Vikki Erickson

Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers

Term ends: N/A

Please give a brief biography, including your education, licensure or certification level and employment history:

I earned by Bachelor of Social Work degree in 2001 and a Masters of Social Work degree in 2002 from the University of Nevada, Reno. I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I currently work as the Executive Director of the State of Nevada Board of Social Work Examiners, but prior to that, I was a Clinical Program Manager for Health and Human Services in an agency that provided support to individuals with an intellectual or developmental disability. One of my favorite positions held was as a clinical social worker in a forensic hospital, where I worked with the court, the clinicians, and the patients directly. I was employed as the Director of Social Work for a state mental health hospital and a private geriatric psychiatric hospital. My career as a social worker started in 2001 working in a medical hospital setting in the emergency room, and I have enjoyed every position I’ve had because each position has broadened my knowledge of social work and overall knowledge base. Recently I started teaching a graduate level Social Work Course at the University of Nevada Reno and I serve on a statewide Health Care Workforce Working Group for the State of Nevada.

Give a synopsis of your regulatory and professional experience. Please emphasize your involvement with ASWB:

I was appointed to the board of the State of Nevada Board of Social Work Examiners in November 2015. I served in the position of Secretary for the board quickly upon my appointment and then was elected President of the Board in 2017 until my appointment to the board ended in 2022. My knowledge of ASWB began with New Board Member Training in 2016. From there, I have attended several delegate assembly meetings, serving as the delegate for Nevada, and I have attended several education meetings. I have had the privilege of broadening my knowledge of ASWB through serving on a few committees to include the Regulations and Standards Committee, Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, and Nominating Committee. My profession became social work regulation when I was hired by the board as the executive director, but I began my regulatory experience when I was appointed to the board in 2015.

Finally, make a brief statement on the major issues you see facing ASWB, and how you would address them:

One of the major issues that I see facing ASWB is the continuation of the exam for various levels of licensure. I continue to feel testing is an important component of licensure to ensure basic competencies. I would like to
continue to work with ASWB to find ways to assist with exam pass rates. I feel confident in the exam writers and the vetting process that occurs, am always interested in reading and talking about the research done on exam pass rates, and hope to continue to find ways to work towards a good outcome for the applicants. The Nevada board in particular understands that applicants have various reasons for not passing the exam, and we have changed our state administrative code to allow applicants to request the ASWB exam waiver instead of waiting for 90 days to retest. Our job is to break down the barriers to licensure and continue to produce competent and confident licensees. ASWB continues to work with the states across the nation to adopt the interstate compact in to law. I would like to continue assist in any way to keep moving this forward. This again, breaks down barriers to licensure and allows gaps to be filled in the workforce.