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Scope, Ethics, and Licensing: A Social Worker's Guide to Texas Rules

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When your license is your livelihood, clarity is everything. We sit down with Darrel Spinks, Executive Director of the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), to demystify what social workers in Texas can do at each level and how to avoid the traps that put good practitioners at risk. Instead of a rigid ladder, Darrel shares the “bullseye” view of licensure: LBSWs at the core with focused case management and assessments, LMSWs expanding to higher complexity, and LCSWs adding full clinical services. That shift in mindset helps you explain your role, protect your scope, and deliver care with confidence.

We get candid about the most common complaints and why they happen. Independent practice recognition, supervision, and advertising are frequent sources of confusion, especially for LMSWs delivering clinical services under contract. The most preventable violation, practicing without active authority, still leads the pack, ahead of missed renewals and assumptions about pending applications. Darrel explains how these lapses can undermine employers and clients, and he offers practical habits that keep your status clean: verify your license, align your duties with your scope, use precise titles, and document supervision. We also cover familiar hazards like boundary issues, standard-of-care gaps, and shaky ESA letters that skip required assessments.

Ethics shape the profession, but Texas rules govern your practice. We contrast the NASW Code of Ethics with state statutes and board rules, highlight key differences that matter for confidentiality and duty limits, and point you to tools that make compliance easier: a searchable rulebook, proposed rule trackers, and BHEC’s Leadership Listening Hour for direct Q&A. We touch on hot-button topics like licensing exams, workforce equity, and criminal history bars under Chapter 108, and explain where boards can act and where change requires lawmakers. The takeaway is practical and empowering: solve the client’s problem in front of you, stay current on the rules, ask questions early, and carry malpractice coverage that includes administrative defense.

If this conversation helped sharpen your practice, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more Texas social workers can find it! Got a question you want us to put to BHEC leadership next time? Send it our way.

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Visit the resources mentioned in this episode! 

BHEC PDF Rulebooks: 
https://bhec.texas.gov/statues-and-rules/

Proposed Rule Changes open for public comment: 
https://bhec.texas.gov/proposed-rule-changes-and-the-rulemaking-process/proposed-rule-changes-open-for-public-comment/

Texas Social Worker FAQ's:
https://bhec.texas.gov/texas-state-board-of-social-worker-examiners/sw-faqs/

Leadership Listening Hour with BHEC:
https://bhec.texas.gov/agency-news/#:~:text=Upcoming%20Leadership%20Listening%20Hour%20Webinar

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Get more information, details and resources on Know Your Regulator - https://www.belolaw.com/know-your-regulator




SPEAKER_03:

This podcast is for educational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal assistance about a legal problem, contact an attorney.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to Know Your Regulator, the podcast that inspires you to engage. I'm your host, Simone Murfrey. In today's episode, we're putting a spotlight on one of the most vital roles in the behavioral health ecosystem: licensed social workers in Texas. Joining me is a returning guest. We've got Daryl Spinks, Executive Director for the Behavioral Health Executive Council, better known as BHEC. We're going to be diving into what social workers can and can't do under their license, unpack some of the ethical lines that they've got to navigate, and we're going to talk through some of the real world challenges that they're facing today. So whether you're a seasoned social worker or you are new to the profession, this episode is just for you. Well, let's kick things off the scope of practice. Daryl, for social workers in Texas, especially for those at different licensure levels, I know there's a few different types, and correct me if I'm wrong on any of these. We've got the LBSW, which is the bachelor's in social work, the LMSW, which is the master's in social work, and then the LCSW, the licensed clinical social worker. So for each of these different levels of licensure, what does the law actually allow them to do?

SPEAKER_04:

Social work is one of those professions. How all the mental health professions, there's just a significant amount of overlap between all of them. So for example, an LCSW can do everything that an LBSW and an MSW can do. And one of the things I learned early on coming on as the ED for BHEC was social work does not view their licensure in a hierarchical category. In other words, I think probably most people would think of it as LBSW, move up to MSW, then you move up to clinical social work. They don't view it that way. The better way to view it kind of from the social worker perspective is it like a bullseye. So you're the LBSW, you're in the middle, you kind of have the most confined or restricted scope. And then you move outward, concentric rings outwards, until you get to the LCSW with the greatest scope of practice. So what does the LBSW do? Mainly case management, case management and assessments. And they they will do some things like locating resources, negotiating, and advocating for the clients, helping folks navigate very complex, bureaucratic systems, community organization, teaching, some some professional development, that kind of thing. The real distinction between like the LBSW scope and the MSW scope is the complexity and the level at which you operate on each one of those tasks. So, you know, you might be operating in much less complex or much more simple systems as an LBSW, whereas an MSW can handle a much more difficult problem or issue that the client poses or presents. So that's where the scope differences really come into play. It's more of a um, it's more of a competency towards complexity, is kind of the way I look at it when you're trying to distinguish the scopes between LBSW and MSW. Now, clinical folks, like I say, they can do everything the LBSW and MSW can do, but they they can do they can deliver the traditional clinical services that you would think of that a psychologist or a counselor or an MFT can do as well. So they they they are kind of uh what would you say, a renaissance man? They can kind of do it all.

SPEAKER_00:

Gotcha, yeah. Jack of all traits, right?

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, Jack of all traits.

SPEAKER_00:

It's like they are the master of all of them as well. They are, yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, um they're they're very good at it. So uh they they have to they have to be able to know quite a bit. And I will say that that exam is probably it's regarded as one of the more difficult exams out of all the exams that we administer, is that LCSW exam? Yeah, it's a it's a tough one, but it has to be.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, we'll talk about that competency for that you know complexity for sure. And I love that you outlined it um as a bullseye because yes, I mean, even coming into here, I was under the impression that it's sort of a um a hierarchy, and that's so um I can see it now, the way that you've displayed it. So good to know that it's really just the um that you're able to handle more complex problems or or the complexities of the same situations. So really interesting.

SPEAKER_04:

They're also one of the only profess well, they are the only profession we have that that has a bachelor's level licensure. But they're also unique in that um the LBSWs can actually have independent practice authority and can be supervisors. They can achieve both of those things at the bachelor's level, which is very unique to social work. Uh that doesn't exist in any of the other professions.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, that's great. I mean, those those are all things that really encourage and and further the profession and help um, you know, peers interact and be able to do do their best. So that's awesome. When it comes to scope, there's you know, got to be some types of common misunderstandings or some oversteps. Can you talk to us about what those most common misunderstandings are and and whether or not they're intentional or not? I would like to believe that social workers, you know, have got um best ethics in mind, best morals in mind, but um, you know, are these intentional, unintentional mistakes or are some social workers knowingly crossing the line?

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, um, of course, you know, all the professions have some have some bad actors just inherently in them. And then some but 90, you know, I would say the vast majority of disciplinary orders we entered are, you know, just one time. They're not going to be frequent flyers. We'll never see them again. They kind of learned their lesson, they've shaped up, they've shipped out, they're they're off and they're doing the right thing now from that point forward.

SPEAKER_02:

That's good.

SPEAKER_04:

Um and on the whole, just the professions that we regulate, including social work, are very well behaved. Um, particular that is particularly true for LBSWs and MSWs, in that one of the things that kind of helps benefit them to avoid missteps and problems is that they tend to work in uh interdisciplinary teams or environments that have just natural checks and balances to make sure that nothing bad or you know or nefarious or just mistakes are made. We see most of the problems, the disciplinary problems on the clinical side, the clinical practitioners, because they're they're working on the one-on-one kind of on one-on-one with the patient or the client. And it's it's occurring within kind of the veil or the cone of silence and secrecy that it that attaches to any kind of therapeutic relationship. Out of the problems we do see for LBSWs and MSWs, it tends to be things like um confusion either from colleagues or from the public about whether they are practicing independently. Um and I, you know, I will I will tell you, if if you read the rules, you would be like, yeah, that is that is not that's about as clear as mud uh in trying to understand, you know, when can a LBSW practice independent? What is considered independent practice? Is it independent practice if you're working from home, uh yet your employer is say university methodist system, hospital system? You know, is that can it can get a little tricky there? And so we do see some confusion from the public and from colleagues who will report uh another colleague for practicing independently without IPR, the independent practice recognition. With, you know, they'll report an LBSW for practicing without the IPR. And then of course we conduct the investigation, come to find out, no, they're really not practicing independently. They haven't hung out a shingle, they're doing everything right. They probably should have been a little bit more clear on how they uh on the outgoing paperwork or anything, all the public-facing paperwork or maybe some advertising uh should have been a little bit more clear, but they they technically didn't violate the rules, and they certainly didn't intend to. So we we you most of those end up being dismissed. Um, we also see you know some uh some advertising issues there around that. Where it gets a little more serious is when you start seeing claims or complaints come in of LBSWs or MSWs performing clinical services without uh well, obviously they can't because they're not an LCSW, but LMSWs could as long as they are practicing under a supervision contract uh where they are trying to accrue the necessary hours to become an LCSW, then an LMSW actually can provide clinical services as long as they're under supervision. But we we see some there where folks are like, eh, you kind of sound like you're providing clinical services. Um, and that's going to be outside your scope as an LBSW or an MSW. Those can be a little tricky because uh just somebody from the outside looking in, it could very well look like a scope problem when in fact then maybe they are operating under a supervision contract. You just from the outside looking in, you don't know it. And the only way to figure that out is is you file a complaint and all of a sudden now it's invoked the machinery of government, and everybody's everybody gets mad at one another for obvious reasons. And I can't even say it's you know, I wouldn't be mad either. But that's something that we have to deal with. It doesn't happen very often because one of the things that's that's pretty unique about this profession is I think it gets drilled in their heads uh in their training programs that look, when you guys see a problem with a colleague, you need to go talk to that colleague and visit with them and find out for yourself what is going on. In other words, go to the primary source first before you start lobbing accusations.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Um, and and that is something I do try to encourage all licensees, even just outside of the social work as well. Make sure you go talk to your colleague or whoever it is that you think there may be a violation. Now, obviously, if they're saying I'm sleep, you know, sleeping with a patient or something, you don't talk to them about that. Just file the complaint, we'll take it from there. But for this other stuff, sometimes it's better to figure out what's actually going on before you start lobbing grenades. I'll tell you though, the biggest problem we have uh from social work, and it's it's more prevalent in social work than it is the other professions, and that is practicing without an active license or jumping the gun on licensure and practicing. And I don't know why that is. I can't figure out why this particular profession seems to be worse about forgetting to renew or check that they have an active license or jumping the gun on licensure and just going ahead and starting start delivering social work services before we've actually issued you the license that says you're authorized to do so.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, not a good way to start your career.

SPEAKER_04:

It's not. You get off on a bad foot on your career or you you you stumble in the middle of it. Now, you know, is it a death penalty? No. Uh, but you still you don't want that that ding on your record.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_04:

Um and it's a silly thing to avoid. I mean, it's it's a silly thing to get hung up on. It ought to be, as a professional, it ought to be something you check before you and you know for sure.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_04:

Uh before you start, you know, pulling the trigger on services. So what you know, kind of my advice to folks there is is hey, you're a professional, pay attention. Uh, make sure that your license is good to go, that it's active, uh, and you're in good standing before you start delivering services. What and that's true whether you're a newbie and you've applied for initial licensure, or whether you have just renewed your license or you think you've renewed your license, check our system. It's free, it's easy. Punch in your license number or your name, and it will tell you if you're good to go. And then you know. So, uh, because that thing that thing updates automatically. Uh, so it's there's no not really any lag there. There's really no excuse for that.

SPEAKER_00:

So very solid advice. Yeah, no, it's I mean, well, it sounds like generally social workers are really well behaved, you know. It's like generally that they uh you're not having a huge problem, um, and that the problems that you are or that they are experiencing are not nefarious, they're not um, you know, with malice. It's simply, you know, maybe just not understanding the rules and regulations or what's expected or what's coming next, or um, like you said, that your license expired last week and you've got to go renew it. And you've you've been providing services for the past week to patients with an inactive license. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Exactly. And I mean, you know, one of the things I I don't think people think about, I learned this from watching, I learned it, I learned what I'm about to say from watching uh folks in the school psychology arena learn it kind of the hard way and the consequences that befell them in their districts. One of the things you got to think about is it's not just about you and and me or the agency, whenever you practice without a license or without authority, whoever your employer is, whoever was relying upon whatever services that you rendered without legal authority to do so, you have now jeopardized or undermined everything that they then built on top of your opinions or the work that you did. It may completely invalidate everything uh that they have done in reliance upon whatever work you did. And so, and a lot of what social workers do is foundational. I mean, you know, they they are helping people with services to repair problems or very difficult times in their lives, or they're, you know, counseling them through very difficult times. All of this stuff is foundational work. And if you got cracks or you you that foundation crumbles, everything on top of it, you know, is now jeopardized. So that's why I say it's really critical that you understand the status of your license before you you haul off and start you know giving advice and counseling and providing education and all the services that you do as a social worker. Just make sure you're good to go.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. And you mentioned you don't know why you're seeing that uptick. You know, ethics are at the core of social workers. I wonder if they're feeling a pull, a calling, you know, to go ahead and start the profession or go and help. I know that there's so many people who um service these vulnerable populations that um just want to help, you know. I unfortunately um it's not always that black and white. You can't, like you said, just go ahead and start practicing without a license. What are some maybe of the most common ethical pitfalls that you see that are landing some licensees in trouble?

SPEAKER_04:

Well, I you know, you you touched on something there that it's it's a personal I have a personal theory on why I think people probably we see more practicing without authorization. I'll just call it that for kind of a broad generalization. Any if you spend any time around social workers, you will hear them use the phrase, well, our ethical code says this, or our ethical code demands this. And they they you know, they refer to it heavily and often. And that's because it's it's one of the it's one of the core things that they are taught from uh in their training programs. They are not taught from you know the Texas rules or regulations and statutes. They're you know, there will be some, but it's certainly not the the um the ethical guideposts they use to kind of shape their views of the profession and the delivery of services within the training program. That that's what they're using those ethical codes for. And those are not state promulgated. That's not something the state government, the federal government, or anybody promulgates. It comes from like the National Association of Social Workers, the NASW ethical code. And so part of the problem with that is um while it's good in that it instills kind of the guidepost for what's expected for practice within the profession, um, where it where it kind of I think falls short and where the training programs fall short a bit here and cause this kind of a problem is they don't really talk to you about the practical implications of this is all great, but this is not actually what gives you the authority to practice in Texas, Rhode Island, Maryland, wherever. It's actually that state license that does it. That is what gives you authority to practice in Texas. And it is also those state regulations, you know, for which you need to comply and stay within, because our regulations may differ from those national association standards or ethical codes. This is just what I think after watching this stuff for five or six years now. I think they get it and they're like, okay, I'm ready to go. I know what I have to do and what I need to do, and I know what needs to be done. And they get so excited, is like just like you said, they get so excited to help folks, they kind of forget to check the most basic things about do I have my license? Um, what are the confidentiality requirements for Texas? Are they different from California where I was trained in the CSWE program? Because they are different. Uh there are some differences there. California is a Terasoft state. We are not. That can get you in big, big trouble if you don't know that difference. Um and it that it would not really just us, that the the California legislature and the Texas legislature view those things differently, and they have placed in they've put in place very different statutes governing that. So um it's just you gotta know those things, and you're not going to know that if you only learn from or operate from the ethical code. So that's my theory on it, is they are trained so heavily on it, they kind of forget to focus on oh, I need the license, and when these regulations also govern are actually the primary governing uh codes of governance that I need to follow. And so I think they just kind of get out over their skis on that sometimes, and it it leads to these problems that we're seeing here with you know practicing without authority. Now, as far as kind of the nature of like what are some ethical uh violations or issues that we see. Um, you know, I I looked the this morning before we got on here, I kind of pulled back, went back through a couple of board meetings or council meetings in the past just to see. Fourteen out of 15 of the ones from our meeting last week or week before last were practicing without authority. Either you didn't have a license. So the other one was somebody had issued an uh emotional support animal letter uh without conducting enough um evaluations and assessments. They just kind of just kind of shot from the hip and issued the letter. You can't do that on that kind of stuff. And then, you know, I went back a few more meetings, and a lot of the stuff there is like boundary issues. Um and this is where social work really kind of mirrors or parallels the other professions. They're not any worse, they're not any better. They they're just just like everybody else. Um, they suffer from the same human fallacies as everybody else, you know, not recognizing or enforcing boundaries between clients uh and themselves. Just to answer your question initially, what you asked me was you know, standard of care is the biggest, uh, the biggest area of complaints that we receive against social workers. Um, the unprofessional conduct, and that would include like boundary type issues, uh, that's going to be our second biggest. And then the sexual misconduct is is another another area, but then also just the the unlicensed activity is is problematic as well. So those are the big four in social work. Three of those are shared by the other professions as well, the standard of care and professional conduct um and um dual relationships.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I was gonna say we talked about it in our last episode, the you know, boundaries, right? And I think your piece of advice was just don't, just don't even engage in in that initial um separate conversation, separate from what you and your client have, that's your you know, system that you have for your business, your client record system. Um, yeah, I think it's it's big amongst all of the licensed professions is um overstepping those boundaries and either entering into some sort of sexual misconduct, or you've got this relationship with um a patient or a client. And um, yeah, those just can so easily be avoided. It's such a bummer to see that they continue to exist and and continue to spike up in number.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. It is the proverbial slippery slope, um, which is a nasty pool. It's got a nasty landing at the end of it. I'll tell you that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, sir. Yeah. Well, Darrell, as executive director, you hear from licensees, you hear from your enforcement division at BHEC. What kind of challenges are today's social workers bringing to your attention?

SPEAKER_04:

You know, this is one where it's it's um it's interesting because we get a lot because of the way social workers are trained, they are there's a lot of advocacy drilled into them because part of their part of their function or their role is to go out and fight for their client, to get them, you know, whatever kind of services or benefits are available to them. And they're they're dealing with folks who really can't fight for themselves most of the time or simply don't know how to fight within a very complex or large system. And so they're kind of your champion. Uh, they are your champion if you're that individual. Um, and so they're they're wired with this advocacy mindset. And so we'll see a lot of them reach out to us, come into meetings and reach out to us, and and they want to talk about like more social justice-oriented issues. Unfortunately, a lot of that is beyond the purview of a regulatory agency. Those are those are policy decisions or debates that really need to be had uh under in the legislative you know sphere, not in the boardroom. Right. Uh I often tell like board members in our training when I do new board member training, is there are a lot of problems in this world. And there are not many, though, that are really suited for resolution in the boardroom. Uh, most of the the ail the ailment of society that you will have a front row seat to as a as a as a board member are going to be things that have to be corrected over in the legislative sphere, not in the regulatory sphere. Because we operate within a very narrow set of guideposts that the legislature gives us. We are we are a very mission-focused, kind of a one, you know, one one horse show here.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_04:

Um, our job is to license mental health providers and behavioral health providers and regulate them or police them. It is not to solve extraneous issues. You know, they they want to advocate, want us to take actions or do things that are well beyond our ability to do. What I always like to tell people is is I understand that, I understand where you're coming from on that advocacy, but uh sometimes the best thing you can do rather than focus on the macro is kind of look at the micro and use your skill set to fix the problem that your client is facing. You can't always, you know, change the world or move heaven and earth, but sometimes you can kind of fix the problem for that particular client. Yeah, you do that, you do that enough, and in aggregate, you can change the world. Uh, but you can't do it really from a macro perspective as easily uh through through us, anyways. Let me back up. No, there is one area where it interfaces pretty well with us where you can kind of do the macro, and that is like workforce issues. Um, if you're coming in and you're saying, look, this population or you know, this population or this group of people are being um adversely or disproportionately impacted in the licensing process. And therefore, say there there's not as many uh blacks or Hispanics in the profession as there are whites or Asians. Well, that is definitely something we can look at to see, well, is it our licensing processes um or is it our licensing standards that we we promulgate, not anything that's in statute, but we have promulgated by rule, is that causing that disproportionality? And if that's the case, then we absolutely can take a look at that. And that can have much more widespread systemic change. Um, but for the most part, you know, if you're if you're arguing over, well, I don't even know if there should be an exam. Well, that's not really anything we can answer because that's a statutory requirement. Right. It's like, well, maybe there shouldn't, but you're gonna have to go convince, you know, 185 members of the legislature to do away with that, um, and not the not the social work board or BHEC. You know, another area where we um kind of you you kind of get into uh folks wanting to affect change, and that is like the licensing exam itself. It's died down a little bit recently, but in in I'd say within the past 18 months to 24 months, there was a lot of consternation in the profession about really, I think, beginning to question that whether there was a need for a licensing exam altogether, because when you look at the exam statistics, uh there are certain demographic groups that just do better on the exam than others. Uh and so it it becomes you know, obviously it's it's a question of well, why? Uh can anybody explain why that is? And if you can't, then you know why why are we keeping something that has kind of a discriminatory effect, if you will. Now, I don't I don't use discriminatory in the kind of the bad sense. I mean, all licensing is discriminatory in it lets competent folks in and it keeps incompetent folks out. That's the whole purpose of licensing. There are going to be winners, there are going to be losers in licensing. That's just the way it is. If you don't like that, then you need to do away with licensing. Uh, because there that's our job. We're we're gonna we're gonna tell some people, you are not cut out for this, you need to go do something else. And I'm sorry that that decision comes after the fact that you have gone probably through a graduate training program and incurred a significant amount of student debt. That part stinks, I admit, but that's the way this works. Um, we don't know if you're cut out for it until you've actually gone through the training to give you a shot to learn it all, and then we have to test you. And if you fail it, then too bad. Uh but uh we we have a lot of, you know, we have a lot of folks that that approach us with uh those types of problems about challenges of getting into the profession because of the exam. They can do everything else, they've passed all their coursework, they've graduated, they've got the requisite degrees, taken the jurisprudence exam. They've done everything we've asked of them, except they can't pass that national licensing exam. Uh, and then it becomes very difficult to explain to them well, it's this one thing that's keeping you out of the profession, keeping you from doing what you need to do. And oh, by the way, they can always point to and go, and you kind of need me because look at the significant workforce shortage that you've got. And it's like I mean, there's a point there.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Uh I mean, you can't you can't deny that. So uh that's an issue. Uh another example of I think where people um feel a little challenged or frustrated sometimes with the ext the current state of the law, is the legislature sometimes makes calls about who can be in a profession and who cannot be based upon criminal history. And social work and psychology are the only two professions. Well, I say they're the only two professions regulated by BHEC, where the legislature has said, as a hardline rule, if you've got a uh a certain type of conviction that involves the um violence or the threat of violence, you cannot be a social worker. You can't, excuse me, you cannot be a psychologist. And there's no there's no gets outs of it, there's no waivers, no nothing, you know, oh you've been clean for 30 years, so we'll look the other way. None of that. It's just a lifetime ban. And so that that is that is another area. In fact, where there's actually a lawsuit pending against BHEC right now over that very issue. It's chapter 108 of the occupations code. Um, we we often refer to them as 108 casualties because it's but for that, you know, they probably would have been qualified for licensure.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and you would think that um, you know, there are certainly other um other state agencies who've got um who recognize rehabilitation and kind of take that into account with licensees or applying, you know, for a license. Um and you, you know, sometimes I I'd like to think that uh someone who may have gone through something or had a bad patch in say their teens or their early adulthood um may have worked with a social worker themselves and been really inspired or worked with a therapist or a counselor. Um and uh that is a bummer. That's uh but also sorry that you guys are going through that lawsuit. I know that that's not a fun time, you know. No, no. Um well kind of on that same tune, how can social workers protect themselves while they're serving these very vulnerable populations? We've got um, you know, some in some social workers in group settings, we've got some social workers with one on one. How can they all um all licenses of social workers protect themselves?

SPEAKER_04:

The the very first and the simplest thing to do is solve the solve the Client problem that's in front of you. In other words, whatever problem is presented to you, help that client solve their problem or get them out of whatever situation they're in. It's kind of hard for anybody to be mad at you if you're helping them.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_04:

And so where folks tend to get a little mad is if they feel like maybe you're a mean, if that if they feel like they're a means to another end, if you're using them as some sort of an argument or a pretext to make some other more global uh macro argument for change, help that client, fix their problem because then they can't be mad at you. Second, stay up to date on the rule changes. I I know we've said I've, you know, this is now the second time I visited with y'all. And I sound like a broken record, I know, but for heaven's sakes, folks, you got to read the rules. It's not enough to know the NASW ethical code. You have got to know the BHEX regulatory rules and your the social work board rules. You you just have to. That's what actually gives you the right to practice in Texas. That's what actually governs you. If you get in trouble, I am not going to quote the NASW ethical code in the complaint against you or prosecute you for violation of that. It just will not show up anywhere in the complaint. You've got to know the rules, and we have tried to make it as easy as possible. We have a PDF rule book that you can download and is searchable. Uh yeah, you know, you can search on the Secretary of State's administrative code too if you'd like. Uh, we tried in the PDF rule book, you can see what rule changes were actually made to the rules up to I think a year back. It goes a year back. In the very front of the book, you'll you'll see what rules were changed. And we also have a webpage where we we we put up for uh public comment to solicit public comment, any kind of proposed changes that are currently pending. So if you want to see what we're working on right now, like the social work board uh and BHEG just voted to propose a large batch of changes to the social work rules. Those will go up on our website here pretty soon. We haven't we haven't gone through the regular the review process with the governor's office on them yet, but as soon as he clears us, we'll post them to the website and you can look at it and you can see the changes, strike throughs for stuff we're pulling out, underlines for additions. You'll be able to see what we're doing. Try to use those tools that we we put out there for you to keep track of the rule changes. I know we I know we tend to do a lot of rule changes. Most of them are not substantive changes to rules that actually govern your practice, they're more changes in process or procedure within the agency, maybe say to the enforcement process. So the vast majority of you will never even encounter the enforcement process, thank goodness. So those changes really don't affect y'all all that much. Uh, but just do what you can to keep track of that. And then, you know, we do things like the leadership listening hour, which is where my executive team, we go through and we just hang out for an hour and a half or two hours and answer any kind of question that comes through the door. Uh, it's a webinar, so you can come and go as you please. Um you can ask anything you want to unless it's a question about a pending application or a complaint, but we we answer a whole host of things. We have people get on there and um sometimes you're like, wow, you you haven't read the rules at all, I can tell. Um, and then some get on there and will almost admit a violation. We're not taking notes. I mean, unless you get on there and just admit that you have slept with the patient, I'm not taking notes as to who asked me what kind of questions. Um, we're not, you know, trying to punish you. I'm actually trying to keep the car out of the ditch through all these efforts because it's easier to keep it out of the ditch than to pull it out once you've driven it off in there.

SPEAKER_02:

Less expensive too.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes, yes. And so, you know, we're really not, I really try not to be a bad guy, my team and I. We really don't want to be the bad guys. We're trying to help you all out, but you got to use these tools uh that we're giving you. And so I can't make you use them. I can't make you read, but I'm just trying to make it as easy as possible. And then lastly, uh what I would say, and I know this sounds strange coming from me, but have malpractice insurance that that would provide uh you know legal representation if you do get in trouble. It's dirt cheap for you guys. Um it's it's just a very practical, simple thing to do. It's cheap. And believe me, you will you will get out on your knees and thank the heavens above if you ever do need it. Uh, because I'm just telling you right now, people can file a complaint on you for any reason or no reason whatsoever. And it's nice to be able to say, if you've got that kind of coverage, to be able to say, you know what, Berlino or or whoever you choose, yeah, here's all my files, here's what happened. You deal with BHEC, you deal with the board and deal with this. And I'll be honest with you, as the ED, we tend to like dealing with the lawyers better than you know the the respondent licensee as well, because there's less emotion, there's less hand holding, it's just more transactional in nature for us. Because we're we're not we're not out to get you on a complaint. Uh, it's just a transact, it's just something we have to do. It's our job. And so it's it's an unemotional thing for us.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

But it's not for you as the licensee. I get that. And so it it just helps if you've got that objective kind of champion on your side who can go, look, let me structure your response for you. Let me point B heck to where the evidence is or isn't, and then I'll negotiate with them and we can try to work something out.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

That's just a much easier and safer way. And it ought to be less stressful for you too, rather than having to deal with us directly. So that's why I say get your malpractice insurance, uh, because it's cheap, or rat hole money, whatever you want to do. Uh you know, have a rainy day fund, whatever your whatever your pleasure is.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, either it's better to be safe than sorry in that kind of situation. The you don't want to be caught without malpractice insurance and then have to do sometimes the insurance companies can put you in contact with a with an attorney. Sometimes they've got their in-house attorneys. Uh it it's uh definitely a good start instead of um totally by yourself at square one. Daryl, this has been a a great episode of super powerful discussion, tons of takeaways and insights for social workers in Texas to um to listen and and know that maybe there's some things they need to go back and uh make sure they read the rules on, or maybe there's some that are confidently practicing. They've got a little pep in their step tomorrow because they know they're doing the right thing. Uh, do you have any final words of wisdom for some of our social workers who are listening?

SPEAKER_04:

Y'all are doing good. Your judgment, obviously, your judgment as a whole is good because y'all are not getting in trouble for the most part. So you're already 90% there. So pat yourself on the back for that. Now, how do we tighten up that last 10%? It's pretty easy. Check to make sure your license is valid, read your rule book and ask questions.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

And, you know, all those things I can I can try to make the asking questions easy. I can't make you read, but that one's on you as a professional.

SPEAKER_00:

So solid advice to our listeners. Remember that your license is your livelihood, know your scope, stay grounded in your ethics, and use those tools that your regulatory agency provides. For more information, you can check out the links in our description. If you're ever unsure, reach out and consult a professional like Mr. Spinks just mentioned. Thanks for joining us again on Know Your Regulator. And until next time, stay inspired and stay engaged with your regulatory agency. Know Your Regulator, the podcast that inspires you to engage.