South Carolina § 40-63-530 - Participation eligibility and membership.

§ 40-63-530. Participation eligibility and membership.

(A) To be eligible to participate in the compact, a potential member state must currently meet all of the following criteria:

(1) License and regulate clinical, master's, or bachelor's categories of social work practice.

(2) Require applicants for licensure to pass a corresponding qualifying national exam for the category of licensure sought as outlined in Section 40-63-540.

(3) Require applicants for licensure to graduate from a program that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, or its successor, or by the United States Department of Education and operated by a college or university recognized by the licensing authority and that corresponds to the licensure sought as outlined in Section 40-63-540.

(4) Require applicants for clinical licensure to complete a period of supervised practice.

(5) Have a mechanism in place for receiving, investigating, and adjudicating complaints about licensees.

(B) To maintain membership in the compact a member state shall:

(1) participate fully in the commission's data system, including using the commission's unique identifier as defined in rules;

(2) notify the commission, in compliance with the terms of the compact and rules, of any adverse action or the availability of current significant investigative information regarding a licensee;

(3) implement or utilize procedures for considering the criminal history records of applicants for an initial interstate compact license. These procedures shall include the submission of fingerprints or other biometric based information by applicants for the purpose of obtaining an applicant's criminal history record information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the agency responsible for retaining that state's criminal records for the sole purpose of affirming or denying eligibility for participation in the compact; provided:

(a) a member state must utilize or fully implement a criminal background check requirement, within a time frame established by rule of the commission, by receiving the results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation record search and shall use the results in making licensure decisions determining eligibility for participation in the compact; and

(b) communication between a member state, the commission and among member states, through the data system or otherwise, regarding the verification of any information received from the Federal Bureau of Investigation relating to a federal criminal records check performed by a member state under Public Law 92-544;

(4) comply with the rules of the commission;

(5) require an applicant to obtain or retain a license in the home state and meet the home state's qualifications for licensure or renewal of licensure, as well as all other applicable home state laws;

(6) authorize a licensee holding an interstate compact license in any member state to practice in accordance with the terms of the compact and rules of the commission; and

(7) designate a delegate to participate in the commission meetings.

(C) Home states may charge a fee for granting the interstate compact license.

(D) An interstate compact license issued by a home state to a resident in that state shall be recognized by all compact member states as authorizing social work practice under a multistate authorization to practice corresponding to each category of licensure regulated in the member state.

HISTORY: 2025 Act No. 66 (H.3752), SECTION 2, eff May 22, 2025.

Editor's Note

2025 Act No. 66, SECTION 1, provides as follows:

"SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'Social Work Interstate Compact Act.'"