Any states that require licensing of non-therapist social workers?
September 25, 2024 3:56 PM Subscribe
Are there any states in which all social workers are required to be licensed, not just therapist social workers? In California, most social workers do not have to be licensed because they are not trained as therapists, and they have no master's degrees. This creates tremendous potential for abuse of power by unlicensed social workers, with no oversight, unlike doctors, lawyers, nurses, and other persons who have power over poor, disabled and elderly persons. If something goes wrong in those and other licensed professions, the family has recourse to discipline by the state authority.
I'm looking for a state that has full licensing for social workers so that I can get help to advocate for such a system in California, where I have been shocked by the abuses of unlicensed social workers for the last 15 years.
I am shocked, sickened, horrified and disgusted by how social workers in California are able to abuse, bully and cheat elderly and disabled persons. I had seen this abuse of power in another state when I was a prosecutor. Child protective services social workers had to be brought to court in handcuffs because they failed to respond to prosecutors' subpoenas in criminal cases. If I didn't have the miscreant social workers arrested and brought to court to testify to the horrors they joyfully told me they had discovered, the criminal would be returned to the child's home to beat, rape or otherwise abuse the child again.
I am shocked, sickened, horrified and disgusted by how social workers in California are able to abuse, bully and cheat elderly and disabled persons. I had seen this abuse of power in another state when I was a prosecutor. Child protective services social workers had to be brought to court in handcuffs because they failed to respond to prosecutors' subpoenas in criminal cases. If I didn't have the miscreant social workers arrested and brought to court to testify to the horrors they joyfully told me they had discovered, the criminal would be returned to the child's home to beat, rape or otherwise abuse the child again.
Best answer: At least in Iowa, "social worker" is both a licensed profession AND ALSO a job title that the state uses for some of its workers, particularly in the child/dependent adult abuse divisions. I don't know if California does a similar thing, but that would be important to know before proceeding. I'm an LISW (Licensed Independent Social Worker) in the State of Iowa, meaning that I have a Master's Degree in Social Work, have completed 2k hours of supervised practice, and have passed a licensure test. A "Social Worker III" down at my local DHHS may or may not even have a degree in social work--for them, "social worker" is just a job title. I'm accountable to the state Board of Social Work, but they aren't, even though they ruin the name of my profession all the time.
posted by epj at 4:25 PM on September 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by epj at 4:25 PM on September 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: This is not correct. Most social workers in California are not licensed, and are not required to be licensed. To quote form the board itself:
"There are two types of social workers: clinical and non-clinical. The Board only licenses
clinical social workers. Under current law, a license is not required to be a non-clinical
social worker.
In order to qualify for licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), a social
worker must have a master’s degree (MSW) in social work from a school accredited by
the Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Social Work Education. Clinical
social work is a specialty practice area of social work which focuses on the assessment,
diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness, emotional, and other behavioral
disturbances. Individual, group and family therapy are common treatment modalities,
though not the only ones used." https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/board_licensees.pdf
posted by KayQuestions at 4:28 PM on September 25, 2024
"There are two types of social workers: clinical and non-clinical. The Board only licenses
clinical social workers. Under current law, a license is not required to be a non-clinical
social worker.
In order to qualify for licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), a social
worker must have a master’s degree (MSW) in social work from a school accredited by
the Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Social Work Education. Clinical
social work is a specialty practice area of social work which focuses on the assessment,
diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness, emotional, and other behavioral
disturbances. Individual, group and family therapy are common treatment modalities,
though not the only ones used." https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/board_licensees.pdf
posted by KayQuestions at 4:28 PM on September 25, 2024
Best answer: “Social worker” is not a protected title in California, so there’s no system for disciplining people with the work title of Social Worker who are unlicensed and no specific education or training requirements associated with that title. These states have title protection: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
posted by assenav at 5:09 PM on September 25, 2024 [4 favorites]
posted by assenav at 5:09 PM on September 25, 2024 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Nursing home facilities in California are overseen by the California department of public health that can run investigations into claims of abuse by any staff member in the facility, cite or fine the facility and if the findings are severe enough they can loose their license to provide care.
Please note when filling a report be as calm, clear and concise as possible. Answer when where who and how as clearly as you can. Explain the harm that you believed to have happened.
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:11 PM on September 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
Please note when filling a report be as calm, clear and concise as possible. Answer when where who and how as clearly as you can. Explain the harm that you believed to have happened.
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:11 PM on September 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
Wow, your question seems to carry a lot of judgment and vitriol for an entire profession that's often overworked, undervalued, and burnt out in doing incredibly difficult, thankless work. As a prosecutor, I'm sure you saw your fair share, and wouldn't necessarily agree with the statement that lawyers are parasitic leeches who gleefully take advantage of suffering vulnerable people.
But to answer your question more directly, I think what you're bumping up against (as epj alluded to) is the general term "social work" as anyone that works IN social services, which includes a wide variety of backgrounds, educational requirements, and credentialing oversight, versus the "Social Worker" regulated, MSW, licensed professional. It's confusing for sure, and every state handles it differently, but even in states where it's a protected term, people erroneously use it in the more general sense anyway.
I get it... I'm a licensed counselor, and neither the term "counselor" or "therapist" is a protected term, so we get all sorts of unlicensed, questionably qualified "coaches" and "counselors" in my field, with little to no oversight. It's a very buyer beware situation, and it's also frustrating for the practitioners who put in the time, supervised effort, and money to do it ethically. But I've also heard fellow professionals say that licensing boards perpetuate systemic barriers to entry into a field that is desperately under-resourced, perpetuate classist/racist systems, and don't truly advocate clients or clinicians in meaningful ways anyway.
It sounds like you're wanting to advocate for change at a legislative level. You may want to look into the Counseling Compact, an effort to work across state lines to find commonalities in licensure law to allow for more qualified, licensed professionals to work in more states. I'd also see what the CA board for social workers (and maybe the board for mental health counselors too, we exist but aren't as good at policy work as social workers!) are already doing to expand oversight while also addressing the real issues facing the field such as shortages. See if those efforts are something you can support in some way.
posted by carlypennylane at 9:51 PM on September 25, 2024 [9 favorites]
But to answer your question more directly, I think what you're bumping up against (as epj alluded to) is the general term "social work" as anyone that works IN social services, which includes a wide variety of backgrounds, educational requirements, and credentialing oversight, versus the "Social Worker" regulated, MSW, licensed professional. It's confusing for sure, and every state handles it differently, but even in states where it's a protected term, people erroneously use it in the more general sense anyway.
I get it... I'm a licensed counselor, and neither the term "counselor" or "therapist" is a protected term, so we get all sorts of unlicensed, questionably qualified "coaches" and "counselors" in my field, with little to no oversight. It's a very buyer beware situation, and it's also frustrating for the practitioners who put in the time, supervised effort, and money to do it ethically. But I've also heard fellow professionals say that licensing boards perpetuate systemic barriers to entry into a field that is desperately under-resourced, perpetuate classist/racist systems, and don't truly advocate clients or clinicians in meaningful ways anyway.
It sounds like you're wanting to advocate for change at a legislative level. You may want to look into the Counseling Compact, an effort to work across state lines to find commonalities in licensure law to allow for more qualified, licensed professionals to work in more states. I'd also see what the CA board for social workers (and maybe the board for mental health counselors too, we exist but aren't as good at policy work as social workers!) are already doing to expand oversight while also addressing the real issues facing the field such as shortages. See if those efforts are something you can support in some way.
posted by carlypennylane at 9:51 PM on September 25, 2024 [9 favorites]
Hmm! I’ve had calls from social workers’ offices before hearings because the particularities of their certifications and jobs in combination make the subpoena tricky or impossible to comply with. And then I have to redirect them and tell my boss. I think there’s more than meets the eye here.
posted by elzpwetd at 4:16 AM on September 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by elzpwetd at 4:16 AM on September 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
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posted by augustimagination at 4:11 PM on September 25, 2024 [3 favorites]