Social workers, we have a problem!

Your support of the Social Work Interstate Compact is ALSO supporting the continued use of the racially biased  ASWB clinical exam.  

The Social Work Licensure Compact will allow currently licensed social workers increased employment opportunities and the ability to provide mental health services in multiple states without unnecessary fees and paperwork.⁵

Participation in the Social Work Licensure Compact includes a provision that states must use a national exam as part of their licensure regulations.⁵   While this provision does not explicitly require the use of the ASWB exam, there are no other national exams from which to choose.⁵  

As such, these unrelated issues have now been intertwined so that if one supports the Social Work Licensure Compact, they are also supporting a racially biased national exam. 

Background on the ASWB Exam

The non-profit organization called the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) was founded at the request of state governments in 1979 to regulate professional practice and protect public safety. The ASWB Model Social Work Practice Act includes a requirement for social workers to pass licensure examinations that are created and administered by the ASWB.²

Over 50,000 professionals nationwide take ASWB social work exams every year as part of their path towards professional licensure.¹ In 2022, ASWB published an analysis of their social work exam for the first time in their history.¹

For those who are unfamiliar with the ASWB Exam Analysis final report, the statistics for the clinical exam show an 84% first time pass rate for White test takers and a 45% pass rate for Black test takers.¹   When the overall pass rate considers the intersectionality of gender and race, the impacts of the disparities are compounded for test-takers who are both Black and male, for example, where the pass rate plummets to 37.2%.¹

A separate petition on change.org calling for the elimination of the social work exam and financial reparations to the social workers who repeatedly failed this biased exam has over 13,000 signatures.⁶  

Challenging social injustice is part of our ethical code.  We can not stand by and support the continued used of a national exam that is knowingly racist and unfair.  The test questions were found to have micro-aggressions that perpetuate racial stereotypes.³

The proposed solutions to the licensure policy have ranged from revision of the exam questions to eliminate or reduce racial bias and micro-aggressions, create alternative paths to licensure based on performance evaluations, or to eliminate the exam requirement entirely.³

Fighting back against this racially unjust national exam is important work and we must continue to advocate for pathways to licensure that demonstrate our competencies and maintain a standard of excellence for those providing direct clinical services. 

Background on the Social Work Licensure Compact:

The Social Work Licensure Compact would allow a currently licensed social worker to practice in any state that participates in the compact.⁵  Psychologists and professional counselors already have this benefit and we are way behind.  There are seven states that have lead the way in getting the Social Work Licensure Compact headway⁵. 

Section 2 of the Social Work Interstate Compact requires states to adopt very specific language in order to participate.⁵  This includes the requirement to use a Qualifying National Exam.⁵  There is only ONE Qualifying National Exam - and that is from the ASWB.¹ The same exam that we know is keeping up to 40% of racially diverse, competent social workers from clinical practice.²

But we need licensure portability.  The ridiculous hoops that are required to get licensed in another state including resubmitting transcripts, test scores, supervision logs, and paying fees for applications and additional coursework. 

Beyond the initial challenges, the cost of maintaining licenses in multiple states is cumbersome and expensive.  Each state has different requirements for continuing education, different licensure cycles and renewal deadlines.  

Our clients are moving.  We are moving.  We need continuity of care and licensure portability is the answer to that problem.  

The Ethical Dilemma

You see our ethical dilemma. The Social Work Licensure Compact benefits currently licensed clinical social workers.  The social workers who were ABLE to pass the ASWB exam.  For reference, white social workers make up over 86% of licensed social workers compared to being only 68% of the general population in the United States.² In contrast, only 20% of social workers are African American and only 15.8% of social workers are Hispanic/Latinix.²

So, candidly, the Social Work Licensure Compact continues to privilege  (mostly) white social workers and in doing so provides greater access to  employment opportunities and freedom to practice. 

The national exam does not have to be part of the Social Work Licensure Compact.  Removing that one requirement and replacing it with a requirement that states have an alternative pathway to licensure allows for justice and portability. 

Maybe we can fix the ASWB exam - some people believe that is possible.  Until we have the same standards of evidence that we are required to use in our own clinical practice, we can not continue to support the use of this national exam.  

We have to stand up now:

States, like Maryland, were on the brink of passing legislation to eliminate the requirement for the clinical licensure exam.⁴  However, to ensure Maryland social workers had the opportunity to join the Social Work Licensure Compact, they decided not to act.⁴ 

Until now, people may have called for your support of the Social Work Licensure Compact without providing you with all the facts.  Valid petitions are asking for you to support the elimination of the ASWB exam but are not considering the secondary consequences of that support.⁶

Social workers know how to solve complex problems.  We can do two things at once. 

Call to Action:

1. Eliminate the Qualifying Exam requirement from the Social Work Licensure Compact.
2. Concurrently, eliminate the exam requirement at the state level.
3. Create an alternative path to licensure that reflects our belief in social justice and equity.

We can still advocate for social justice and fairness AND preserve our right to multi-state practice.  We can do BOTH. 

References:

1. Association of Social Work Boards. (2022). 2022 ASWB exam pass rate analysis. Final report. Retrieved on March 24, 2024 from https://www.aswb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2022-ASWB-Exam-Pass-Rate-Analysis.pdf

2. Association of Social Work Boards (2018). Model Social Work Practice Act. Retrieved  on March 24, 2024 from https://www.aswb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Model-law-for-web.pdf

3. Castex, G., Senreich, E., Phillips, N. K., Miller, C. M., & Mazza, C. (2019). Microaggressions and racial privilege within the social work profession: The social work licensing examinations. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 28(2), 211–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2018.1555498

4. Maryland.gov (2023). Workgroup for Social Work licensure requirements.  Retrieved April 18, 2023 https://health.maryland.gov/workgroup-swrl/Documents/Collection%20of%20Meeting%20Materials%2011.14.pdf

5. National Center for Interstate Compact (2024). Social Work Licensure Compact. https://swcompact.org/

6. Robinson, T.A, Yearwood, C., Cohen, S., Remy, A. Holmberg, B., Hirsch, J. DeCarlo, M., Joseph, G., Young, K., Walker, C., Wetmore, S.M.,  Matson, B. (2022, August 13). ASWB End Discriminatory Social Work Licensing Exams. https://www.change.org/p/aswb-end-discriminatory-social-work-licensing-exams