Yet, we consistently fail to advocate for access to our system or advocate for the most vulnerable in our membership. Our profession claims to help facilitate access by the most vulnerable to support systems.
The enshrinement of the exam is not surprising, but it is distinctly unambitious for such a project.
#Thomas bates license
Those of us in the small gap of time when Illinois required no exam for the LSW may (but are not guaranteed to) receive an Interstate License (per Section 4.C(1)). It seems assured, then, that to participate in the Compact, Illinois would have to make the profession less accessible and curtail a recent victory. The Compact reaffirms this in Section 4.A(2) by requiring Regulated Social Workers (RSWs) to have Qualifying National Exam Numbers. Section 3.A(2) of the Compact requires States to implement exams for all licenses.
In Illinois, the NASW-IL only recently accomplished the removal of an exam requirement for the Master’s level license (Licensed Social Worker). Some States have managed to move beyond the exams for some licenses, at least for now. Who does well on them? Who can afford to pay for them? Are the exams in any way valid to measure what they claim to measure? (They are under-researched at best.) Advocates for making the profession more accessible have critiqued Social Work’s reliance on exams. Aside from the ASWB - the organization that develops and maintains social work licensing exams - being a key partner, many states already primarily rely on examinations as the gatekeeper of the license. It comes as no surprise to see examinations centered in the Compact. The Compact enshrines examinations inappropriately. It also fails to protect all social workers from the piling on of many (many) fees across States, but letting States squeeze underpaid social workers for cash is perhaps a requirement if we want something like the Compact. However, the proposal does not meaningfully support new social workers or macro workers.
The proposal, as written, would undoubtedly make the practice of social work significantly easier for many social workers. Some large organizations (such as the VA) already accept out-of-State licenses. Many professions have interstate compacts allowing work and life to flow across State lines. The Compact is currently available in draft for public comment. The Council of State Governments (CSG), Department of Defense (DoD), and the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) have partnered to draft an interstate licensure compact for social workers.
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