Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
February 27, 2022
Submitted By: Stephen Wanczyk-Karp, LMSW
The National Association of Social Workers, CT Chapter representing over 2,300 members supports S.B. 19. This is an idea that is long overdue and much needed to assist spouses of military members to readily attain employment required licensing or certification when moving into Connecticut. This testimony speaks specifically to the positive impact it will have for licensed social workers. We support all professional and occupational licenses being recognized but cannot speak for other professions.
Active members of the military may use a social work license from any state to practice in CT. This is not the case however if the spouse is also a licensed social worker. S.B. 19 offers such spouses reciprocity if they meet the bills provisions. We feel this is completely appropriate and good policy for military spouses.
As the state’s largest social work organization, we commonly deal with social workers considering relocating to CT or having relocated to our state, including spouses of military members. Some are recent graduates, while others are experienced practitioners, many with multiple years or decades of licensure in another state. These individuals find themselves having to document clinical experience hours and supervision in order to become licensed and thus eligible to practice in Connecticut. For some of these applicants, especially those in private practice, locating former employers and supervisors can be challenging and sometimes not possible. Yet, all of these individuals, by fact that they are licensed in another jurisdiction, had documented supervision and experience in order to attain an out-of-state license. We see no reason that CT cannot accept these applicants simply by virtue of their license in good standing in another jurisdiction.
To be a licensed social worker in CT one must graduate from a MSW program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The CSWE has strict core curriculum requirements so that regardless of what school you received the MSW degree from you have met standardized curriculum. Social workers than must take a licensure exam of the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). Every state uses the same set of ASWB exams, so regardless of which state you sat for the exam, it is the same exam that CT recognizes. Finally, every state has experiential and supervisory requirements for licensure that are similar to or greater than CT’s requirements. Based on these facts, we urge that DPH offers reciprocity to military spouses who are out-of-state social work license holders.
There is a growing movement in the social work profession toward compacts between states and reciprocity amongst states in terms of social work licensure. S.B. 19 will ease the transition for those seeking to work in our state and send a message that CT welcomes these licensed professionals.
The Governor’s executive order on licensed health professionals allows for out-of-state licensed practitioners to treat CT residents without first attaining the CT license until April 15, 2022 (possibly longer if the order is extended). Clearly, this has set precedence for recognition of the out-of-state license. It seems to us that the next logical step is to offer reciprocity as provided by S.B. 19.
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