Social Work Licensure: A Brief History and Description

Abstract

This article provides a brief history of the development of social work as a profession including professional training, educational accreditation, and state licensing for professional practice. This brief history is followed by a description of the varying state licensing laws and their implications for social work practice in home health.

An Emerging Theory to Guide Clinical Social Workers Seeking Change in Regulation of Clinical Social Work

“…In the 1930s, the profession began to be recognized as a service profession as a result of the growth of professional organizations, educational programs, and publications (Dyeson, 2004;Stuart, 2013). Shortly after, the Great Depression and World War II demanded social workers expand their focus to include mental health concerns (Groshong, 2009, McNutt 2013.…”

“…This time also highlighted the professional shift to include macro-micro divisions and the creation of generalist social work; it is essentially when multiple categories of social work practice emerged (McNutt, 2013). By the 21st century, some levels of social work were regulated in all 50 states (Clark, 2013;Dyeson, 2004;Stuart, 2013). Licensing also facilitated the growth of private practice as many jurisdictions provided the standards for independent practice (Stuart, 2013).…”

50 Years and the Future of Agency-Based Clinical Social Work Practice: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…During the 1970s medical insurance reimbursement for mental health and addiction services expanded, and social work licensure was established in several states (Dyeson 2004). Financial reimbursement for social work and social work licensure catalyzed the forces that resulted in 81% of the profession of social work indentifying themselves as ''clinical social workers'' (Center for Workforce Studies 2006).…”

“…By then the specialty of clinical social work had been well established. By 2004 all 50 states had social work licensure laws and 40 states had special licensure status for clinical social workers (Dyeson 2004).…”

Advocating for Educational Standards in Counselor Licensure Laws

“…The developmental trajectories of both psychology (Merrill, ) and social work (Dyeson, ) have included adoption of national standards for licensure and increasingly consistent educational standards, licensure titles, and scopes of practice across states. Their movement toward national standards has allowed these professions to enjoy recognition by stakeholders and enhanced licensure portability (Association of Social Work Boards, ).…”