(September 1999)

The New York State legislature ended one of its longest sessions in history in early August. According to both of the prime sponsors of the social work licensing bill in the Senate and Assembly, Ken LaValle and Ed Sullivan, respectively, the bill is still very much alive.

Normally, once the legislature adjourns, it does not reconvene until the following January, but given the amount of work that the legislature still needs to do, the session will resume sometime in the fall.

The key issue that must be addressed for the licensing bill to move toward a vote is the impact on workers who do not have social work degrees who are employed in community organizations providing a range of services. Since licensing technically restricts anyone engaging in activities that might overlap with the social work scope of practice, which in the bill defines what social workers do, it is possible that some number of people could be put out of work. In addition to the harm this could cause these workers, there would also be the consequence to consumers of services if services cannot be provided due to staff shortages.

NASW and the other organizations in the Social Work Licensing Coalition will be making an assessment of these and related issues and determining whether any adjustments might be needed in the licensing bill to assure that possible harmful effects that could result are eliminated.