Barriers to Licensure - An Innovative Program to Address Social Injustice in Social Work Professional Development Pathways

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr

This article examines systemic barriers faced by Master of Social Work (MSW) graduates seeking advanced clinical licensure, focusing on inequities in exam pass rates, limited access to clinical supervision roles, and the high economic cost of obtaining supervision outside of employment settings. These obstacles function as a workforce-centered social justice issue with consequences for practitioners, organizations, and vulnerable communities. It introduces a Pennsylvania pilot Clinical Supervision Program designed through faculty and clinical collaboration to provide supervision, mentorship, sustainability, and support.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Barriers to Licensure

Disparities in Exam Pass Rates

Barriers to Licensure: An Innovative Program to Address Social Injustice in Social Work Professional Development Pathways Caroline Campbell Jennifer Cullen Rebecca Vlam Matthew A. Myrick Abstract: This article describes the current barriers that exist for Master of Social Work (MSW) graduates when obtaining the advanced clinical social work licensure. Disparities that exist in pass rates based on demographic factors, the lack of social work roles that provide clinical supervision, and the economic costs to obtaining outside supervision deeply impact social workers, the profession, and ultimately, client care. These barriers to both professional licensure and advanced clinical licensure comprise a workforcecentered social justice issue that has broad implications for practitioners, organizations, and vulnerable communities. In this article, we describe a pilot project called the Clinical Supervision Program at a school of social work in Pennsylvania, launched to address social justice needs through an innovative and guided pathway that will result in clinical social worker licensure. The pilot project is a collaboration of faculty and clinical practitioners that provides supervision, mentorship, sustainability, and support to practitioners with the aim of enhancing equity within the social work profession. In doing so, this project strives to address both the economic and societal costs of gatekeeping the social work profession via licensure through the strategy of supported and relational mentorship as a core part of the licensing and credentialing process. Keywords: Social work licensure, supervision program, barriers to supervision The hallmark of the social work profession is empowerment and voicing the challenges of vulnerable and marginalized groups. Beginning in 1960, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) created the first version of a professional code of ethics that has become the standard for guiding values and behaviors of the profession. One of the most significant guiding principles is “social workers challenge social injustice”(NASW, 2021, Section 3.02) . The purpose of this article is to call attention to social injustices within our profession: barriers to professional licensure and workforce development. The clinical license represents multiple prospects for an emerging social worker such as (1) greater economic advantages through job opportunities, particularly lucrative ones that involve more leadership roles within organizations that have competitive benefits; (2) the capacity to contract with insurance companies for reimbursement; and (3) the ability to provide supervision to other staff members. Outside of organizations, clinically licensed professionals can also obtain higher pay, increased autonomy, and the capacity to pursue reimbursement from insurance as a private practitioner and pursue entrepreneurship. Because of these benefits, many recent graduates intend to gain their clinical license. This was confirmed in the results of a three-year survey conducted by NASW, where approximately 80% of new Master of Social Work (MSW) graduates stated that they planned to seek their clinical license within the next five years (Salsberg et al., 2020) . Despite the clear benefits to pursuing clinical licensure, there are systemic barriers that exist to obtaining clinical licensure that impact all MSW graduates and yet have had a disproportionate impact on those developing social workers with both diverse and marginalized identities, and who already face barriers that impact people of color, socioeconomic status, age and learning differences. We propose that these significant barriers include but are not limited to disparities in licensure exam pass rates, availability of social work roles that provide supervision, and the economic costs of clinical supervision. Disparities in Exam Pass Rates One of the first barriers that MSW graduates encounter in the pathway toward obtaining t

FAQs

What main barriers prevent MSW graduates from obtaining advanced clinical licensure?

Key barriers include disparities in licensure exam pass rates, limited availability of social work roles that offer clinical supervision, and the economic costs required to obtain outside supervision. These factors affect workers and client care across organizations.

How did the pilot Clinical Supervision Program aim to address social injustice?

The program, launched at a school of social work in Pennsylvania, provides a guided pathway to clinical social worker licensure. It relies on collaboration between faculty and clinical practitioners to deliver supervision, mentorship, sustainability, and support with equity goals.

Why are licensure exam pass-rate disparities significant?

The article describes evidence of troubling gaps in passing rates concentrated among racial and other marginalized groups, including Black social workers, older social workers, and non-native English speakers. It links these patterns to potential bias across both LSW and clinical exam levels.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr