Collaborating across disciplines and navigating complex systems are familiar to licensed clinical social worker Endsley Real, who emphasizes the importance of clinical supervision and ongoing professional development for social workers.

"Basically, I've been an advocate my entire life," says Dr. Hyacinth McKee, LCSW-BACS. That determination to speak up for those who may not be able to speak for themselves has led McKee into a varied social work career and to service in three governor-appointed positions in her home state.

We are, together, on a justice journey, leading opportunities to advance equity in professional regulation. We, as regulators, want to have fair and just paths to licensure—that is something that benefits everyone. This effort calls for us to trust one another, to rely on one another, to elicit the aid of our allies, and to think differently and innovatively about how we make progress.

The DEIJ Committee, named earlier this year, has been charged by the Board of Directors with researching and establishing best practices in increasing justice and equity in social work regulation—from increasing diversity on regulatory boards to exploring disciplinary outcomes.

ASWB’s new strategic framework positions the social work licensing examination program as a central focus, directing the association to expand understanding and acceptance of the necessity for assessing social work competencies through valid and reliable competence measures.

Social justice has been an underlying force in ASWB’s value structure since its inception. When social work regulators formed ASWB in 1979 to develop the licensing exams, it was with the intent of protecting the public. Public protection is one of the highest forms of social justice.

The Association of Social Work Boards is committed to embracing the profession’s values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in every step of developing the social work licensing exams, now and in the future. We are also committed to providing high-quality exams that take into account the historically diverse nature of the social work profession, a […]

ASWB’s Board Member Exchange has relied on attendees identifying current hot topics for discussion, with participants sharing challenges their own boards have experienced and solutions that have worked. All benefit from the conversations as they learn from the experiences of their peers.

Different viewpoints strengthen the work of the Board of Directors.

In words and actions, the Board of Directors reaffirms ASWB’s values.