The California Board of Behavioral Science Examiners records consists of memorandums, correspondence, minutes, and reports, 1946-1987 (bulk 1975-1980) that describe the primary activities of this body--licensing, examinations for certification, and professional standards and ethics for registered social workers and licensed clinical social workers.

In 1968 the Board of Social Work Examiners was abolished and its funds and functions transferred to the short-lived Social Worker and Marriage Counselor Qualifications Board. In the same year Senate Bill 1224 provided for licensing of clinical social workers, with the designation LCSW required after June 21, 1969 for all clinical social workers in independent practice. Social workers who had earned the RSW administered by the Board of Social Work Examiners were "blanketed" into the LCSW program. Some 1,500 school social workers and others who did not consider their practice to be primarily clinical nevertheless chose to maintain their RSW standing. But the program declined over the next decade and in 1979, when no more than 50 applicants took the RSW examination, the legislature effectively killed social worker registration by denying further funding.

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The use of archival materials for on-site research does not constitute permission from the California Social Welfare Archives to publish them. Copyright has not been assigned to the California Social Welfare Archives, and the researcher is instructed to obtain permission from the copyright holder to quote from or publish manuscripts in the CSWA's collections.

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