Licensure Modernization Fall Update: The Path Forward for Michigan Social Workers

On October 3rd we held our third Community Conversation to provide an update on our collaborative efforts for Licensure Modernization in Michigan. For those who missed the last call, here are the key updates:

General Recap

It has been 20 years since Michigan’s social workers have had statewide licensure and no significant changes to the process have happened during that time. This presents a unique opportunity to assess how our current system has served social workers or unintentionally missed the mark as a licensing process. Like many states, Michigan continues to be experiencing a workforce shortage in many sectors of the social work profession.

Most of our community is familiar with the ASWB pass rate data. In July, the Social Work Grand Challenges published their Eliminate Racism Policy Brief where they made the case for complete removal of the ASWB exam. Additionally, the Oregon Board of Social Work completed their alternative pathways to social work licensure report related to their recommendation to remove the ASWB exam from licensing.

Legislative & Stakeholder Engagement

After the June 13th testimonies before the Behavioral Health Subcommittee (which can be viewed on the NASW-MI Youtube channel) the legislature went into summer recess. In the meantime, Duane Brejiak (NASW-Michigan Executive Director), Dana Paglia-King (NASW-Michigan Director of Policy) and Jordan Freeman (NASW-Michigan Social Work Force Program Manager) had a series of meetings with our collaborators and stakeholders across the state and country.

ASWB’s Michigan Lobbyist and National Leadership

During this meeting, ASWB was unable to provide us with any specific timeline for any of the resources that have been mentioned over the past year or so including scholarships and changes to the exam.

LARA

We met with key members of the state’s licensing and regulatory office to provide some clarification regarding our bills as well as the anticipation that these changes will help bring more social workers in the state and into the workforce. They had some questions and we had a lively discussion on the “why” behind our modernization efforts.

MDHHS, Michigan Deans and Directors, CMHA

NASW-Michigan has ongoing check-ins with these groups as we are close collaborators on these bills. These groups continue to be strong warriors in advocating for these changes.

Representative Schmaltz and Representative Thompson

We were able to sit down with members of the Behavioral Health Subcommittee, Representative Schmaltz and Thompson, to talk directly with them about their concern and insights that they brought up during the June 13th testimony. This was a great opportunity to connect on a person-to-person level and to see that we are working towards the same goals of protecting the public good and making sure Michigan has the best social workers possible serving our most vulnerable citizens.

Representative Brabec and Representative Edwards

Representative Brabec continues to be our bills’ primary spokesperson and we have had ongoing communication to discuss anticipated timelines. While we are also being realistic, we are preparing Representative Edwards to step into this primary role in the event that we have to reintroduce in 2025 as Representative Brabec is not running for re-election in November.

Social Work Interstate Compact Commission Meeting

Michigan has not passed the Social Work Compact as we are focused on our licensure modernization act and are uncomfortable currently with the compact’s requirement of the ASWB exam. We were able to sit in on the first commission meeting as members at large providing public comment at the end. We were inspired to hear that some of the states that have passed the compact (and therefore are part of the commission to finalize the compact) are states that currently have alternative pathways and who will be strong advocates for this to be considered in finalizing the compact. These states are Rhode Island, Minnesota, Maine, Colorado, Utah, and Washington.

NASW National Workgroup

Most recently we are excited that NASW National has begun to form a national workgroup so that we can pool together resources and great minds from across the country who are all working on similar efforts.

Internal Research Updates

Jordan Freeman (Workforce Program Manager) has been conducting research to support our ongoing discussions with stakeholders. This research includes:

Supervision Standards

A review of supervision standards across the country, identifying training and requirements that could strengthen Michigan’s supervision standards.

Ethical and Disciplinary Violations

We are reviewing violations by social workers in Michigan from 2018 to 2023 to determine how many incidents involved social workers “grandfathered in” without taking the ASWB exam. Although approximately 1/3 of our licensed social workers fall into this category, our findings so far show that a small percentage of ethical violations come from this group. Instead, the data indicates that social workers without adequate supervision and support are more likely to face ethical or practice issues, reinforcing our belief that the ASWB exam does not effectively measure competency. Quality supervision, not the exam, is critical to ensuring successful and ethical practice.

How Can I Take Action?

With this all said, what can you do while we wait to see what will happen after the election in November?

Vote in the November 5th Election

The likelihood that we will be fighting for this bill in 2025 is even more reason to consider how you are voting for state legislators as these will be the folks who are either helping or hurting our efforts next year. Below is a list of the sponsors of the bill who are up for re-election:

• Kimberly Edwards (D): District 12 (Macomb)
• Carrie Rheingans (D): District 47 (Washtenaw/Jackson)
• Natalie Price (D): District 6 (Oakland/Wayne)
• Erin Byrnes (D): District 15 (Wayne)
• Jimmie Wilson Jr (D): District 32 (Washtenaw)
• Jennifer Conlin (D): District 48 (Livingston/Jackson/Washtenaw)
• Kara Hope (D): District 74 (Ingham)
• Emily Dievendorf (D): District 77 (Clinton/Eaton/Ingham)
• Jason Morgan (D): District 23 (Oakland/Washtenaw/Wayne)

Our ongoing efforts to modernize Michigan's social work licensure process are driven by the need to adapt to current workforce challenges and ensure that our system supports the development of competent, ethical social workers. Through collaboration with key stakeholders and continued research, we are gaining valuable insights that reinforce the importance of quality supervision over reliance on the ASWB exam. As we move forward, NASW-Michigan remains committed to advocating for reforms that will further enhance and support the profession and better serve the communities across Michigan.

Visit the NASW-MI Legislative Action Center

Want to share your licensure story? Contact Jordan Freeman at jfreeman.naswmi@socialworkers.org. Want to join one of our committees or an upcoming event? Check out the NASW-MI events page!