Kentucky Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Guide - 2024

Kentucky Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Licensure Process

In Kentucky, the LCSW is the highest license a social worker can attain. Clinical social workers can provide all of the non-clinical and clinical services. Their duties include:

• Observe client behavior before determining needs and developing treatment strategies
• Diagnose psychological, emotional, and behavioral disorders and conditions
• Consult with medical professionals regarding treatment plans
• Administer social service programs

Education Requirements

You must have an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program or possess a doctoral degree in social work.

Experience Requirements

The Kentucky Board requires supervised clinical social work experience as a prerequisite to attaining LCSW licensure. This includes a minimum of two years of full-time post-grad experience at 30 hours per week or three years of part-time post-grad experience at a minimum of 20 hours per week. An LCSW who has been licensed for three years and completed three hours of Board-approved supervision training on practices and methods must supervise your work. The Board has to approve the proposed supervisor and supervision contact. During your experience, you need at least 200 hours of supervision. One-hundred of those hours must be individual supervision rather than supervised group work.

Application Process

Once you’ve met the supervised clinical requirements, it’s time to submit the Licensure Application along with your official transcript. The Supervised Experience Documentation form has to be sent to the Board also with the appropriate application fee and three professional references.

Background Check

You must pass a criminal background check to be eligible for licensure. There is a section on the application that asks if you have any felony convictions. If so, you are required to attach a written document explaining the conviction and certified copies of the disciplinary and criminal records. These include a copy of the police report or grand jury indictment, the Judgement of Conviction, and the Judgement or Sentencing Order. The Board will examine the information and make a determination regarding licensure.

Examination Requirement

After the Board approves your application, you will be eligible to register for the ASWB Clinical Exam. The exam is designed to assess your knowledge of clinical social work using 170 multiple-choice questions. When you receive your unofficial score, please send it to the Board with the required licensure fee. Until the Board issues your official LCSW license, you’ll have to continue practicing clinical services under supervision, even if you’ve passed the exam.