Licensing and Certification
You will commonly see the term “MSW” in materials about licensing/certification, and credentialing. This is understood to mean “Master’s-prepared social worker.”
The Columbia University School of Social Work awards the Master of Science degree: M.S. The M.S. from the Columbia University School of Social Work satisfies the educational requirements for licensing in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Note: Some states may require additional documentaion.
Legal Regulations
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands legally regulate the social work profession. States use different terms to refer to legal regulation of a profession, usually “licensing” and/or “certification”. These terms are often used synonymously. Do not confuse them with “credentialing”, which refers to designations given by national professional organizations.
According to the United States Constitution, the legal regulationof professions is delegated to the authority of the individual states. Generally, a state legislature enacts enabling legislation, known as apractice act, [*] which establishes and empowers a board of social work to adopt regulations and carry out the purpose of the law. In a few states, the law is administered by a department overseeing numerous advisory boards. Boards may be:
- independent = specifically formed to regulate only the social work profession, or
- composite = multi-disciplinary, formed to regulate more thanone profession, usually all mental health related.
The practice act sets forth the minimum requirements for licensure or certification, including education, experience, supervision, and the necessity for successfully completing a minimum competence examination.
Because each state has its own laws and regulations, a social work license is not transferable from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. A social worker licensed in one state seeking licensure in another state must apply to the board in each additional state.
Visit the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) at www.aswb.org for comprehensive information on social work regulation for all states, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; the ASWB examination; and criteria governing who may take an examination.
[*]
A practice act establishes and empowers a boardand sets forth criteria for authorization to practice a profession within a defined scope of practice. Title protection laws are practice acts that limit the use of a specific social work title to those licensed by the board.
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