Section 5068.5 Of Chapter 2. The Secretary Of The Department Of Corrections And Rehabilitation From California Penal Code >> Title 7. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2.
5068.5
. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, except as provided in
subdivisions (b) and (c), any person employed or under contract to
provide diagnostic, treatment, or other mental health services in the
state or to supervise or provide consultation on these services in
the state correctional system shall be a physician and surgeon, a
psychologist, or other health professional, licensed to practice in
this state.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 5068 or Section 704 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, the following persons are exempt from the
requirements of subdivision (a), so long as they continue in
employment in the same class and in the same department:
(1) Persons employed on January 1, 1985, as psychologists to
provide diagnostic or treatment services including those persons on
authorized leave but not including intermittent personnel.
(2) Persons employed on January 1, 1989, to supervise or provide
consultation on the diagnostic or treatment services including
persons on authorized leave but not including intermittent personnel.
(c) (1) The requirements of subdivision (a) may be waived by the
secretary solely for persons in the professions of psychology or
clinical social work who are gaining qualifying experience for
licensure in those professions in this state. Providers working in a
licensed health care facility operated by the department must receive
a waiver in accordance with Section 1277 of the Health and Safety
Code.
(2) A waiver granted pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed
three years from the date the employment commences in this state in
the case of psychologists, or four years from commencement of the
employment in this state in the case of clinical social workers, at
which time licensure shall have been obtained or the employment shall
be terminated, except that an extension of a waiver of licensure for
clinical social workers may be granted for one additional year,
based on extenuating circumstances determined by the department
pursuant to subdivision (d). For persons employed as psychologists or
clinical social workers less than full time, an extension of a
waiver of licensure may be granted for additional years proportional
to the extent of part-time employment, as long as the person is
employed without interruption in service, but in no case shall the
waiver of licensure exceed six years in the case of clinical social
workers or five years in the case of psychologists. However, this
durational limitation upon waivers shall not apply to active
candidates for a doctoral degree in social work, social welfare, or
social science who are enrolled at an accredited university, college,
or professional school, but these limitations shall apply following
completion of that training.
(3) A waiver pursuant to this subdivision shall be granted only to
the extent necessary to qualify for licensure, except that personnel
recruited for employment from outside this state and whose
experience is sufficient to gain admission to a licensure examination
shall nevertheless have one year from the date of their employment
in California to become licensed, at which time licensure shall have
been obtained or the employment shall be terminated, provided that
the employee shall take the licensure examination at the earliest
possible date after the date of his or her employment, and if the
employee does not pass the examination at that time, he or she shall
have a second opportunity to pass the next possible examination,
subject to the one-year limit for clinical social workers, and
subject to a two-year limit for psychologists.
(d) The department shall grant a request for an extension of a
waiver of licensure for a clinical social worker pursuant to
subdivision (c) based on extenuating circumstances if any of the
following circumstances exist:
(1) The person requesting the extension has experienced a recent
catastrophic event that may impair the person's ability to qualify
for and pass the licensure examination. Those events may include, but
are not limited to, significant hardship caused by a natural
disaster; serious and prolonged illness of the person; serious and
prolonged illness or death of a child, spouse, or parent; or other
stressful circumstances.
(2) The person requesting the extension has difficulty speaking or
writing the English language, or other cultural and ethnic factors
exist which substantially impair the person's ability to qualify for
and pass the license examination.
(3) The person requesting the extension has experienced other
personal hardship that the department, in its discretion, determines
to warrant the extension.