News

When ASWB members voted to change the Model Social Work Practice Act in 2018 by adopting licensure by endorsement language, you indicated that the best, most efficient, way to enhance practice mobility is to allow, in the words of the strategic framework, “a licensed or registered social worker in good standing in one jurisdiction to […]

As part of this delegated statutory authority, social work boards should be delegated with the right to summarily suspend a license under certain circumstances. Summary suspension basically involves an immediate action by the board before a hearing. As an adverse action is being taken against a license without a hearing, summary/emergency suspensions are an extraordinary […]

Each offered a wide-angle look at regulation, bringing a historical and multiprofession perspective to an audience of social work regulators whose daily concerns may be more tightly focused on their own licensees, their jurisdiction’s statutes, and the professions their regulatory bodies regulate. The two speakers shared the history of professional regulation in the United States […]

Providing customer service to exam candidates is a large part of what ASWB does, Monday through Friday. Our Candidate Services Center representatives handled 69,485 telephone calls in 2018. Think about that number. Despite a growing number of online registrations annually, candidates are still placing approximately 70,000 calls per year to talk to another person—not a […]

Association Asides, March/April 2019

Politicians, regulators, licensees, and consumers should be asking why government is involved in regulation. It is suggested that very few reflect on government regulation, especially consumers. Thus, political reaction to and modifications of government regulation are generally based on information generated by special interest groups. It is time to embrace regulatory reform and expand the […]

Carla Moore’s journey to reach the position of chair of the Nominating Committee serves as an example to all ASWB aspiring leaders. Moore put her name forward more than once before she was elected to the Nominating Committee, and she is quick to encourage others to “try, try again” if their desire to serve as […]

  In taking the oath of office, all members of the ASWB Board of Directors pledged to make governance decisions that are in the best interest of the association. Although the 2019 Board has been governing for only a few months, Board members have coalesced into a high-performing group. I would like to share how […]

With three overarching goals that focus on 1. acceptance and recognition of licensure in social work, 2. practice mobility, and 3. regulatory research, the framework affirmed at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Delegate Assembly reflects an emphasis on member services. That reality has led the association’s executive leadership to reorganize and rename the Member […]

Dale Atkinson’s Counsel’s Column makes the case for using the current emphasis on regulatory reform to educate the public, including legislators, consumers, and other constituents, about the positive role of state government to enforce professional regulation. But what should member boards be doing to “articulate the need for and benefits of government licensure”? The first goal of […]