Pathway to Licensure

You have begun the career of a Clinical Social Worker, learning values, ethics, theories and methods, along with direct engagement in the supervised practice that is the foundation for professional competence.

After graduate school, you will enter a world of supervision, licensure, employment, practice, regulations, insurance and liability. You will want to enter this world well prepared, knowing about all that is required of you, from the first day on the job to the day that you become licensed.

The pathway to licensure is sometimes difficult to follow, so we offer you assistance right now, as a guide toward your goal as a professional. Please use the links below - the first connects you to another site; the other three pieces are extracted from longer position statements available in the American Board of Clinical Social Work (ABCSW) resources.

• Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) is the national organization for state licensing boards
• Preamble to the Model Practice Act describes an ideal clinical social work licensure law (actual laws in each state may be found at the ASWB website)
• Professional Development Abstract summarizes the steps toward becoming a clinical social worker
• Introduction to Clinical Supervision explains the crucial difference between clinical consultation (irrelevant as a criterion for clinical-level licensure) and the clinical supervision that is essential in qualifying for clinical-level licensure