In the past few months, DC Legislation & Advocacy Committee has been busy advocating for the Social Work Interstate Compact.
Some GWSCSW members have done the following:
A separate effort has been looking at clinical social workers vis a vis insurance companies. Why have our reimbursement rates not been raised for so many years? With whom could we work to effect change in how insurance companies treat us?
If YOU are interested in having a Social Work Compact, or working on insurance issues, YOU need to step up! Everybody can do something: whether it’s research; making or using your contacts with other agencies or helping professions; writing to local legislators or meeting with their staff (we have talking points for guidance); or writing or attending Board of Social Work meetings and letting the Board know how important the Compact is to us.
With the aid of GWSCSW members, DC Legislation & Advocacy has been working to promote adoption of the Compact legislation in DC. Since the Board of Social Work is hostile to the idea, our strategy is to bypass the Board and encourage City Council members to support the legislation, beginning with the members on the Committee on Health. Members of DC L&A met with Christina Henderson (At-Large), Chair of the Committee on Health, and with Charles Allen. Others are planning to meet with Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1) and staff from Matt Frumin’s office (Ward 3).
In addition, Council members have regular meetings with their constituents. For example, this is from Matt Frumin’s office: Save the Date: My next monthly Workday in the Ward will be from 8 am to 5 pm on Thursday, March 28, at Compass Coffee, 4850 Massachusetts Avenue NW.
We are very appreciative of the many of you who responded to our letter writing campaign by sending emails to your representatives and City Council members. Lobbying means educating: about the Compact, about who social workers are and what we do, and about the needs of our clients. Keep those letters coming! Do you have colleagues who work in clinics, hospitals, schools, or agencies? How would a social work compact affect them? We want to hear from you about these colleagues to expand our contacts in the community. You do not need to join the committee in order to make a contribution! Everyone can do a little something. Together we can do a lot. Send me an email: TellAdelelicsw@gmail.com.
The next BOSW meeting will be Monday, March 25, 10:00 am, virtually. The link is on the Board of Social Work website, under “Meeting agendas”. I hope many of you can make it and make our voices heard.
In the past few months, we have been lobbying for the Social Work Interstate Compact. If DC signed on to the Compact, the need to have multiple licenses in multiple states would be eliminated. The Board of Social Work has been decidedly cool to the idea, so we initiated a letter-writing campaign to the Chair of the Committee on Health, Cristina Henderson, and City Council members. Meanwhile, the psychologists have Psypact, and a Counseling Compact is going to get a City Council hearing on December 7. We have been advocating for Group Supervision to count as part of the supervision hours required for LICSW licensure (as Maryland does). The BOSW has been considering the issue and wrote a draft group supervision policy statement that was discussed at the November meeting. The Executive Director, Latrice Herndon, emphasized that supervisees are responsible for maintaining the necessary documentation of their supervision hours: “Your license, your livelihood, your responsibility."
The Pathways to Behavioral Health Degrees Act passed the Council and is on its way to Mayor Bowser’s desk. The bill provides for free tuition and associated expenses for DC residents to get degrees in Social Work or Counseling, after which there is a 2-year work commitment. A Board member questioned the quality of education and career preparation at UDC. The MSW program has not yet been set up.
Having completed the licensing cycle, he Board has begun auditing license applications for such things as lateness and incomplete CEU requirements. The Board is planning to increase fines and assessments for licensing or license application infractions.
The DC license renewal period ended on July 31, 2023. There are 6,464 social workers of various license levels – of which 4,714 are LICSWs. As many will recall, there was a flurry of controversy on the GWSCSW list serve regarding possible delays in license approvals due to the Board of Social Work needing to complete background checks on all applicants. A grassroots effort led by several Society members helped to stave off what could have been an emergency situation – for both licensees and employers – and to ensure that applicants received their licenses prior to the deadline. While many will agree that the threat of having your license delayed or denied due to an administrative logjam does not seem ethical, we are all reminded to get our renewals done early in order to avoid any concerns. During the Board of Social Work meeting of July 24, 2023, Board members reiterated how often and in what ways—including email, website and on social media -- the Board had alerted social workers to licensing renewal requirements. All social workers are welcome to attend the monthly Board meetings – it’s a great way to stay informed, get to know our Board members and lobby for various interests. There’s no Board meeting in August; check the website for upcoming meeting dates.
For our next licensing cycle – August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2025 – we are required to complete 28 of the total 40 CEUs either in person or during live interactive webinars. It remains to be seen how many of our CEU providers will begin to host actual in person trainings. Luckily, live webinars are being counted as “in person.”
Recommendations have been made to the Board for a number (unspecified) of group supervision hours to be counted towards licensure; the Board is reportedly reviewing this matter but has not yet come to a decision. Footnote: it is not persuasive to let them know that other jurisdictions such as Maryland and Virginia already count group hours towards licensure. DC doesn’t take kindly to being compared to our counterparts across the bridge or down the road!
The DC Legislative and Advocacy (L&A) Committee has been focused on lobbying for the Social Work Interstate Compact. To that end, Adele Natter and Anthony Hain met with the legislative assistant to the Committee on Health; other committee members have written to various Council members. Laura Groshong, chair of the Clinical Social Work Association, has provided bullet points to use in our lobbying efforts (see the CSWA website HERE) along with emails sent to GWSCSW from Laura. At the most recent CSWA town hall on August 15, 2023, the point was made that DC is unlikely to join the Compact due to there being a severe financial cost in doing so because so many social workers who practice in DC do not live there. All social workers are also welcome to attend CSWA’s monthly town halls which provide an opportunity to meet, share with and learn from social workers all over the country. Please see the CSWA website for information. Please note that although there are some issues that may make it harder or us to achieve our goals regarding DC joining the Interstate Compact, the DC L&A Committee is still working with members on the DC City Council to help them understand the benefit the Compact brings to military spouses. Those who may be stationed elsewhere temporarily could not continue to practice without either having DC join the Compact, or going through the onerous process of applying Social Work Licenses at their temporary assignments. If you are licensed in DC and interested in helping to advocate for this, please contact Adele Natter (telladelelicsw@gmail.com).
The Board of Social Work also did not speak favorably about the Compact during the July meeting. While this may be a grave disappointment to many of us, taking the revenue hit into account does make some sense. At the same time, the BOSW indicated that they are exploring an alternate idea of forming some kind of reciprocal agreement with MD and VA; this will require legislation so won’t happen overnight.
Finally, another bill: DC B259, the Social Work License Modernization Amendment Act of 2023, is already before the Council. This bill would eliminate the exam requirement at the BSW and LGSW levels with the hope of increasing the number of social workers in the workforce which is sorely understaffed. Many social service agencies are unable to hire enough workers, since many are prohibited from being considered since they have not passed the licensing exam. Several MSWs spoke about their personal struggles at one of the recent BOSW meetings, attesting to their years of experience in the field and commitment to the profession while at the same time encountering difficulties with the exam. One of the exam writers usually attends the CSWA town halls, providing an opportunity to hear from someone “on the ground,” working to make the exam process more inclusive and equitable for all. Everyone is encouraged to pay attention, stay engaged and do even one small thing to help move these important efforts forward.
Summary prepared by Adele Natter, with editorial assistance from Gina Sangster.
License Renewals: Various staff members emphasized the importance of getting your application in early. If you wait, you may not receive your license before the current one expires. You should submit the application early, even if you have not completed all the required CEs (select option “Will complete CEUs by July 31”). The Board has hired a second Health Licensing Specialist, Anthea Issacs, to help Mavis.
The Pathways to Behavioral Health Bill, to create a pipeline of mental health workers, was funded for FY ’24, should it be passed. It would provide tuition and related expenses at UDC for District residents and DC employees to prepare for mental health careers.
The BOSW is having discussions with MD and VA to look at ways to provide reciprocity across our jurisdictions.
The next BOSW meeting will be June 26, 10:00 am, and will be Virtual for the public.
DC L&A Committee has expanded and now includes Gina Sangster, Deborah Newmark, Anthony Hain and Carolina Duarte.
At recent Board of Social Work meetings, we proposed that group supervision hours be counted for in the number of hours of supervision required for licensure. The Board was concerned about the size of such supervision groups and how these hours would be tracked and accounted for. The BOSW deferred consideration of the request because the Board Chair was not present. A final vote by the Board is due this month (February). DC Board meetings are held the last Monday of the month. The next DC Board meeting is Monday, is March 27 on Zoom at 10:00. Attendance by our members makes a definite impression on the Board.
Interstate Social Work Compact: Stakeholders have been meeting to write the language and standards for a Social Work Compact that would allow practice across State lines for social workers licensed in participating States. The Compact must be approved by the legislatures in at least seven States.
The DC L&A Committee is getting geared up to show our support and lobby DC City Council members to allow DC to participate in the Interstate Compact. We welcome the input and participation of people who are interested in making the Social Work Compact a reality.
Adele Natter, Chair, DC Legislation and Advocacy Committee
The DC Board of Social Work (BOSW) makes and enforces policies that affect our work, such as licensing guidelines. These policies are announced at BOSW meetings and are also placed on the Board’s website. The Board solicits our input and feedback.
What is our part? There is only one LICSW on the DC Board, so their understanding of clinical social work tends to be constrained. Unlike the other jurisdictions, we have no lobbyist. While being very respectful, we need to educate the Board about issues that we are dealing with and suggest policies we think are needed, and inform the Board about the real-world effects that the Board’s policies have on our practices.
The L&A Committee responds to issues that members care about. Recently, we advocated to allow clinical supervision in a group format to count towards required hours of supervision for licensure. The BOSW is also keenly aware of problems with the ASWB exam, particularly disparate pass rates. The Board Chair, Velva Spriggs, stated that the BOSW is continuing to discuss and evaluate the issue, and has not taken a position.
The BOSW approved a hybrid meeting schedule for 2023, meaning that in the early months of the year, meetings will be fully virtual, and in later months some will be in-person. The BOSW meets on the 4th Monday of the month, at 10:00. The Webex meeting link can be found on the Board website: https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/social-work-licensing, under “Social Work Agendas”.
The Board members do listen to our statements, and our presence – think strength in numbers here – increases our impact. I am appealing to our DC-licensed members to consider joining the DC L&A Committee. If you can come to Board meeting(s), you’ll get an impression of how the Board works. If not, there are other roles and tasks you can do! Please contact me at telladele@verizon.net.
Adele Natter, DC Legislation and Advocacy Co-Chair
Telehealth
Board of Social Work Meetings
Meetings take place on the 4th Monday of the month at 10:00 AM. The next meeting will be held on June 27, 2022. The meetings are virtual and anyone can attend. The Board takes notice of our participation and this allows us to increase the Board's awareness of our practice issues and allows us to influence Board decisions. Please contact me for instructions as to how to participate in these meetings.
For example, telehealth continues to be permitted, with no end date currently in view. Social workers seeing clients in DC must be licensed in DC, whether they are seeing clients using telehealth or not. Clinical supervision is permitted in person, through video, or telephone. On February 28, the DC Board of Social Work extended the permission for use of telephone or video for supervision until Dec. 31, 2022.
By order of the Mayor, all health professionals, including clinical social workers, must attest to having been fully vaccinated, including a booster shot. Social workers must attest to meeting this criterion by reporting it on the vaccine reporting portal that was created: https://doh.force.com/ver/s/vaccinereporting. Attesting is simple and quick, and must be completed by March 1, 2022.
Spurred by community agencies’ requests for supervised practice for the BSW and MSW graduates employed in their agencies, the Board created a Supervised Practice Letter. This enables BSWs and MSWs to practice under supervision of an LISW or LICSW for 90 days, while they are waiting to take the licensing exam. Such supervised practice will be approved only one time, and cannot be renewed. If the applicant fails the exam, he or she will be required to stop practicing immediately.
The GWSCSW brought to the attention of the Chairperson of the Board the fact that the pass rate for graduates of color is lower than for other graduates. The Chairperson brought this to the attention of the Association of Social Work Boards, which maintained that the exam is not biased. GWSCSW is currently processing ways of addressing this problem.
Board of Social Work meetings are held the fourth Monday of the month at 10:00 am. You can find the agenda and the link at https://dchealth.dc.gov/publication/board-social-work-agendas. The Board takes notice of our Society’s participation and has respectfully considered our input and feedback as to how Board policies affect us and our practices.
Adele Natter & Margot Aronson, DC Legislation and Advocacy Co-Chairs
Although the new DC social work licensing period began on August 1st, because of the ongoing COVID pandemic, we still have a lot to think about from the last renewal, including last minute additions to the requirements. We’re also keeping an eye on which regulations have changed and which will be continued through July 31, 2023.
The DC Board of Social Work expects to send out an announcement to all DC social work licensees clarifying final decisions on policies and requirements soon. Meanwhile, we’ve outlined here some highlights for you, with information as of our newsletter deadline:
CE Requirements - both for our last renewal and going forward
A total of 40 CEs are required in the two-year licensing period. Given pandemic conditions, the Board has decided that none need to be live face-to-face through the 2023 renewal.
Do be sure you have all your CEs for 2019-2021 ready to provide the Board in case you are audited. If you realize you are missing something, get it NOW! The penalty will be significantly lighter with your apology for lateness, than it will be if you cannot provide more than, say, 39 CEs, or no Public Health CEs.
Unexpected But Required: post-renewal period CEs due Sept 30
This year in mid-July, as most of us were busy checking and double-checking to see that we had all our CE ducks in a row, the Health Department issued a new requirement. All health workers would need 2 Covid vaccine-related CEs, and they would need to be completed by Sept. 30.
Finding appropriate trainings was a challenge, but not impossible. These two CEs are to be added to your file of CEs for the 2021-2023 renewal, and can be counted toward the Public Health requirement.
Auditing of these two CEs will take place soon. If you haven’t already earned them, get to it right away! Our understanding is that if you are late but can show that you’ve earned them, you will have a fine to pay. If you haven’t earned them when you are audited, you will not be able to practice for a period of time, and pay a more significant fine.
Vaccine Requirement
The same memo that each health licensee received in mid-July also set forth a requirement for all health workers (that includes us) to attest to having been vaccinated, or have a medical or religious exemption on file with the Health Department by September 30th. The attestation or exemption was to be filed on line on the DC Board of Social Work website.
Again, auditing of the vaccine or exemption will take place shortly. If you have not already filed online, do so ASAP, as failure to do so is likely to reap professional consequences.
Telehealth: With video? Audio-only? For supervision? For insurance reimbursement?
To the question of video and audio-only: Telehealth is permitted in DC, with no end date currently. This applies to therapy using video as well as audio-only. This means that DC licensees may practice with clients located in the District using telehealth. As for any clients NOT physically located in the District during your session, you must first check the requirements of the state in which the specific client resides.
Re: Supervision. Supervision can also be conducted virtually, and we anticipate this will continue through the 2021-2023 renewal.
As for insurance coverage, this is not a matter controlled by the Board of Social Work. There is proposed legislation for continuing telehealth coverage circulating at the national level at present, and the US Department of Health and Human Services is considering how to handle telehealth reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid after the pandemic. As these efforts progress (or fail to progress), we may want to advocate for continued coverage with our District Council’s Health and Human Services Committee and with our Office of the Insurance Commissioner. At present, however, we can only advise that you check with the particular insurance carrier as to whether telehealth sessions will be covered under your client’s insurance.
Supervised Practice Letter
The Board is creating - and clarification is pending - on a policy allowing new MSWs to practice social work under supervision between graduation and sitting for the ASWB exam. This has been a particularly difficult issue during the pandemic, as the wait time can be a number of months. Without the anticipated go-ahead from the Board, unlicensed MSWs cannot perform work in the social work scope of practice without being liable for fines, even if supervised, and indeed, their supervisors, too, would be liable.
The COVID Waiver Expires for Out-of-Jurisdiction Licensees
Social workers with a state license in good standing have been able to practice telehealth under the COVID waiver even though not licensed in DC. The waiver expired on October 31, following lots of warning and information about how to move forward. If you are unlicensed in DC now, you may no longer practice in DC, and yes, that means telehealth. Stop practicing ASAP if you have been doing so without a DC license since Oct 31. Submit an application for a DC license, show that you are licensed in good standing in another state, and complete the criminal background check. 48 hours after a clean background check, a 90-day temporary license will be issued.
Questions or requests for help or clarification should go to dcbosw@dc.gov.
Additional details can be found on the Board website,
https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/social-work-licensing
The next meeting of the DC Board of Social Work will be January 24, beginning at 10 AM. See the Agenda section on the Board’s website for more information about the meeting.
We hope this is helpful, and we look forward to considering other issues of importance to clinical social workers in DC in the near future! Meantime, happy holidays to you.
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