[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-331201-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-331201-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","ld-1298-alternative-pathways-testimony-nasw-me-support","LD 1298 Alternative Pathways Testimony - NASW ME Support","","NASW ME President Julie M. Schirmer submits testimony supporting LD 1298, an act creating alternative pathways to social work licensing in Maine. The statement argues the bill has minimal fiscal impact and could substantially increase the number of newly clinically licensed social workers by addressing the current behavioral health workforce shortage. It highlights persistent access barriers and exam pass-rate disparities, presenting research on supervisory competence and jurisprudence, and explaining that standardized test outcomes reflect cumulative educational opportunities and structural inequalities. Schirmer urges passage to protect public safety and strengthen Maine’s behavioral health system.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/ld-1298-alternative-pathways-testimony-nasw-me-support/331201/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/ld-1298-alternative-pathways-testimony-nasw-me-support/331201.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Mabel","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-21",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",10,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does LD 1298 propose for social work licensing in Maine?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"LD 1298 establishes alternative pathways to social work licensing, emphasizing competency through further supervision and public safety through a jurisprudence exam covering laws, regulations, and ethics.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why is NASW ME supporting LD 1298?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"NASW ME argues the bill can help address Maine’s behavioral health workforce shortage and increase the number of new clinically licensed social workers entering the workforce.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the testimony address concerns about exam pass-rate disparities?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The testimony states that disparities cannot be solved by changing questions for racial congruence or offering the exam in French, and it cites research showing outcomes reflect cumulative educational and training opportunities shaped by structural 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Alternative Pathways to Social  \nWork Licensing  \nGood morning, Senator Ingwerson, Representative Meyer, and esteemed members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,  \nAs President of the National Association of Social Workers, Maine Chapter (NASW ME), I am here representing NASW ME’s support of LD 1298, establishing alternative pathways to social work licensing. This bill is one program with minimal fiscal impact that can help address our current behavioral health workforce shortage. It has the potential to more than double the number of new clinically licensed social workers entering the workforce, based on experiences in Rhode Island and Illinois, which saw initial surges after the passage of alternative pathway legislation from the backlog of persons not having passed the exam.  \nThe behavioral health workforce shortage in Maine is real. Over 10,000 people wait for counseling services for 32 weeks or more (7-8 months), as described in our Behavioral Health Workforce and Access Report that has been uploaded to today's testimony website. Organizations report 22% vacancy rates for counseling (Behavioral Health Report, 2024) . Residential units are closing.  \nCommunity agencies are pulling out from providing counseling in schools. Children wait 13 months in emergency rooms for placement. Focus group participants report that “we used to have three applicants for every one position. We now have three positions for every three applicants.” Rural services providers report,“We had to shut down our outpatient therapy program because I could …not hire anyone.” “I posted a position for twelve months and maybe had one applicant, who wasn’t a viable fit.”  \nOur licensing bill provides an alternative pathway that helps to ensure competency through further supervision and public safety through its jurisprudence exam's laws, regulations, and ethics sections. Despite over 40 years of existence, the ASWB exam has not been shown to distinguish between competent and incompetent practitioners. The one study from previous testimony that provided evidence about the exam protecting the public’s safety was from an unpublished doctoral dissertation about an exploratory study of licensing complaints in Kansas (Kinderknecht, 1995) . Exploratory studies help describe issues. They do not provide conclusive evidence.  \nThe pass rate disparities cannot be ameliorated by changing the questions to be more racially congruent or offering it in French. A New York Times article described some of the contributing factors that contribute to the pass rate disparities of any standardized test, leading to the author’s premise that lower Black and Latino pass rates don’t make a test racist. He cites the National Education Association and the work of anthropologist Shirley Brice Heath, who studied how the differences in how language is used with children in white middle-class families, white working-class families, and black middle-class families set these groups up for disparate pass/fail rates in standardized tests. He concludes that standardized tests have become instruments of racism and a biased system.  \nDrs. Kim and Joo recent publications provide further understanding of the complex factors leading the pass rate disparities in the ASWB exam, describing “diminished, yet persistent effects when other determinants are controlled.”  \n“Examinees from historically marginalized groups earned their educational degrees and took their first licensing exam at significantly older ages than their white counterparts…and had significantly more years of work experience, typically in non-direct service jobs, which may not have helped them advance their social work competence.”(Report No. 1)  \n“Since licensing exams occur at the end ofan individual's educational and training journey, the results are likely to reflect cumulative educational and training opportunities and disadvantages experienced throughout their lifetime.","cbCailB2zIaHUlAM","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCailB2zIaHUlAM","pdf",209326,"English","# Testimony Overview\n## Support for LD 1298 and Workforce Impact\n## Behavioral Health Access Challenges in Maine\n## Licensing Competency and Public Safety Rationale\n## Evidence on Exam Outcomes and Disparities\n## Call to Action for Committee Vote","[{\"question\":\"What does LD 1298 propose for social work licensing in Maine?\",\"answer\":\"LD 1298 establishes alternative pathways to social work licensing, emphasizing competency through further supervision and public safety through a jurisprudence exam covering laws, regulations, and ethics.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is NASW ME supporting LD 1298?\",\"answer\":\"NASW ME argues the bill can help address Maine’s behavioral health workforce shortage and increase the number of new clinically licensed social workers entering the workforce.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the testimony address concerns about exam pass-rate disparities?\",\"answer\":\"The testimony states that disparities cannot be solved by changing questions for racial congruence or offering the exam in French, and it cites research showing outcomes reflect cumulative educational and training opportunities shaped by structural inequalities.\"}]","LD 1298 Alternative Pathways Testimony - NASW ME Support | PDF",1789992124]