Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
Maine desperately needs more qualified and trained social workers. Yet we’re forcing aspiring professionals to overcome a deeply flawed barrier: the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) social work licensing exam. This high-stakes, standardized test is currently required for licensure, but data released by ASWB in 2022 shows stark disparities in pass rates based on race, age, and language. In Maine, 93.7 percent of white test takers passed the exam at the masters level on their first try. For Black test takers, it was only 59.1 percent. These inequities persist even after multiple attempts and despite candidates completing accredited degrees and rigorous fieldwork.
It’s long past time we rethink how we measure readiness for social work practice in a way that reflects real-world skills and values. Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross’s bill, LD 1298, offers a visionary approach: an alternative licensure pathway that includes extended supervised practice and performance-based evaluations. It maintains rigor while removing unnecessary, inequitable barriers that shut out qualified, culturally attuned professionals.
With Maine’s behavioral health workforce under strain, we cannot afford to let a single exam, offered only in English and owned solely by ASWB, continue to limit who enters our field.
This is not about lowering standards for social work. This is about recognizing that if we want a social work profession that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, we must lead with equity and courage and remove antiquated gatekeeping from our licensing process. I think LD 1298 does just this.
Christopher McLaughlin
Hermon
