Scope of Practice, Titles, and License Categories Under the Colorado Social Work Practice Act
The Social Work Practice Act sits in Title 12, Article 245, Part 4 of the Colorado Revised Statutes and is administered by the State Board of Social Work Examiners inside DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations. Exam items in this domain test which credential authorizes which activity, who may use protected titles, and where general social work practice ends and clinical practice begins.
The credential ladder
- Social Work Candidate (SWC). A supervised, pre-independent status. The candidate may deliver social work services only under supervision, may not practice independently, and is working toward full licensure.
- Licensed Social Worker (LSW). Requires the qualifying social work degree plus the ASWB Masters examination. The LSW may practice social work - assessment, case management, care coordination, advocacy, and non-clinical counseling within scope - but may not independently diagnose or treat mental disorders.
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). The independent clinical credential: diagnosis and psychotherapy with individuals, couples, families, and groups, plus clinical supervision of others.
Title protection
Only licensees may use "social worker," "licensed social worker," "licensed clinical social worker," and the associated abbreviations. An unlicensed person holding out as a social worker, or an LSW advertising "psychotherapy," commits unprofessional conduct. Remember that other Article 245 licensees - psychologists, LPCs, LMFTs, addiction counselors - also deliver psychotherapy, so scope questions often turn on overlapping authority rather than exclusivity.
Scope boundaries
Clinical social work means applying social work theory and methods to the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Nothing in the Act authorizes prescribing medication, ordering medical tests, or certifying an involuntary hold unless the licensee separately meets the behavioral health statute's definition of a designated professional.
Worked example
A newly graduated MSW passes the Masters exam and is hired at a community agency. She wants the website to describe her as offering "psychotherapy for trauma." Reasoning: her credential is LSW. Independent psychotherapy requires an LCSW or another Article 245 clinical license. She may provide clinical services under supervision while accruing hours, but the marketing must state her actual credential and, where applicable, that she is supervised. The correct move is to revise the listing to "Licensed Social Worker (supervised practice)."
Traps
Confusing SWC with LSW; assuming the Masters exam confers clinical independence; forgetting that an LSW may accrue clinical hours but not diagnose autonomously; overlooking that other professions share the psychotherapy scope; assuming the Act authorizes medication or hold authority.