Testimony Before the DC Council Committee on Health at the Hearing on B25-0259, “Social Work License Modernization Amendment Act of 2023”
By Rachel Johnston, Chief of Staff, DC Charter School Alliance
September 21, 2023
Good morning, Chairperson Henderson and members of the Committee. My name is Rachel Johnston, and I’m a Ward 5 resident and the Chief of Staff of the DC Charter School Alliance, the local non-profit that advocates on behalf of public charter schools to ensure that every student can choose high-quality public schools that prepare them for lifelong success.
Last school year was the first time since the pandemic started in 2020 that schools could focus on student learning continuously without mass interruptions due to quarantines and COVID-related closures. But during the pandemic, students suffered significant trauma, including loss, grief, economic hardship, depression, and stress, and lacked quality opportunities to build social-emotional skills. Our city is seeing this trauma materialize in a variety of ways, including increased violence in the community. And it does not simply disappear when students enter their school buildings; it drastically impacts their ability to learn and succeed. That’s why ensuring that the needs of the whole child are met, both physical and mental, is critical.
Public charter schools are doing all they can to provide mental health services. But to do this, they need more staffing support. Our schools continue to prioritize funding to staff the roles needed to do this work but filling these positions can be challenging. And we are grateful more schools have access to the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) program than ever before. However, community-based organizations are still also struggling to staff schools with high-quality clinicians. In fact, there are numerous vacancies across the program right now.
That’s why we appreciate the Council for responding by introducing this bill to grow the pool of qualified clinicians and provide additional social worker support in our schools. I want to share our support for this bill’s efforts to both expand and diversify the pipeline of qualified clinicians by identifying alternatives to examination requirements that determine an applicant’s fitness for licensure. Removing testing requirements while leaving in place other rigorous requirements and oversight has the potential to both grow the pool of qualified social workers while also diversifying the existing pipeline. That’s critical, as findings from the Association of Social Work Boards reveal “a large disparity between white test-takers — 84% of whom pass the exam the first time — and Black test-takers, who pass on the first try just 45% of the time.” (1) And yet, there’s no data showing that exams are good indicators of someone’s ability or knowledge to demonstrate competence.
Other states, such as Illinois (2), have recognized that instead of strengthening professional standards, examination requirements only serve to add additional burdens to historically marginalized groups in becoming licensed social workers, limiting the potential pipeline of clinicians. That’s why we support evidence-based alternatives to examination requirements.
As you consider the details of this bill, we have two small but important recommendations we believe can help ensure greater quality mental health supports reach schools and the students they serve.
Recommendations
First, we strongly recommend that the task force this bill creates to identify an assessment method for independent social worker licensure include at least one school-based social worker. That’s important because the unique aspects of school-based social work and their needs must be represented. We hope that with a diverse group of thinkers, the city can pursue innovative solutions like joining 17 other states in the Social Work Licensure Compact or pursuing reciprocity agreements with Maryland, Virginia, and other surrounding jurisdictions.
Second, prior to implementation, we urge the city to assess whether it has the appropriate capacity from licensed, independent clinicians to supervise non-independent social workers to support alternatives to examination. In the absence of an examination, it becomes one of the only tools that provide oversight for LGSWs and LSWAs. Supervision also provides the benefits of quality assurance, guidance and support.
Moving Forward
As always, ensuring the needs of the whole child are met, including their mental health needs, is one of the first and foremost priorities for charter schools. We appreciate the response to the need for more quality licensed clinicians in schools. We continue to be grateful for our partnership with the city, and we welcome the opportunity to continue collaborating to make sure every student’s health needs are met so that they can actively engage in learning.
Thank you for your time and attention, and I welcome your questions.
Citations
The Imprint. “Results in Social Worker Exams Reveal Stark Racial Disparities.” September 20, 2022.
National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter. “Learning More About Removing Testing Requirements for LSWs with SB1632.” August 6, 2022.
