clinical social work association

Report on Social Work Compact Meetings – October 4-5, 2021  
Laura Groshong, LICSW, Director, Policy and Practice

The first in-person meeting of the Social Work Compact Technical Assistance Group (TAG) took place in the Hall of States in Washington, DC.  Kendra Roberson, PhD, LCSW, CSWA President, and I were the representatives from CSWA.  The development of a social work interstate Compact is sponsored by the Department of Defense and the Council of State Governments, a non-partisan agency which has many projects that work to facilitate interstate cooperation. What began as a way for military spouses to take a social work license to another state when a spouse was redeployed will become inclusive of all licensed clinical social workers. For more information on CSG go to https://Compacts.csg.org/Compacts/  

Home State

Compacts require that the home state for an LCSW be the state of residence, not the state of practice.  Currently, if an LCSW wants to have licensure in a state separate from their state of residence, they must become licensed in that state. Under the Compact, if a clinical social worker is licensed in a home state that is a member of the Compact, the LCSW will be eligible to apply to practice in other states that also are in the Compact.

Work of the TAG

The TAG will now meet every three weeks to:

• Promote licensure reciprocity across state lines
• Create more flexibility for reciprocity
• Discuss inclusion of telemental health and audio only in the Compact
• Determine other needs of interstate licensure
• Create the basis for the social work Compact Commission
• Avoid “Buyer’s Remorse” by considering the ways that the Compact may interfere with state laws

Next Steps

TAG will develop the following:

• Purpose statement
• Description of access to care
• Notice of how public will be protected
• Statement on how to streamline regulations
• Definitions of Compact Privilege; Member States; State Boards; other key concepts
• Determine powers of member states and home states
• Notice of obligations of member states
• Statement of knowledge of sanctions for substance use; lack of cultural competency; sexual harassment

All the above should be ready for the Document Drafting Team by February, 2022.  TAG will meet every three weeks until Compact language is completed.  I will continue to send updates on the progress of the Compact.