Margot Aronson

DC Board of Social Work update

The effort of the DC Board of Social Work to develop policy to enable LGSWs to work in private practice settings in order to gain their supervised work experience for the LICSW application is nearing its final shape; the Board is planning to vote on a final policy statement at the September Board meeting. Creating such a policy has required considerable work on the part of the Board: although LGSW training and supervision in agencies is monitored by the Department of Behavioral Health, at present there is no comparable system in place for monitoring LGSW training and supervision in private practice. In fact, just this spring the ASWB (Association of Social Work Boards) established a task force to consider issues in supervision, in light of a variety of questions and concerns raised by Boards across the country.

GWSCSW members anxious to have the new policy in place have diligently attended the Open Session of Board meetings over the past 8 months. They presented a carefully crafted petition for the Board to review, presented information based on their clinical experience, and gradually earned a role as a sought-after resource. For its part, the Board maintained transparency and decorum as they deliberated (not always an easy feat); they followed through with research when needed; and where in the early sessions patience at times wore thin on one side or the other, the July meeting was collegial, collaborative, and mutually respectful, as well as very productive.

The Board will not be meeting in August; the next meeting will be Sept 23, with the Open Session beginning, as usual, at 10 AM. Hopefully the policy statement will be ready for a final vote.

Wanda Wheeler, LICSW, joins the DC Board

At the July meeting, Board Chair Velva Spriggs, LISW, introduced Wanda Wheeler, LICSW, who joins Danielle Nelson, LGSW, and Selerya Moore, Consumer Member, on the Board. A warm welcome to Ms. Wheeler!

The Board is still lacking its LSWA member.

Of the 5,386 licensed DC social workers, 3,718 are LICSWs; 1,533 are LGSWs, 56 are LISWs, and 79 are LSWAs.

House of Representatives Hearing on DC Statehood Bill

Please take note that a House of Representatives hearing on H.R.51, Washington DC Admission Act for DC Statehood, will take place on Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 10 AM in the in Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2154. Will you be there?

Statehood requires approval by a simple majority vote of each House of Congress and the President’s signature. It is the simplest and most constitutional way to make the people of the District of Columbia full citizens of the United States of America. Maybe not in this Congress… but every step counts!

Margot Aronson, LICSW, chairs the GWSCSW L&A committee for DC. A past GWSCSW president, she has also served as newsletter editor and director of Legislation & Advocacy. Margot currently advocates on mental health and LCSW practice issues for us all at the national level as the Clinical Social Work Association Deputy Director for Policy and Practice.