To boost social worker diversity, should WA reconsider its exam?

Getting licensed as a clinical social worker is a multipronged effort: People trying to enter the field must complete a master's degree and thousands of hours of work under a professional supervisor.

The final hurdle is a four-hour exam, testing students on the values and ethics of the profession, as well as how they'd respond to certain scenarios in their work.

While the components are all meant to test different aspects of a person's readiness to become a social worker, some have criticized the test as a barrier to letting a more diverse field of candidates into the field.

National data shows that white students taking the exam for the first time pass nearly 85% of the time - almost double the 45% pass rate of Black students taking the test for the first time.

The lopsided rates aren't unique to this field - many professions with an entrance exam show similar disparities. But as Washington grapples with widespread challenges to social work licensure, including delays, workforce shortages and growing mental health needs across different demographic groups, students and professionals are considering ways to lower the barriers to entry - particularly for candidates from diverse backgrounds.

In Washington, there have been several recent efforts.

Students at Eastern Washington University are pushing to remove the requirement to take a uniform exam to become licensed social workers. A bill introduced last legislative session pushed for an alternative pathway to licensure, as well.

Those seeking alternative pathways into the field of social work say the current standard - which hinges on the licensing exam - can disproportionately exclude people of color. Some studies say the current exam, and overall licensing requirements, have a white, western lens that can exclude others' perspectives. Financial barriers, including exam and practice test fees, can affect those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who want to pursue social work.

But others, including those at the nonprofit that administers the exam, say addressing disparities must begin far earlier in social work students' education, and it's important to have a single standard for entering the profession.

The national exam, administered by the nonprofit Association of Social Work Boards, is required to work in clinical settings, such as hospitals, schools or drug and alcohol counseling. Social workers must also apply for a license through the state Department of Health.

The Eastern Washington University students began pushing for an alternate pathway to licensure as part of a graduate school class that centered on campaigning for policy change. Under their proposed alternative, students who don't want to take the exam could instead complete double the hours of clinical supervision that are currently required.

The students said they plan to continue reaching out to legislators and collecting signatures in support of removing the exam requirement.

"One of the ethical principles in social work is social justice," said Libby Hollan, one of the masters' students behind the campaign. "We have a responsibility to disrupt systems and challenge social injustice, and that's what we think is happening here."

Latisha Williams, a field faculty adviser at EWU who is also pursuing social work licensure, said the exam is geared toward a clinical setting, such as working in a medical office or a hospital. That tends to be geared toward a white perspective, she said, and doesn't always consider the ethics or decision-making of people from more diverse backgrounds, she said.

"My (colleagues of color) have been able to successfully pass the exam, but I think they have really had to have that mind shift to prepare them," she said. "You can't walk in with your own cultural expertise alone and expect to pass. I think you really have to put on that Western, white, European lens and those beliefs to be able to be successful in the exam."

Scott Steinhouse, a social work master's student at EWU, gave an example for how a test-taker's background could impact their answers and how they'd handle a situation.

A test question that asks candidates if they would call the police in certain situations might yield different answers, he said. Someone who grew up in a community that's been over-policed, for example, might not choose to call law enforcement when someone is going through a crisis - whereas someone who hasn't had that experience might do so.

Having a different answer "doesn't make you a bad social worker Steinhouse said. "That narrows your perspective in terms of how you're able to address specific cultural situations for your community."

Dr. Stacey Hardy-Chandler, the CEO of the Association of Social Work Boards, said the organization has studied the disparities in pass rates, both at national and local levels.

While there are widespread racial disparities, she said some schools have shown little to no gap in pass rates - which she said reflects efforts by those individual schools to improve test preparation and access for all students.

"I would love for social work to not have disparities, but we know it's not in a bubble isolated from all the things that impact people differently in our society, in terms of different access to resources, different kinds of support, different socioeconomic needs," she said.

"You can have the conversation, but the examination is the wrong target. That's the thing that's telling us, there is still work that we need to do," she said. For social work programs, she said, that could include providing better access to test preparation for students earlier in their education.

Earlier this year, a Whatcom County Democratic lawmaker proposed a bill to remove the requirement for a social work licensing exam.

The bill died early in the legislative session, but its sponsor, Rep. Alicia Rule, said she plans to keep raising the issue.

Rule, a longtime social worker, said as she's hired and trained others, she's learned the value of employing social workers with a variety of lived experiences.

"We're learning that having therapists who are, for example, neurodivergent, is a strength," Rule said. But she said a written exam may not be the best way to evaluate whether that person will be a competent therapist - the mentorship that comes with supervision can be just as useful.

"The idea would be that both pathways would be valid, that we could understand if people are competent in the field through a supervision lens or through a test plan," Rule said. "It opens a pathway for a variety of people to go into this field, and we think that's a plus."

Proposed changes

The alternative pathway EWU students are proposing would double the number of hours of clinical supervision, from 3,000 hours of supervision to 6,000 hours. They also proposed that students could instead take a jurisprudence exam, which would test understanding of local laws and practices around social work. Students would continue to have to provide their transcripts and pay $186 to apply for licensure.

The current licensing exam is much longer, and focuses on a broader scope - including values and ethics and how they'd handle certain scenarios. The exam also costs $230.

Hardy-Chandler said the three components of social work licensure - education, supervised clinical work, and a uniform exam - all remain vital parts of the process.

While supervision is a key element of becoming a qualified social worker, she said it can't replace a practical exam.

"The quality of that experience, that component of licensure, depends on who you get as a supervisor. It's not just a matter of hours - quantity doesn't equal quality," she said.

Removing the requirement for a single national exam could also affect social workers' ability to practice across state lines, Hardy-Chandler said.

Thirty-two states have passed legislation for a "social work compact," which, once states enact it, permits social workers who get licensed in those states to practice in the other states that are part of that group. Taking the national licensing exam is one of the components to qualify for that, Hardy-Chandler said.

Several states have also passed legislation to remove the requirement for a licensing exam - including Illinois, Colorado and Maine.

Hardy-Chandler said it's too early to say whether removing those requirements has affected the number of people coming into the field.

"I do have some concerns in terms of the impact on the public," she said, noting that people may not be aware if their social worker has taken a licensing exam or not. "Often, people who are the recipients of services don't get to choose who their social worker is."

Proponents of changing the test requirement acknowledge there will still be barriers. Getting clinical supervision in some settings can cost students money, Williams said, and increasing the number of supervision hours could set students back - particularly in a field that's not highly paid.

More hours of supervision could also create backlogs at other points in the system.

Williams said she'd like to see the state support other paths to licensure, potentially by helping cover the costs of additional supervision.

"If you want people to pursue licensure and not have to choose, do I pay for hours or do I take something out of my family, we need to make sure we figure out a way to make it accessible," she said.

Rule said she hopes as people consider the changes, they'll understand what goes into becoming a social worker.

"I think people often think that this is a field of nice people with good intentions," Rule said. But, she said, it takes years of schooling and a graduate degree to become a social worker. "In a time where we have a mental health crisis, especially with youth, and we have a workforce shortage, these kinds of questions become incredibly important for access and affordability to mental health care for everybody. Culturally competent practitioners are as important as the number of practitioners we have."

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