At-large DC Councilmember Robert White recently introduced the Social Work Licensure Modernization Amendment Act of 2023. The purpose of the proposed bill is to "tackle" the District's Social Worker shortage and remove unnecessary barriers to licensure by eliminating the exam requirement for the Licensed Social Work Associates (LSWA) and the Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW). The press release cited and based the legislation primarily on the 2022 study from Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). The study examined pass/fail rates for first time test takers. The data revealed disparities between white test takers and BIPOC test takers, particularly black test takers as well as disparities among older adults and English as a second language testers.  Additionally, some Social Work stakeholders are opposing ABSW the exam.  We all agree the current exam model has historically been plagued by serious flaws/issues and a revision/overhaul of the exam is long overdue. However, the answer is not to eliminate the exam requirement. 

We OPPOSE the bill as written for several reasons; 1) the bill is short-sighted, misguided and will have long term detrimental consequences for the profession and the public, 2) eliminating the exam is out of step with other professional licensing processes and devalues Social Workers and the profession, 3) Social Work pioneers fought long and hard to achieve professional status for Social Work and the bill significantly undermines and undercuts those invaluable efforts, 4) given the current immense needs of the consumers served by professional Social Workers this is not the time to water down the licensure process, 5) the bill is demoralizing and offensive to many current professional Social Workers in the District of Columbia. 

A more balanced and measured approach includes;             

• Pausing the bill and convene a Social Work Taskforce to provide input and recommendations. This should include representatives from NASW, ASWB, Schools of Social Work, Board of Social Work, and professional Social Workers.
• Social Workers, Boards of Social Work and Schools of Social Work to strongly advocate for ASWB to take immediate concrete steps to address the issues with the current exam, if the exam is not improved in a timely manner, another test vendor should be identified,
• Reimplement provisional licenses to graduates for up to one year to ensure graduates can begin practicing under supervision and have adequate time to prepare and pass the exam to become fully licensed,
• City Council should invest in the profession in meaningful ways such as tuition free BSW and MSW programs, sign-on bonuses, exam and licensure fee reimbursement, social work recognition programs, etc. 
   

Please join us in raising our collective voices to OPPOSE the proposed bill (Social Work Licensure Modernization Amendment Act of 2023) by signing this petition and sending an email to every DC Councilmember. Let's protect the profession and those we serve! 

https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/52912/Introduction/B25-0259-Introduction.pdf 

STAND UP and SHOW OUT for SOCIAL WORK!!!