Section 1397.61.1 - Continuing Professional Development Requirements. [Effective January 1, 2023.]This section shall be applicable to both a license that expires on or after January 1, 2023, and an application for license renewal, reactivation, or reinstatement received on or after January 1, 2023.
(a) Except as provided in section 1397.62.1 of these regulations, a psychologist shall certify under penalty of perjury to the Board on the application for license renewal that the licensee has completed the CPD requirements set forth in this Article and section 2915 of the Code. Failing to do so, or falsifying or making a material misrepresentation of fact on a renewal application, or failing to provide documentation verifying compliance whenever requested to do so by the Board, shall be considered unprofessional conduct and subject the licensee to disciplinary action and render their license ineligible for renewal.(b) A psychologist renewing their license shall certify under penalty of perjury on the application for license renewal that the licensee has engaged in a minimum of four (4) hours of training in the subject of laws and ethics, as they apply to the practice of psychology in California for each renewal period. This includes recent changes or updates on the laws and regulations related to the practice of psychology; recent changes or updates in the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct published by the American Psychological Association; accepted standards of practice; and other applications of laws and ethics as they affect the licensee's ability to practice psychology safely. This requirement shall be met using any combination of the four (4) CPD categories, and the licensee shall indicate on their documentation which of the CPD activities are being used to fulfill this requirement. The four (4) hours shall be considered part of the 36-hour CPD requirement.(c) A psychologist renewing their license shall certify under penalty of perjury on the application for license renewal that the licensee has engaged in a minimum of four (4) hours of training for each renewal period pertinent to Cultural Diversity and/or Social Justice issues as they apply to the practice of psychology in California. Cultural Diversity pertains to differences in age, race, culture, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion/spirituality, and physical ability. Social Justice pertains to the historical, social and political inequities in the treatment of people from non-dominant groups, while addressing the various injustices and different types of oppression that contribute to individual, family and community psychological concerns. This requirement shall be met using any combination of the four (4) CPD categories, and the licensee shall indicate on their documentation which of the CPD activities are being used to fulfill this requirement. The four (4) hours shall be considered part of the 36-hour CPD requirement.(d) Topics and subject matter for all CPD activities shall be pertinent to the practice of psychology.(e) The Board recognizes and accepts CPD hours that meet the description of the activities set forth in section 1397.60.1. With the exception of 100% ABPP Board Certification, a licensee shall accrue hours during each renewal period from at least two (2) of the four (4) CPD activity categories: Professional Activities; Academic; Sponsored Continuing Education; and Board Certification. Unless otherwise specified, for any activity for which the licensee wishes to claim credit, no less than one (1) hour credit may be claimed and no more than the maximum number of allowable hours, as set forth in subsection (f), may be claimed for each renewal period.
(f) Acceptable CPD learning activities under "Professional Activities" are as follows:(1) "Peer Consultation"(A) A maximum of 18 hours shall be credited in "Peer Consultation".(B) One (1) hour of activity in "Peer Consultation" equals one (1) hour of credit.(C) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: date(s), type of activity, and total number of hours.(2) "Practice Outcome Monitoring" (POM) (A) A maximum of nine (9) hours shall be credited in "POM".(B) "POM" for one (1) patient/client equals one (1) hour credited.(C) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: date(s) of monitoring, client identifier, and how outcomes were measured.(3) "Professional Service" (A) A minimum of 4.5 hours and a maximum of 12 hours shall be credited in "Professional Service".(B) One (1) year of "Professional Service" for a particular activity equals nine (9) hours credited and six (6) months equals 4.5 hours credited.(C) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: board or program name, role of licensee, dates of service, and term of service (six months or one year).(4) "Conference/Convention Attendance" (A) A maximum of six (6) hours shall be credited in "Conference/Convention Attendance".(B) One (1) full conference/convention day attendance equals one (1) hour credited.(C) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: name of conference/convention attended, proof of registration, and date(s) of conference/convention attended.(5) "Examination Functions" (A) A maximum of 12 hours shall be credited in "Examination Functions".(B) One (1) hour of service equals one (1) hour of credit.(C) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: name of exam, dates of service, and number of hours.(6) "Expert Review/Consultation" (A) A maximum of 12 hours shall be credited in "Expert Review/Consultation".(B) One (1) hour of service in an expert capacity equals one (1) hour of credit.(C) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: dates of service and number of hours.(7) "Attendance at a California Board of Psychology Meeting" (A) A maximum of eight (8) hours shall be credited in "Attendance at a California Board of Psychology Meeting".(B) Attendance for one (1) day Board or committee meeting equals six (6) hours of credit. For Board or committee meetings that are three (3) hours or less, one (1) hour of attendance equals one (1) hour of credit.(C) The licensee shall maintain a record of hours as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: date of meeting, name of meeting, and number of hours attended. A psychologist requesting CPD credit pursuant to this subdivision shall have signed in and out on an attendance sheet providing their first and last name, license number, time of arrival and time of departure from the meeting.(g) Acceptable CPD learning activities under "Academic" are as follows:(1) "Academic Coursework"(A) A maximum of 18 hours shall be credited in "Academic Coursework".(B) Each course taken counts only once for each renewal period and may only be submitted for credit once the course is completed.(C) Each one (1) semester unit earned equals six (6) hours of credit and each one (1) quarter unit earned equals 4.5 hours of credit.(D) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include a transcript with evidence of a passing grade (C or higher, or "pass").(2) "Academic/Sponsor-Approved CE Instruction"(A) "Academic Instruction" (i) A maximum of 18 hours shall be credited in "Academic Instruction".(ii) Each course taught counts only once for each renewal period and may only be submitted for credit once the course is completed.(iii) A term-long (quarter or semester) academic course equals 18 hours of credit.(iv) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: course syllabus, title of course, name of institution, and dates of instruction.(B) "Sponsor-Approved CE Instruction" (i) A maximum of 18 hours shall be used in "Sponsor-Approved CE Instruction".(ii) Each course taught counts only once for each renewal period and may only be submitted for credit once the course is completed.(iii) One (1) hour of instruction equals 1.5 hours of credit.(iv) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: course syllabus, title of course, dates of instruction, name of sponsoring entity, and number of hours taught.(3) "Supervision" (A) A maximum of 18 hours shall be credited in "Supervision".(B) One (1) hour of supervision equals one (1) hour of credit.(C) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: dates of supervision and a trainee identifier.(4) "Publications" (A) A maximum of nine (9) hours shall be credited in "Publications".(B) One (1) publication equals nine (9) hours of credit.(C) A publication may only be counted once.(D) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: either a letter of acceptance for publication, or proof of publication with publication date in the renewal period for which it is being submitted.(5) "Self-Directed Learning"(A) A maximum of six (6) hours shall be credited in "Self-Directed Learning".(B) One (1) hour of activity in "Self-Directed Learning" equals one (1) hour of credit.(C) The licensee shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include: date(s), medium (e.g. webinar), topic or title, and total number of hours.(h) Acceptable "Sponsored Continuing Education" are as follows: (1) A maximum of 27 hours shall be credited in "Sponsored Continuing Education".(2) Credit may be granted only once during a renewal cycle for each course taken.(3) One (1) hour of sponsored continuing education equals one (1) hour of credit.(4) The licensee shall maintain proof of attendance provided by the sponsor of the continuing education as documentation of compliance.(i) Acceptable CPD learning activities under "Board Certification" are as follows: (1) ABPP Board Certification (A) ABPP Board Certification counts for 100% (36 hours) of required CPD in the renewal cycle in which the certification is awarded.(B) The licensee shall maintain proof of specialty certification as documentation of compliance.(2) "Senior Option" ABPP Board Certification (A) "Senior Option" ABPP Board Certification counts for 50% (18 hours) of required CPD in the renewal cycle in which the certification is awarded.(B) The licensee shall maintain proof of specialty certification as documentation of compliance.(j) To satisfy the requirements of section 2915 of the Code, an organization seeking the authority to approve a provider of continuing education shall meet the following requirements. An organization authorized pursuant to this section may also provide continuing education. An organization previously approved by the Board to approve providers of CE are deemed authorized under this section. (1) The approving organization must: (A) have a 10-year history of providing educational programming for psychologists;(B) have documented procedures for maintaining a continuing education approval program, including: (i) maintaining and managing records and data related to approved CE programs, and(ii) monitoring and approving CE providers and courses;(C) have policies in place to avoid a conflict of interest between its provider and approval functions;(D) evaluate each CE provider seeking approval, including itself, according to current evidence as to what constitutes an appropriate program in terms of content and level of presentation, as set out in subsection (j)(2);(E) conduct periodic reviews of courses offered by providers approved by the organization, as well as its own courses, to determine compliance with the organization's requirements and the requirements of the Board;(F) establish a procedure for determining if an approved provider meets regulatory criteria as established in this subsection; and(G) have a process to respond to complaints from the Board, providers, or from licensees concerning activities of any of its approved providers or the provider's courses.(2) The approving organization shall ensure that approved providers:(A) offer content at post-licensure level in psychology that is designed to maintain, develop, broaden, and/or increase professional competencies;(B) demonstrate that the information and programs presented are intended to maintain, develop, and increase conceptual and applied competencies that are relevant to psychological practice, education, or science, and have a direct consumer application in at least one of the following ways: (i) programs include content related to well-established psychological principles,(ii) programs are based on content that extends current theory, methods or research, or informs current practice,(iii) programs provide information related to ethical, legal, statutory, or regulatory guidelines and standards that impact the practice of psychology, and/or(iv) programs' content focuses on non-traditional or emerging practice or theory and can demonstrate relevance to practice;(C) use a formal (written) evaluation tool to assess program effectiveness (what was learned) and assess how well each of the educational goals was achieved (this is separate from assessing attendee satisfaction with the CE program);(D) use results of the evaluation process to improve and plan future programs;(E) provide CE credit on the basis of one hour of credit will be earned for each hour of approved instruction;(F) provide attendance verification to CE attendees that includes the name of the licensee, the name of the course, the date of the course, the number of credit hours earned, and the approving agency;(G) provide services to all licensees without discrimination; and(H) ensure that advertisements for CE courses include language that accurately reflects the approval status of the provider.(3) Failure of the approving organization to meet the provisions of subsection (j)(1) or (2) shall constitute cause for revocation of authorization by the Board. Authorization shall be revoked only by a formal Board action, after notice and hearing, and for good cause.(k)(1) Each person who applies to renew their license shall certify under penalty of perjury that the licensee has complied with all the applicable requirements of this section within the licensure period they are currently in, shall maintain proof of compliance for four (4) years from the effective date of the renewal, and shall submit such proof to the Board upon request.(2) Each person who applies to reactivate or reinstate their license shall certify under penalty of perjury that the licensee has complied with all the applicable requirements of this section within the 24-month period prior to the request to reactivate or reinstate, shall maintain proof of compliance for four (4) years from the date of the reactivation or reinstatement, and shall submit such proof to the Board upon request.(l) No activity may be claimed for credit in more than one CPD category.(m) For a license that renews or is reactivated between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, the hours accrued will qualify for renewal if they meet either the requirements of section 1397.61 as it existed on December 31, 2022, or this section.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 16, § 1397.61.1
1. New section filed 6-29-2022; operative 10-1-2022 (Register 2022, No. 26). Transmission deadline specified in Government Code section 11346.4(b) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20. Filing deadline specified in Government Code section 11349.3(a) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20 Note: Authority cited: Sections 2915 and 2930, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 29, 32 and 2915, Business and Professions Code.
1. New section filed 6-29-2022; operative 10/1/2022 (Register 2022, No. 28). Transmission deadline specified in Government Code section 11346.4(b) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20. Filing deadline specified in Government Code section 11349.3(a) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20.