006.

History: 1979 AC; 1992 AACS; 2003 AACS; 2005 AACS.