Association of Social Work Boards

Mission

To provide support and services to the social work regulatory community to advance safe, competent, and ethical practices to strengthen public protection.

Continuing Education

ACE connects social workers, CE providers, and regulators.

2017 Practice Analysis Technical Report

Download a summary of the 2017 Analysis of the Practice of Social Work. (PDF)

Download the full technical report of the 2017 Analysis of the Practice of Social Work. (PDF)

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President’s message [caption id="attachment_81440" align="alignleft" width="200"] Harold Dean, ASWB president[/caption]

Have you ever had anyone greet you with the salutation, “Hey, what’s new in your world?” I certainly have. And we are experiencing a variety of new things as the effects of the pandemic reach farther and wider. We are also witnessing a public outcry against the injustices of systemic racism unlike any expressed before. As a profession, social work is uniquely positioned to address both of these crises. Social workers have the knowledge and skills to help those who are encountering economic and emotional distress as a result of the pandemic. With our profession’s lenses of systems theory and advocacy, social workers can be effective change agents at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels by speaking out against and working toward the elimination of racial injustice.

Social work regulation touches on both these issues as well, speaking specifically against discrimination within the practice of social work. The complaint process in each state allows for investigation of and disciplinary action against social workers who act unethically toward clients or coworkers of color. With regard to our current pandemic situation, laws regarding interstate practice have been relaxed or modified in some jurisdictions to allow social workers to respond more expediently to the escalating human need we are witnessing. The result of these changes may ultimately bring about changes in electronic practice at a rate faster than we anticipated. If this happens, and it probably will, regulators must face those discussions with flexibility and an open mind. We will need to balance the need for an expanded professional response with maintaining our focus on our ultimate goal of public protection.

In the background of all of these societal changes, ASWB has remained committed to the needs of its member boards. ASWB staff remained committed to their jobs, and their productivity did not wane. In fact, the majority of the ASWB staff has worked from home—oftentimes putting in longer hours than when they came into the office! Dwight has continued to work with contractors to finish the remaining tasks related to completing our association’s building project. Under his excellent leadership, the members of the senior leadership team have navigated the process of moving seven different offices into our association’s new, centralized headquarters.

ASWB’s executive leadership has also demonstrated one of the hallmark skills of our profession—collaboration. ASWB leadership is meeting regularly with the leadership of NASW and CSWE, representing the other two pillars of our profession, to keep one another apprised of current changes and initiatives within their respective organizations. Additionally, the leaders of all three pillars are working together to communicate with social workers, schools of social work, agencies, and regulators through Social Work Responds to keep constituents apprised of the coordinated response to the pandemic and the current public outcry to address racial injustice. The three pillar organizations agree that this collaboration has been extremely helpful. I hope that these meetings will continue as a routine practice after the pandemic ends.

I am incredibly proud of how ASWB as an organization and how our ASWB staff have risen to the challenge of these very trying times that we as a society are facing. I hope you are, too!

Regulation is not known for being particularly nimble or flexible, and yet I think we have all been forced to take a hard look at our policies, processes, and assumptions and to act very quickly—and that’s a silver lining in this. – Lise Betteridge (ON)

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been a shared experience across the planet, it has also resulted in particular challenges and specific solutions. The ways in which the social work regulatory colleges in British Columbia and Ontario have handled the pandemic’s challenges illustrate both the commonalities and the particularities of continuing to serve the public in troubled times.

British Columbia

Mark Hillenbrand, registrar and CEO of the British Columbia College of Social Workers, says his office closed in mid-March. “We haven’t been in the office since then.” Nevertheless, the college, which serves approximately 5,000 social work registrants, has continued to provide all services with minimal disruption.

Provisional and temporary registrations

No new legal provisions were needed to handle circumstances created by the pandemic, Hillenbrand said. British Columbia has a pair of licensure categories—a provisional registration and a temporary registration—that have been put to good use in addressing issues caused by the pandemic.

“We already have temporary registration, available to social workers at no cost,” Hillenbrand said. Temporary registration allows a registered social worker from outside the province to practice in British Columbia for 90 days, a period that can be extended to six months. Social workers providing services to university students especially benefited from this mobility provision. “We’ve had university students from all over Canada come home,” Hillenbrand said, “and we were able to set their practitioners up with temporary registration so care could continue uninterrupted.” British Columbia also has a provisional class of registration that gives registrants with a job offer a year to pass their social work licensing exam. “That class of registration addressed the ASWB test center closures,” Hillenbrand said. It also supported the stability of the social work workforce, especially in hospitals. “We focused on getting students who had been doing practicums in hospitals provisionally registered so they could stay in their positions,” Hillenbrand said. By keeping in close contact through biweekly meetings with social work leaders in hospitals, the college was able to ensure it was not creating workforce barriers.

Communicating with peers

Regular communication with registrars and association directors across Canada has also proven helpful, Hillenbrand said. “CASW [Canadian Association of Social Workers] opened a biweekly meeting of registrars and association directors so we can talk with and educate each other.” They have addressed how to ease the mobility of the workforce, sharing information about temporary registration for social workers registered in other provinces, for example.

Ontario

Lise Betteridge, who serves as registrar and CEO of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, also values staying in close contact with other jurisdictions throughout the crisis. “I’m very grateful for my social work regulatory colleagues and for our regular update meetings,” Betteridge said. “I think being aware of what is going on in different provinces continues to be very important for all of us as we move forward.”

Updating members

The value of staying in contact also applies to communication with registrants and other stakeholders in Ontario. Since the start of the emergency, the college has sent out regular updates to the 23,000 social workers and social service workers it regulates. Recent updates have included links to government resources and information needed as Ontario begins to reopen. Betteridge said that recent updates have also shared information about “practice considerations and emphasized that members must use their professional judgment and refer to guidance from government and public health authorities in order to decide whether it was safe for them to return to providing in-person services.”

And though social workers are not considered to be regulated health care professionals under Ontario’s system, the college followed the health care regulators' lead and shared very specific safety guidance—some directed toward those in private practice who may not receive information from an employer. Betteridge added, “Members were also strongly advised to continue to provide services by electronic means wherever possible.”

Electronic practice provision helps Ontarians

Some of the solutions available to the British Columbia college were not possible in Ontario. “Our legislation doesn’t provide for emergency or temporary registration,” Betteridge said. But a provision allowing electronic practice that was approved by the council (board) in summer 2019 allows practice by “those social workers in good standing in other Canadian provinces who wish to practise electronically in Ontario exclusively by electronic means,” Betteridge said.

Indeed, Betteridge said one of the most surprising aspects of the response of the social work community to the emergency was social workers’ swift transition to electronic practice. “With the emergency closure regulation in place, those of our members who weren’t considered ‘essential’ were not permitted to provide services in person,” Betteridge said. “It is striking how quickly the situation unfolded and how quickly members made this shift in their practice. Some might say we are in ‘the new normal’ now—though I can’t say this time has felt either normal or as static as that term implies.”

Paperwork challenges

While many of the college’s regulatory operations—council and committee meetings, practice support, member services, and enforcement processes—were easily adapted to remote work, one major function of the college faced challenges because the registration process uses paper. “We were able to make some accommodations to register high-priority applicants and new graduates, but we are now facing a backlog of applications (including equivalency applications) that we must address,” Betteridge said.

Lessons for the future

Reflecting on the lessons learned so far in the emergency situation, Betteridge said, “Regulation is not known for being particularly nimble or flexible, and yet I think we have all been forced to take a hard look at our policies, processes, and assumptions and to act very quickly—and that’s a silver lining in this.” Betteridge and Hillenbrand agree that the future will include a new emphasis on emergency preparedness and a willingness to adjust and improve. As Betteridge notes: “I don’t think we will ever go back to the way things were.”

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Counsel's Column

[caption id="attachment_73308" align="alignleft" width="200"]

Dale Atkinson is a partner with the Illinois law firm that is counsel to ASWB. He is also executive director of the Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards (FARB).[/caption]

While tempted to address the ongoing pandemic and its effects on the Association of Social Work Boards and its member boards, I have elected to lead an effort to return to the case-driven approach to regulatory content. This is not to downplay or ignore the important regulatory issues that are under added scrutiny stimulated by quarantines, access to mental health care, telehealth options, state-based licensure, and perceived (and real) barriers to licensure. The COVID-19 pandemic should and will lead to changes in government and regulatory boards. Change can be positive and should be constantly embraced. Now is the time for social work boards to consider changes and to act where it is within their control and where deemed appropriate. ASWB member boards must reflect upon their roles, their effectiveness and efficiencies, and the benefits of being part of ASWB.

One place for social work boards to start may be to consider how and when (if ever) to address the surrender of licensure. Surrender of licensure, as used for purposes of this article, involves a licensee agreeing to give up a license rather than facing the consequences of an investigation for alleged wrongdoing. The regulatory board accepts the surrender to avoid the costs and uncertainties of investigating and administratively prosecuting the complaint. This surrender does not carry with it an agreed order and consent agreement setting forth the important terms and conditions. If it did, this process would be referred to not as a surrender but as a consent/settlement agreement.

As is covered in detail in ASWB New Board Member Training sessions, surrender of licensure in lieu of discipline is a dangerous proposition. In short, acceptance of a licensure surrender does not allow an appropriate record to be established. In response to an offer of licensure surrender, the regulatory board’s counteroffer should be to sign a consent/settlement agreement that sets forth all the necessary conditions to protect the public and ensure that all parties understand the consequences of their actions. Consent/settlement agreements cover, at a minimum, essential information such as:

Admission of wrongdoing
Findings of fact
Conclusions of law
Burden of proof
Sanctions (with specificity)
Reinstatement rights (if any)
Publication rights of the board (board website, Facebook, ASWB Public Protection Database, National Practitioner Data Bank)

These elements are critical to allow for the public to access important information and to ensure that the individual’s potential applications for licensure in the future (with the sanctioning board and/or additional boards) will disclose this information. In the event of nondisclosure by the individual upon application, the regulatory board determining licensure eligibility will have access through public records to this valuable information and will be able to consider it during its deliberations.

Recently, the Supreme Court of Ohio in In re Leone (2020 Ohio LEXIS 1219) had an occasion to address the issue of voluntary surrender of licensure of an attorney who was under investigation for alleged wrongdoing. In the ordinary course of its business and as agreed to on numerous occasions, the court accepted the surrender of licensure. As additional information, and again as conducted in the ordinary course of business, the investigative file gathered was filed “under seal.” This means that the Supreme Court is unable to use or publicize the facts in relation to its ruling. Yet, as a matter of course, the court entered an order accepting the resignation of the respondent/attorney. The order also terminated the attorney’s rights and privileges of practice, prohibited the practice of law, limited certain law-related employment, allowed the surrender of the law license, and required reimbursement of funds paid from the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection.

Of interest in this published opinion is the dissent filed in response to the majority ruling. In a poignant missive, the dissenting judge noted that the file was under seal and thus unable to be referenced for purposes of his opinion. Rather than challenging the specific ruling, the dissenting judge chided the system. First, the judge reminded the majority of the role of the Supreme Court as an entity charged with determining an individual’s admission to and removal from the practice of law in the interest of public/consumer protection. The judge noted that the court on average accepted 15 resignations per year and that such a practice is troubling because acceptance of resignations was, in part, caused by problems within the system and control of the court. Specifically, the Ohio Constitution grants full authority to the court, including how complaints will be adjudicated.

The dissenting judge continued arguing that while resignations protect the public because the respondent is no longer able to practice, they lack transparency to the public. As such, resignations with discipline pending “are the epitome of antithetical examples that are contrary to the concept that state government should be as transparent as reasonably possible.” Using a cost-benefit analogy, the judge used the potential for criminal activity to be uncovered in the investigation. Even if the information was turned over to law enforcement, he stated, the low priority may not result in prosecution. Under this scenario, a resigning attorney could simply “move on to some other occupation and the public would never know the [previous] conduct.”

The dissenting judge also noted the inefficiencies of the system created by the court. On average, a typical case to the Ohio Supreme Court takes almost 1,000 days from complaint to recommendation. Because the system takes too long, the court accepts resignations as a means of closure. The judge further referenced the relief fund, which has reimbursed poorly treated clients almost US$24 million since its inception in 1985. But, he noted, the current system does not permit the court to condition acceptance on restitution being made to the harmed client(s). Because the court cannot consider resigning lawyers’ financial status and pending restitution petitions as part of the acceptance proceedings, it is forced to make decisions without all relevant information.

Finally, the dissenting judge referenced the cost savings attributable to the resignation. Many of the resignation cases with discipline pending have matriculated through the investigation, preliminary recommendations, and consideration by the commission. These eleventh-hour resignations come after the use of vast resources and therefore do not result in monetary savings. Should resignations occur earlier in the process, savings would be realized—but at what cost to the public, he argues. In the end, the dissenting judge invites his colleagues to revisit the policies and procedures for adjudicating complaints and to consider the lack of transparency to the public.

Taking these points to the social work regulatory arena, ASWB member boards should consider:

What aspects of the disciplinary process, including investigations, are subject to their control
What added efficiencies in investigations and ultimate resolution can be addressed and improved

Policy makers, elected officials, and the legislative and executive branches of government will continue to scrutinize efficiencies of board operations. Whether fair or not, the average number of days from complaint to resolution will be reviewed. This information is important not only now; it is always important and should be made a part of the record/minutes of every board meeting.

Social work boards should always be prepared for sunset reviews, whether required by law or not. Furthermore, economies of scale through collective wisdom and implementation of programs common to all or most member boards can and are being developed and implemented through ASWB. Boards should take advantage of these programs and access to information. While individual states and their boards are authorized to act independently of one another, collective programs and wisdom provide added efficiencies and ultimately substantiate state-based regulation.

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President’s message [caption id="attachment_81440" align="alignleft" width="200"] Harold Dean, ASWB president[/caption]

I am incredibly proud of how ASWB as an organization and how our ASWB staff have risen to the challenge of these very trying times that we as a society are facing. I hope you are, too!

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