State Regulation of Clinical Supervision and License Examinees’ Competence Measured by Exam Passage

Abstract Because clinical supervision is crucial to supervisees’ competence development, states impose numerous requirements governing it. This study examined variability in state rules governing clinical supervision regulations and how they affect the minimal competence of clinical license examinees, as reflected in their license exam passage. It used data on social work regulatory rules and the 2022 clinical license exam passage and conducted a logistic regression analysis to estimate the likelihood of clinical exam passage. Findings revealed that the exam pass rate increased with more rigorous clinical supervision regulations, and those in direct service positions consistently had higher pass rates. The largest disadvantages were concentrated among examinees in non-direct service positions in states with the least rigorous clinical supervision regulations. The findings underscore the importance of clinical supervision regulations, particularly in developing the minimum competence of emerging clinical social workers across practice settings. They also imply that addressing regional disparities in exam passage rates may require regulatory reforms.