The continuing education requirements to keep New York social work licenses in good standing aren’t big, but they are important.
For both the LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker) and LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) credentials, you need to accumulate at least 36 hours of CE (continuing education) from approved providers during each 3-year registration period.
At only 12 hours per year, that’s a pretty easy obligation to keep up with.
Yet in a field that is as dynamic and expansive as social work, particularly in a diverse and globally-focused state as New York, how you spend those 12 annual hours can make a big difference. You need to be able to check that box on your renewal form, but far more importantly, you want to get training that genuinely improves your understanding of social work practice and enhances your ability to make a difference for your clients and community.
Here’s how.
How Your Continuing Education Hours Are Added up for New York Social Work Licensing
New York state requirements are pretty straightforward, but we are talking about a government agency in one of the most famously bureaucratic states in the country. That means you will need to brush up a little bit on exactly how continuing education hours are counted here.
CE is not required during your first three-year registration period as a New York social worker.
First, you should understand what an hour of continuing education actually is according to NYSED (which is the agency that counts these things up and validates them). You might be surprised to learn that it’s not actually an hour—only 50 minutes of training is needed to count an hour.
There’s also a translation factor for CEUs (Continuing Education Units, a common measure of CE), which are often held to be equivalent to 10 contact hours of training. So one CEU actually accounts for almost all of your required CE as a social worker.
Unlike many states, New York does not require that your CE hours be distributed in any particular categories, leaving you free to choose the best options available to meet your interests.
Accepted courses toward your CE obligations have to be approved by NYSED. The easiest way to make sure your training will fit the bill is to pick from the NYSED pre-approved provider list. It’s possible to submit work that isn’t on that list, but it will have to be approved on a case-by-case basis, which could leave you hanging at the last minute if for some reasons a class doesn’t make the grade. Also, providers themselves have to apply for approval, so it’s not something you can accomplish on your own.
The courses also have to be in a relevant subject area for social workers, which NYSED also helpfully provides:
- Theories and concepts of human behavior in the social environment
- Social work practice, knowledge, and skills
- Social work research, programs, or evaluations
- Social work management, administration, or social policy
- Ethics in social work
- Clinical interventions and models, and principles of clinical social work practice, including diagnosis and psychotherapy
- Client communications and documentation methods
- Administrative and clinical supervision techniques
- Pedagogical methodologies for teaching social work
- Cross-disciplinary offerings that include law, medicine, administration, education, or the behavioral sciences as they apply to social work
Just like social work itself, that’s a broad swath of topics, and should leave you plenty of fodder for courses in CE for years to come.
Other Activities That You May Be Able to Apply To Continuing Education Requirements as a New York Social Worker
Just taking a class is not your only path to fulfilling CE obligations, however. NYSED has a whole list of other approved activities that can count toward your requirements every three years.
Teaching Will Help You Bank a Lot of CE
On the theory that teaching, too, is learning, many of those opportunities revolve around the other side of the CE class: teaching.
You may receive CE hours for:
- Preparing and teaching courses at approved CE providers or an institution of higher education
- Making a technical presentation at a professional conference sponsored by an approved organization
These come with hefty credits for continuing ed. A presentation is awarded double hours, so you get two CE hours for every hour of presentation time. Teaching is credited at 15 CE hours for each semester credit hour.
Try Your Hand at Writing and Publishing Credits
Writing and publishing are also approved activities. You may receive 2 hours of CE for writing a first-time publication in a peer-reviewed journal or book chapter. So if you have some research and writing chops and something thoughtful and original to contribute, take a chance and submit a draft for publication to one of the popular journals in the field, or even one that isn’t as well known…
- Journal of Social Work: Sage Journals
- Social Work, the Official Journal of NASW
- Journal of Social Work Practice – Psychotherapeutic Approaches in Health, Welfare and the Community
- Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
- Trauma, Violence, & Abuse (TVA)
- Journal of Marriage and Family
- Child Development
- American Journal of Community Psychology
- Social Policy and Administration
- Children and Youth Services Review
- Social Work in Public Health
- Research and Social Work Practice
- Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal
- Qualitative Social Work
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work
- Journal of Social Service Research
- Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care
- Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work
- Social Service Review
- Social Work in Mental Health
- Health and Social Work
- Journal of Teaching in Social Work
- Journal of Family Social Work
- Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work
- Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions
… and more.
For authoring an entire book, you can get 5 hours of CE!
Self-Study is the Tried and Tested Method for Stacking CE
Finally, you’re allowed to engage in appropriate self-study. This has to be done through a structured program offered by a department-approved provider.
Some large organizations offer in-services or on-the-job training for social workers that counts as CE. The employer has to be on the department-approved list as a provider, however.
Continuing Education Is Important for Professional Certification as Well as State Licensure
While you need a license in order to practice, many experienced New York social workers go beyond the bare minimum in credentials by earning professional certification in various social work specialties.
Offered both by NASW, the National Association of Social Workers, as well as various other specialized national boards and associations, professional certs test your skills above and beyond the state requirements.
It’s also the case that maintaining those certifications requires continuing education above and beyond the state minimums for maintaining licensure.
That may mean more hours or hours from other approved providers that are focused entirely in the specialized focus area of the certification itself. So on your ongoing pursuit for CE for state licensing purposes, you may need to take on some side quests to meet the requirements of your certifications as well.
In many cases, your certification CE will overlap, or at least be accepted, by NYSED, so you won’t necessarily have to double up on your hours. But it is a consideration you’ll have to keep in mind as you are budgeting both dollars and hours to meet your obligations.
Continuing Education Options and Resources for New York Social Workers
Since CE is such an engrained part of social work administration in New York, you won’t have any trouble finding classes and training providers to help you rack up your hours. Just as important, you will find that the variety allows you to tune your CE toward your own specific practice and interests. After all, continuing ed isn’t just an obligation; it’s an opportunity to get better at what you do, and help more clients more effectively.
You can get started with any of these resources.
NASW-NYS Continuing Education
In fact, if you are a member of the New York state chapter of NASW, you may be able to not just get started, but also get finished with your CE obligation as part of the package! NASW-NYS guarantees that members will receive all 36 CEs required for their 3-year renewal period absolutely free with membership with their monthly scheduled anti-racist webinars. The chapter also offers a wide range of other regular CE courses at $45 apiece covering everything from diagnostic systems to intersectional treatment frameworks.
National Association of Social Workers New York City Continuing Education
If you are practicing in the city, you also have the option of joining the NASW NYC chapter. The chapter is registered with NYSED as an approved CE provider, and, as a bonus, a CE provider for CASACs for social workers who hold dual licenses. With regular workshops and an annual Social Work in the City CE conference, you can find topics ultra-focused on NYC social work considerations here.
NASW Continuing Education
Of course, if the state or city chapters don’t wet your whistle, you can always take a step up to the even vaster catalog of resources for CE offering by the National Association of Social Workers. Just as with the state and city level chapters, CE hours are available to members for free or at vastly discounted rates. Hundreds of courses in a variety of formats ranging from podcasts to webinars to presentations cover every social work topic under the sun. Naturally, these can all count toward various types of specialized CE required to maintain any of your NASW professional certifications, as well.
Practitioner Training | SAMHSA
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a vast range of responsibilities when it comes to distributing information and educational materials to mental health and substance abuse treatment professionals nationwide. Through various technical transfer centers, partnerships with other agencies, and directly available content, you may find hidden gems of particular interest to your social work practice area.
The Learning Center | SAMHSA
SAMHSA has a lot of learning resources, but as it happens, The Learning Center is a training portal for topics related to child and adolescent trauma. With over 300 online courses offering CE certificates, you can brush up on your expertise in this important social work field as well as covering your professional training obligations.
Advanced Clinical Education Foundation
Run by the New York state Society for Clinical Social Work, ACE offers essential clinical programs at the cutting edge of social work and psychology practice. They go beyond the basics of delivering contact hours for license renewal by encouraging a lifelong mastery of clinical skills and keeping up with the cutting-edge of treatment. LCSWs looking to hone their expertise through CE in New York need look no further.
#1 AAA CE Training
Continuing education is in great demand among behavioral health and other licensed professionals, so it’s not surprising that there is a major industry centered on delivering the credits needed. #1 AAA is a New York based online CE provider that covers a range of different professional needs, including those of social workers.
AEDP™ Institute
In other cases, you can use CE hours to advance your professional skills with new techniques and treatment options from associated fields. AEDP is a psychotherapy model used by clinicians in psychology, therapy, and counseling. If it’s something that you believe your practice would benefit from, you can count some of your training toward state-accepted CE hours.
ASAPNYS – Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers of New York State
Another option for advancing your specialized practice in the focus area of alcoholism and substance abuse treatment is with training from ASAP. A major policy and advocacy organization as well as a training provider, the organization also offers specialty certifications in this practice area that will let you may gather CE while working toward becoming certified.
Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers (APOSW)
Another highly specialized organization that offers CE hours accepted in New York is APOSW. Whether through their CE Center, with a catalog of events and mini-conferences, or their annual conference, you can hone your skills in this important and specific type of social work practice.
Center for Independence of the Disabled – New York
As a NYSED-approved CE provider, social workers specializing in working with this population may explore the history of deinstitutionalization, the associations between trauma and disability, and additional focused courses while meeting their obligations. Disability awareness trainings from CIDNY are also offered monthly.
Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies
Another option that may be of particular interest to clinical mental health social workers in New York could be CMPS. Psychoanalysis is a notoriously tough topic to master, but when you can count your classes toward CE requirements, you may find your enthusiasm for learning rising!
Center for Telepsychology
Telepractice is still unusual in social work circles. We’re very much a face-to-face kind of business. But the way the world is shifting to online services, it could be well worth your time to invest some of your CE hours in getting some professional training for online practice.
Center for Urban Community Services
CUC delivers approved training to professionals in human services, behavioral health, and criminal justice. They offer hands-on education in housing and homeless issues, case management, clinical, and evidence-based practices. It’s all designed to deliver practical real-world learning opportunities, conducted by licensed social workers who understand exactly what you need.
Commission for Case Manager Certification
CMMC will be an option of particular interest for social workers active in case management practice in New York. The CCMC may be a credential you hold or choose to pursue anyway, and the fact that the CM Learning Network is an approved provider for NYSED can make it easy to align your credits for both the CCMC and your LCSW/LMSW renewals.
Zero Suicide Institute AMSR Training
Every social worker dreads the call… the terrible off-hours notification that one of your clients has committed suicide. The Zero Suicide Institute offers CE that you want to have to head off those terrible moments, with their Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk training to give you confidence in offering compassionate care to clients at risk for suicide.
Estate Planning Law Center
Of particular interest to social workers specializing in gerontology is an area that is outside the expertise of most MSW programs: estate law. Sure to be a hot button topic with older patients and their families, a strong grounding in the legal dos and don’ts is a valuable addition for this practice area. Instruction from EPLC workshops can give you that information while counting toward your CE hours.
Other Resources To Explore for Continuing Education Credits in New York Social Work
While there is more than enough coursework on the above list to keep you well-stocked in CE options for quite some time, there are still more resources out there! Whether you are looking for more variety or better pricing or more convenient courses, you might find them in some unexpected places.
New York Colleges and Universities With Social Work Programs
If you can earn CE hours by teaching at university social work programs, it also makes sense that you can earn them by attending those programs. Most major social work schools in New York offer CE hours, often bundled with their social work certificate programs. In some cases, if you are an alumni, schools will offer you a discount on CE classes.
Social Work and Behavioral Health Provider Unions
New York is a stronghold for healthcare worker unions, and many social workers are eligible for membership at various employers in the state. Many unions conduct regular training and in-services for their members, and some of these organizations are on the NYSED pre-approved list. Depending on the size and resources of the organization, you can find surprisingly extensive in-person, virtual, or self-learning resources offered.
Major Healthcare and Behavioral Health Employers
A significant number of the entries on the NYSED list belong to various health and behavioral healthcare organizations. That’s because it makes a lot of sense for these major employers of social workers, mental health counselors, and other therapists to provide training in-house for their staff. They get a consistent approach and well-trained professionals while the social workers employed there get free continuing education hours to apply toward license renewal. So this is definitely an avenue to explore, if your employer offers it.
Other Professional Behavioral Health Organizations
Social workers cover a lot of ground in their professional duties, and much of it overlaps with fields like substance use disorder counseling, mental health counseling, and behavioral therapy. So if you are an LMSW or LCSW who also crosses over into these various fields as part of your regular duties, it’s worth checking out the CE options available for those roles and whether they also can apply for your license.
No matter how you get it, continuing education is a crucial part of your professional development as a social worker. These resources are just the tip of the iceberg. Your growth and experience will ultimately lead you in new directions and to even more relevant and focused CE opportunities across New York.