The purpose of licensing and certification
in social work is to assist the public through identification of standards
for the safe professional practice of social work. Each jurisdiction
defines by law what is required for each level of social work licensure.
Typically, there are four categories of practice that jurisdictions may
legally regulate.
Bachelors: |
Baccalaureate social work degree upon
graduation; |
Masters: |
Master's degree in social work (MSW)
with no post-degree experience; |
Advanced Generalist: |
MSW with two years post-master's supervised
experience; and |
Clinical: |
MSW with two years post-master's direct
clinical social work experience. |
Requirements
Social work regulatory boards generally require that social work degrees
must be obtained from programs of social work that are accredited by
the Council on Social Work
Education (CSWE), Canadian
Association for Social Work Education(CASWE), or other nationally
recognized accrediting agencies. Degrees earned outside the U.S. and
Canada must be determined to be equivalent. One widely used equivalency
service is the CSWE International Social Work Degree Recognition and
Equivalency Service (iswdres@cswe.org).
Non-social work degrees are accepted in some instances at the Bachelors
level. Some jurisdictions regulate only one of these practice levels,
while most regulate two or more levels of social work practice. A summary
table containing the licensing requirements may be accessed through the Social
Work Laws & Regulations Comparison Guide.
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