> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://handbook.helendelovely.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Continuing Education Stipend

> The annual CE stipend for clinicians: amounts, what qualifies, and how it's paid.

Clinicians receive an annual continuing education stipend: **$750 per year for LCSWs and $500 per year for CSWs**, as stated in your offer letter.

## What Utah requires of you

Utah's rule for mental health therapists (Utah Admin. Code R156-60e-402.1) requires **40 hours of continuing education every two-year renewal cycle** for both LCSWs and CSWs, including at least 6 hours in professional ethics, law, or the ethics of technology, and 2 hours in suicide prevention. Self-study is capped at 10 hours per cycle. Keep your certificates for two years after renewal; DOPL can ask. The CSW requirement doubled to 40 hours in 2026, so don't rely on older guidance.

## What qualifies

* Courses, workshops, and conferences that count toward your Utah license renewal
* Required trainings, including the suicide prevention hours
* Books and materials directly tied to an approved course, within reason
* Professional association dues, if the association provides CE

Anything unusual, ask first.

## How it works

* **Reimbursement, not an allowance.** Pay for the course, then submit the receipt and the completion certificate to the practice manager. Reimbursement is paid on the next payroll run and is not taxed, because it's a documented business expense.
* **No rollover.** Unused stipend does not carry into the next calendar year.
* **Prorated in your first year.** If you start mid-year, the stipend for that calendar year is prorated by full months remaining.
* **Up front when needed.** If a course costs more than you want to front, ask. The practice can register you directly.

## Time for CE

CE you attend during your regular working days is paid time. Coordinate the date with the front office so client sessions can be moved. CE on your day off is your own time, and it can count as a banked day only if Helen approves it in advance as practice-directed training. See [Time off and the four-day week](/pay-and-time-off/time-off-and-the-four-day-week).

## No CE from the practice

The practice is not an approved CE provider. Trainings, team meetings, and events we host don't earn CE credit, and nobody should describe them as if they do. Supervision hours for CSWs are separate; see [Clinical supervision](/employment/clinical-supervision).

## Relationship to benefits elections

The CE stipend is a reimbursement for a work expense. It is separate from the [benefits allowance](/pay-and-time-off/benefits-allowance) and is not part of [benefits elections](/pay-and-time-off/benefits-elections).