The social work profession has historically been looked down upon and deemed invaluable. The Ohio Senate proposing changes to those deemed eligible to practice is another example of this. On Wednesday, November 30th, the Ohio Senate passed a proposed bill that would allow just anybody to call themselves a Licensed Social Worker, without needing the actual degree in the field of social work. 

While I recognize the mental health crisis has significantly increased over the last couple of years, allowing just anybody to call themselves a licensed social worker without the proper background is NOT the solution in navigating this crisis. Would you want somebody with a PhD in mathematics to perform open heart surgery on you or a loved one? A PhD in mathematics is not the same as a PhD in medicine. 

Licensed social workers work closely with some of the most vulnerable populations that society has historically considered to be disposable and therefore left without a voice. We dedicate our lives and our careers to putting these individuals before our own mental health needs, experiencing burnout at higher rates than many other professions. Those that we work with DESERVE to have properly trained and educated individuals working with them and advocating on their behalf. Licensed Social Workers abide by a strict code of ethics, set forth by NASW or the National Association of Social Workers (please refer to: https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English Choosing not to abide by these ethics results in our professional licenses being revoked and this follows us for the rest of our careers. We are then no longer able to practice in this field. Similarly to a nurse or a doctor intentionally harming a patient.

Licensed social workers have specific and required training, education and the licensing needed to diagnose an individual with severe mental health disorders, and to practice trauma-informed care while understanding how to navigate countertransference and/or transference, as well as a baseline understanding of knowing how to avoid re-traumatize of an individual we are working with. Licensed social workers have spent anywhere from 4 to 6 years in higher education (some times more) to be able to sit for our initial licenses. Many of us choose to go even further and obtain our clinical (also known as independent) licenses so that we can clinically diagnose an individual without needing our supervisor to sign off on our reasoning behind that diagnosis. Licensed social workers have put in significant time and effort into getting to where we are today. The Ohio Senate's decision to allow anyone to slap the label "licensed social worker" on them without the proper background will open the door to a greater number of unethical errors within this field in general. This may also result in a greater number of us practicing with licenses to feel higher rates of burnout, dissatisfaction, and worthlessness as practitioners. 

Furthermore, we have put forth our own money and time in order to sit for our licensing boards, purchase study materials and engage in required continuing education credits so that we are able to renew our licenses when the time comes. It is important to note that licensure renewal comes at a cost - if we do not renew, then we can not practice. Many of us spend a certain amount of hours each week in supervision groups so that we can submit our forms to the state licensing board and be eligible to sit for the clinical/independent exam. And if we do not pass our exams, we try again and pay more to retake them because that is how passionate we are about the work that we do. With the senate's decision to allow anyone without a degree in social work to practice, this will become highly appealing to employers as it will result in the company needing to spend less money and time to hire somebody without the current required background and further result in paying those that are licensed lower wages as the educational aspect is no longer required. Employers may adopt viewpoints such as "well this person decided to get a license, but it isn't needed, so therefore we do not have to pay them to reflect this piece." 

Social workers have historically been underpaid and overworked, too. Indeed postings indicate starting wages of $18 an hour. The cost of everything around us has increased but our wages do not reflect this. $18 an hour for a licensed professional in this field is no longer considered a livable wage. My current therapist started off making about this amount 15 years ago. It is truly disheartening and yet another example of how the field of social work has not been taken seriously or viewed as valuable over time. It is time to change the narrative, continue advocating for this profession and stand up for ourselves that have put in the required time, effort, education and money to get to where we are today. And it is beyond time to change the narrative that it "should be enough to just have passion for the work we do," without being compensated fairly because I know many of us do not willingly choose to work other jobs apart from social work just to stay afloat.

I can say for certain that my undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice did not adequately prepare me to complete depression screenings or assess whether an individual is a threat to themselves or others (suicide versus homicide). I would argue that by allowing anybody to call themselves a licensed social worker, without the proper education, will negatively impact the most marginalized populations among us. This decision further perpetuates society's unwillingness to invest in those who need it most and it usually falls back on those in positions of power choosing not to care. This decision will not directly effect any representative in Ohio's senate as social work is not their chosen profession and they are not the ones working with these groups of people. I would go so far as to say this amendment is dangerous to these populations and the social work profession as a whole.