If passed, Michigan House Bills 5184 and 5185 would amend the Public Health Code to eliminate the exam requirement for social workers at all license levels. Both bills were passed Thursday by the House Subcommittee on Behavioral Health.

Opponents say such a drastic change would place Michigan outside the standards observed by nearly every other state in the nation. Michigan officially passed the social work licensing law in 2004, becoming the 50th, and final, state to create a path to licensure.

“Sacrificing standards and quality to increase quantity is not what vulnerable individuals in Michigan need or deserve,” according to the authors of Protect Public Health and Safety in Michigan: Reject The Social Work Licensure Modernization Act. “These ‘problematic barriers’ are safeguards and controls to decrease the likelihood of doing harm or re-traumatizing individuals, and to promote public health and safety.”

In order to become fully licensed, individuals with a degree in social work from an accredited university must take and pass a social work licensure exam.

In Michigan, the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs oversees the licensure and regulation of social workers. A critical part of the licensure process is the requirement to pass an objective, standardized exam, according to Stacey Hardy-Chandler, CEO of the Association of Social Work Boards.

“Like other licensed professionals — doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers or barbers — social workers must demonstrate knowledge and skills to ensure they can deliver quality services,” Hardy-Chandler wrote in an opinion piece published in The Detroit News. “Anything less puts the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities at risk.”

In addition, the legislation would no longer require the post degree experience for a bachelor’s or master’s level license and eliminate limited licenses to get that post degree experience, according to the Legislative Analysis. Currently, social workers must have two years of supervised post-graduate experience at their respective level to be eligible for full licensure.

The bills, known as the Social Work Licensure Modernization Act, were introduced last fall and referred to the Committee on Health Policy. They were prompted in part by the shortage of mental and behavioral health providers in Michigan.

Proponents say the change would decrease barriers to licensure, namely not having to pass an exam and speeding up the transition from education to practice, as reported in an article from Michigan Health Council.

In 2022, the Association of Social Work Boards released pass rate data for its ASWB test, which highlighted disparities in pass rates between Black and White test takers. The data also indicated large disparities in pass rate by age and language, as explained in this article from Michigan State University’s College of Social Science.

The ASWB Board of Directors released its own statement as a call to action in response to the findings.

In her op-ed, Hardy-Chandler counters that “best way to address disparities in outcomes is not to eliminate the exam, but to invest in better support systems for candidates.”

Social work activists Grace L. Gates, LMSW, LCSW, and Suzanne L. Velazquez, Ph.D., LCSW, LMSW, at savesocialwork.org composed an article responding to the arguments for the legislation, titled Protect Public Health and Safety in Michigan: Reject The Social Work Licensure Modernization Act. 

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, professional social workers are the nation’s largest group of mental health services providers.

There are more clinically trained social workers—over 200,000—than psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses combined. They often work in federally funded community mental health clinics and treat veterans, disabled, children, and low-income populations. They also work in schools, hospitals, prisons, senior centers, and child welfare agencies.

The authors raise several concerns as to why doing away with the exam is a bad idea for the public and the profession. They say it would put the public at risk, particularly the vulnerable and marginalized; devalue the social work profession; and defer the responsibility of assessing competency to individual college faculty and supervisors.

“The Social Work Modernization Act is an impulsive and simplistic response to a complex issue and will result in dire consequences for Michiganders and social workers,” the authors wrote. “The value and responsibility of social workers is significant.”