Part II. Requirements for Certification
18VAC125-30-30. Prerequisites to certification.
A. Every applicant for certification by the board shall:
1. Meet the educational requirements prescribed in 18VAC125-30-40;
2. Meet the experience requirements prescribed in 18VAC125-30-50;
3. Submit to the board:
a. A completed application form;
b. Documented evidence of having fulfilled the education, experience, and supervision set forth in 18VAC125-30-40 and 18VAC125-30-50;
c. A current report from the National Practitioner Data Bank; and
d. Verification of any other health or mental health license, certificate, or registration ever held in Virginia or in another jurisdiction. In order to qualify for certification, the applicant shall have no unresolved action against a license, certificate, or registration. The board will consider history of disciplinary action on a case-by-case basis.
B. The board may certify by endorsement an individual who can document current certification as a sex offender treatment provider in good standing obtained by standards substantially equivalent to those outlined in this chapter as verified by an out-of-state certifying agency on a board-approved form.
Statutory Authority
§§ 54.1-2400 and 54.1-3605 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 13, Issue 21, eff. August 6, 1997; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 13, eff. April 10, 2002; Volume 32, Issue 6, eff. January 15, 2016; Volume 37, Issue 21, eff. July 22, 2021.
18VAC125-30-40. Educational requirements.
An applicant for certification as a sex offender treatment provider shall:
1. Document completion of one of the following degrees:
a. A master's or doctoral degree in social work, psychology, counseling, or nursing from a regionally accredited university; or
b. The degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from an institution that is approved by an accrediting agency recognized by the Virginia Board of Medicine
Graduates of institutions that are not accredited by an acceptable accrediting agency shall establish the equivalency of their education to the educational requirements of the Virginia Board of Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, Nursing or Medicine.
2. Provide certificates of completion documenting 50 clock hours of education acceptable to the board in the following areas, with 15 clock hours in each area identified in subdivisions 2 a and 2 b of this section, 10 clock hours in the area identified in subdivision 2 c of this section, and five clock hours in each area identified in subdivisions 2 d and 2 e of this section:
a. Sex offender assessment;
b. Sex offender treatment interventions;
c. Etiology/developmental issues of sex offense behavior;
d. Criminal justice and legal issues related to sexual offending; and
e. Treatment effectiveness and issues related to relapse prevention or recidivism of sex offenders.
Statutory Authority
§§ 54.1-2400 and 54.1-3605 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 13, Issue 21, eff. August 6, 1997; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 13, eff. April 10, 2002; Volume 32, Issue 6, eff. January 15, 2016; Volume 37, Issue 21, eff. July 22, 2021.
18VAC125-30-50. Experience requirements; supervision.
A. Registration of supervision. Supervised experience obtained in Virginia without prior written board approval shall not be accepted toward certification. Candidates shall not begin the experience until after completion of the required degree as set forth in 18VAC125-30-40.
1. Prior to beginning supervised postdegree experience in Virginia, an individual shall submit:
a. A completed supervisory contract;
b. The application and the registration fee prescribed in 18VAC125-30-20; and
c. Official graduate transcript documenting the degree requirement of 18VAC125-30-40.
2. The board may waive the registration requirement for individuals who have obtained at least five years of documented work experience in sex offender treatment in another jurisdiction. For individuals with less than five years of documented work experience, the board may accept supervised experience hours completed in another jurisdiction, provided the experience meets the requirements of this section, except it is not required that a supervisor in the other jurisdiction hold certification as a sex offender treatment provider or a license issued by a health regulatory board in Virginia.
B. An applicant for certification as a sex offender treatment provider shall provide documentation of having 2,000 hours of postdegree clinical experience in the delivery of clinical assessment/treatment services. At least 200 hours of this experience must be face-to-face treatment and assessment with sex offender clients.
1. The experience shall include a minimum of 100 hours of face-to-face supervision within the 2,000 hours experience with a minimum of one hour of face-to-face supervision for every 20 hours of experience. A minimum of 50 hours shall be in individual face-to-face supervision. Face-to-face supervision obtained in a group setting shall include no more than six trainees in a group.
2. If the applicant has obtained the required postdegree clinical experience for a mental health license within the past 10 years, the applicant can receive credit for those hours that were in the delivery of clinical assessment/treatment services with sex offender clients provided:
a. The applicant can document that the hours were in the treatment and assessment with sex offender clients; and
b. The supervisor for those hours can attest that he was licensed and qualified to render services to sex offender clients at the time of the supervision.
C. The supervisor.
1. The supervisor shall assume responsibility for the professional activities of the applicant.
2. The supervisor shall not provide supervision for activities for which the prospective applicant has not had appropriate education.
3. The supervisor shall be a certified sex offender treatment provider and hold a current and unrestricted Virginia license as a clinical nurse specialist, doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or clinical psychologist.
4. The supervisor shall provide supervision only for those sex offender treatment services which he is qualified to render.
5. At the time of formal application for certification, the board approved supervisor shall document for the board the applicant's total hours of supervision, length of work experience, competence in sex offender treatment, and needs for additional supervision or training.
Statutory Authority
§§ 54.1-2400 and 54.1-3605 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 13, Issue 21, eff. August 6, 1997; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 13, eff. April 10, 2002; Volume 25, Issue 20, eff. July 8, 2009; Volume 32, Issue 6, eff. January 15, 2016; Volume 37, Issue 21, eff. July 22, 2021.
18VAC125-30-60. (Repealed.)
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 13, Issue 21, eff. August 6, 1997; repealed, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 13, eff. April 10, 2002.
18VAC125-30-70. Supervision of unlicensed persons.
A certified sex offender treatment provider shall provide supervision for unlicensed persons providing ancillary services as part of an identified sex offender treatment program.
Statutory Authority
§§ 54.1-2400 and 54.1-3605 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 13, Issue 21, eff. August 6, 1997; amended, Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 6, eff. January 15, 2016; Volume 37, Issue 21, eff. July 22, 2021.