Your 35-Hour Quest: Unpacking Georgia's CE for Counselors, MFTs & Social Workers!
Prefer to learn via video with audio-go to bottom of page.
Hey there, amazing Georgia Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Social Workers!
Feeling that biennial license renewal creeping up? Well, you're in the right place! We're diving into Georgia's continuing education (CE) requirements with a splash of fun, so you can stay licensed, learned, and totally legal without the headache. Let's get to it!
Your Two-Year CE Adventure: The 35-Hour Quest!
First things first, for every two-year licensure cycle, you're on a quest to snag thirty-five (35) hours of continuing education. This applies to all licenses, even those associate-level ones. Your CE journey officially kicks off on October 1st of each even-numbered year and wraps up on September 30th of the next even-numbered year. Mark your calendars!
Good News for Newbies (Sometimes!): If you snagged your initial license during the second year of a cycle (that's on or after October 1st of any odd-numbered year), you get a free pass on CE for that very first renewal. Hooray! But don't get too comfy; you'll need to meet all requirements for the next cycle. Just a heads-up: this doesn't apply if you're upgrading from an associate-level license (like an MSW) to a clinical one (like an LCSW) – you'll still need to meet those CE hours.
Breaking Down the 35 Hours: It's Not Just Any Old Class!
Think of your 35 hours as a well-balanced meal, with specific requirements for different "food groups":
The Ethics Essential: 5 Synchronous Hours! You absolutely need a minimum of five (5) hours dedicated to professional ethics. And here's the kicker: these must be synchronous activities. What's synchronous? Think live engagement! We're talking in-person workshops, interactive webinars where you can chat with the presenter, or video conferencing where everyone's present at the same time. No recorded lectures for these vital ethics hours!
Pro Tip: If the Board ever asks you to do a peer review of an alleged violation and you submit a written report, that counts for your 5 ethics hours! Plus, if you go overboard on ethics (you ethics enthusiast, you!), those extra hours can count towards your core or related hours, as long as they meet the right criteria.
Core Hours: Your Specialty's Heart (15 Hours Minimum)! Of your remaining thirty (30) hours, at least fifteen (15) hours must be "core hours". These are the hours that are specific to your license specialty. So, if you're a Professional Counselor, your core hours need to scream "professional counseling content"! Same goes for Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapy.
Related Hours: Broaden Your Horizons (15 Hours Maximum)! You can use up to fifteen (15) hours for "related hours". These are super flexible! They can be in a different specialty than your own, or even in allied professions like psychiatry, psychiatric nursing, or psychology. This is your chance to learn something new or dive deeper into an adjacent field!
How You Can Get Those Hours: Mix and Match!
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous: While ethics must be synchronous, you have flexibility for other hours.
Synchronous activities are live and interactive (in-person, webinars, video conferencing).
Asynchronous activities are those online courses or recordings you can access whenever you want, on your own schedule.
The Asynchronous Limit: You can only count a maximum of ten (10) hours of asynchronous CE for each two-year renewal period. So, balance is key!
Independent Study: A Little Bit Goes a Long Way! Love learning on your own? Independent study (like writing, reading journals, or research) is allowed, but it's capped at five (5) hours. And remember, you cannot use independent study for ethics or core hours. If you get audited, you'll need a notarized affidavit detailing your independent study hours.
Academic Coursework: Graduate-level coursework from accredited institutions counts! One semester hour equals 15 CE hours, and one quarter hour equals 10 CE hours.
Overall Cap: No more than twenty (20) hours can come from any single continuing education activity, workshop, or academic coursework/presentation. But don't worry, this typically doesn't apply to professional conferences with multiple presentations where a CE is issued per presentation– so go wild at those!
Who Can Provide CE? Core and related hours generally need to come from activities sponsored, co-sponsored, or approved by professional associations in your specialty or allied fields, academic departments, licensing boards from other jurisdictions, or even federal, state, or local government agencies and licensed hospitals.
The Nitty-Gritty: Documentation & Audits (Don't Skip This Part!)
Hold Onto Your Papers! You need to keep documentation of all your CE hours for four (4) years. The Board doesn't keep these records for you, so it's all on you to stay organized!
Honesty is the Best Policy: When you renew your license, you'll attest that you've met all CE requirements. Falsely attesting can lead to disciplinary action, including license revocation. Yikes!
The Audit Club: The Board audits a percentage of renewal applications each cycle. If you're chosen, you'll need to submit documentation like certificates of attendance (showing if it was synchronous or asynchronous), a statement from the provider, or an official transcript. For independent study, that notarized affidavit is crucial. You'll also need to submit a CE Audit Reporting Form.
Deficiency? Don't Panic (Yet!). If an audit shows you're short on hours, your license might be renewed conditionally. You'll then have six months to make up the missing hours. Fail to do so, and your license could face disciplinary action.
These requirements officially kicked off on October 1, 2020. So, you've got this! Staying informed and organized means you can focus on what you do best: helping others.
Happy learning, and here's to many more years of impactful practice!
Note: I am using AI to generate this blog, I have reviewed it for mistakes and errors. If you know me personally, you know that I discuss CE requirements frequently and will often have the rule in front of me to reconfirm what I am saying. I use AI to create the blog because I have difficulty putting into written words what I have stored in my brain. I go back and forth re: AI but I have decided to use it for blogs and such to help me disseminate information better to others and I double check and edit accordingly. Have thought or opinions about AI generated content, feel free to email me.
