N.J. Admin. Code § 13:44G-10.6

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 13:44G-10.6 - Termination or interruption of services

(a) A social worker shall terminate services to a client when the services are no longer required or no longer meet the client's needs or interests.

(b) A social worker shall not abandon or neglect a client in need of professional services without making reasonable arrangements for the continuation of such care or offering to help the client find alternative sources of assistance.

(c) A social worker who anticipates the termination or interruption of services to a client shall notify the client promptly and seek the transfer, referral or continuation of service in relation to the client's needs and preferences.

(d) Whenever a social work practice is to be closed due to the retirement or death of a licensee or certificate holder, or the practice will be closed for more than 90 days, the licensee, certificate holder, or the executor or administrator of the licensee's or certificate holder's estate shall:

1. Establish a procedure by which clients may obtain records or agree to the transfer of those records to another licensee or certificate holder who is assuming the responsibilities of that practice;

2. If the practice will not be attended by another licensee or certificate holder, publish a notice of the cessation and the established procedure for the retrieval of records in a newspaper of general circulation in the geographic location of the licensee's or certificate holder's practice or on the licensee's or certificate holder's website, at least once each month for the first three months after the cessation;

3. Notify the Board, in writing, of the impending closure and the established procedure for the retrieval of records;

4. Make reasonable efforts to directly notify clients treated during the six months preceding the cessation of the practice to provide information concerning the established procedure for retrieval of records;

5. Conspicuously post a notice on the premises of the procedure for the retrieval of records for at least one month prior to the cessation of the practice, if closure is due to retirement; and

6. Arrange for the storage of any records that have not been retrieved by clients for one year from the date the practice closes.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:44G-10.6

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 2017(a), effective 9/17/2018