(1) To qualify at the supervisor level, the employee must meet all the qualifications required for the staff level and also have accrued and documented:

(a) A minimum of two years of experience in facilitating domestic violence intervention treatment groups at a certified program;

(b) At least two hundred and fifty hours of direct treatment contact with participants in a certified domestic violence intervention treatment program; and

(c) At least one hundred hours of experience working with victims of domestic violence.

(2) A supervisor must have a master's degree from an accredited university in counseling, psychology, social work, or similar social services field.

(3) The department's program manager will review requests for an exception to this requirement on a case-by-case basis.

(a) An exception for the master's degree requirement must not be given to a direct treatment staff member who has already been given an exception for the bachelor's degree;

(b) In order to qualify for an exception, the employee must possess year-for-year professional level experience equivalent to a related master's degree in counseling, psychology, social work, or similar social services field and the department determines this equivalency at the discretion of the DSHS program manager responsible for monitoring domestic violence intervention treatment programs;

(c) To request an exception to a rule in this chapter, the program must:

(i) Submit the request in writing to the department;

(ii) Assure that the exception would not jeopardize the safety, health, or treatment of an individual; and

(iii) Assure that the exception would not impede fair competition of another service agency;

(d) The department approves or denies an exception request in writing and requires the program to keep a copy of the decision; and

(e) The department's decision to deny an exception request is not subject to administrative review under chapter 388-02 WAC.