News

  • The Council of State Governments and partners have announced that language is finalized for the Social Work Licensure Compact. The compact must be enacted into state law by at least seven states. At that time, the Social Work Compact Commission will be created and additional infrastructure established, and then multistate licenses will begin to be issued.
  • The data highlighted disparities in exam pass rates for different demographic groups. For Black test-takers and older test-takers, pass rates were particularly low. The discrepancies seen in the data are unacceptable. Recognizing that multiple factors impact a test-taker’s performance and need to be addressed, we remain committed to doing our part and working with other […]

  • Members of the Social Work Leadership Roundtable, representing their respective organizations (i.e., American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, Association of Social Work Boards, Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, Council on Social Work Education, Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work, Grand Challenges for Social Work, National Association of […]

  • ASWB has contracted with the independent firm Fifth Theory to provide free test mastery mindset support to test-takers who are unsuccessful in passing the social work licensing exams. Fifth Theory’s research-based Test Mastery Inclusion program is designed to help test-takers be successful on a high-stakes exam. ASWB acknowledges that the personal and educational experiences that […]

  • This scenario may sound far-fetched, but without social work mobility, or the ability to easily transfer our social work licenses across state lines, it is actually a possibility. And it’s an example of why the social work profession should establish greater license portability. We are already facing a shortage of licensed social workers and mental […]

  • December 21, 2022
    The journey ahead
    We are, together, on a justice journey, leading opportunities to advance equity in professional regulation. We, as regulators, want to have fair and just paths to licensure—that is something that benefits everyone. This effort calls for us to trust one another, to rely on one another, to elicit the aid of our allies, and to think differently and innovatively about how we make progress.
  • The webinar offered a behind-the-scenes look at how the ASWB exams are developed and the steps ASWB takes to guard against bias and maintain reliability and validity. Harless shared information about ASWB’s initiatives to bring more voices into the creation of exams for the future of social work and to enhance the testing experience to reduce barriers.
  • ASWB and CSG are encouraged by the progress made in 2022 toward a final compact and expect to have a draft ready for states in the first quarter of 2023. This means that the compact legislation will not have an opportunity to be considered in some states during 2023 legislative sessions. 
  • Be assured that ASWB adheres to and maintains a valid examination program for use by member boards. The process is highly technical, so bear with me as we navigate the details.
  • The 2022 Bylaws and Resolutions Committee submitted two items for discussion and voting at the Annual Meeting of the Delegate Assembly: a set of minor changes to the ASWB bylaws that update and clarify terminology about membership and operations, and a resolution calling on member jurisdictions to include ASWB on their regular meeting agendas.

Sign up to receive ASWB’s quarterly newsletter

Name(Required)
Email(Required)