Licensure and Registration of Social Workers: Our Contract for a Civil Society
Licensure or registration of social-work-educated social workers is a contract between the profession and civil society. It constitutes a guarantee that the person carrying the title “social worker” possesses minimum educational competence sufficient to carry out social work tasks.
Despite over 100 years of professional education, untrained individuals conducting what they call social work still often maintain their right to use the title, and resist legislation excluding them from social work practice.
The researcher conducted an online survey of over 600 county social service personnel in the state of Minnesota, USA, to determine attitudes toward “universal” social work licensure in the state. The state now mandates licensure of private-sector social workers, but not social workers in the public sector. Responses were overwhelmingly negative among non-social work educated public workers, and mixed among social work-educated respondents.
Results indicate ambiguity to negativity among social service personnel to mandatory licensure or registration of social workers. Reasons for this are explored, and ideas for achieving universal social work licensure or registration are discussed.