This article presents the results of a descriptive study, synthesizing the reports of 27 state regulatory boards about their actions against certified and licensed social workers (N = 874) during the period of 1999 to 2004. The purpose of this study was to examine the unprofessional behavior of certified and licensed social workers, the results of which can inform the education and training of social workers and help protect the public. The most frequent violations were dual relationships, license-related problems, problems with basic practice, crimes, and practice below specific standards of care. State regulatory boards typically sanctioned social workers with letters of reprimand, revoked certificates or licenses, imposed probation or instituted the supervision of practice, and accepted the social workers' surrender of their licenses.
This article reports the results of a national study of social workers in the United States sanctioned by their state regulatory boards (N = 2,607) during the period [2000][2001][2002][2003][2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009]. The purpose of this study was to identify the most frequent types of unprofessional conduct and common sanctioning patterns across state licensing boards. The highest incidences were found for unprofessional conduct including licensing-related problems (e.g., continuing education, working on a lapsed license); dual relationships; crimes; basic practice (e.g., record keeping, informed consent, and confidentiality); professionals practicing while impaired (e.g., alcohol, drugs, mental illness); and services below the standards of care. Revocation and license surrender were the most frequent types of sanctions followed by suspensions, letters of warning, or admonishment. Relevancies to education, training, and supervision are made and directions for future research are suggested.Discussions about social work practice standards and risk management are incomplete unless they include information about the reasons that social workers are sanctioned by regulatory boards, which is vital to identifying practice-related challenges. Discussion regarding unprofessional behaviors of social workers and sanctioning patterns of state regulatory boards can serve to enrich and improve the educating and training of social workers, supervisors, and administrators. Practicerelated risk assessments are incomplete if research about ethics, malpractice, and licensing sanctions is not considered. In this article we review previous reports concerning regulation and sanctioning patterns in social work. Then research protocols and results from a national study examining a decade of sanctions against social workers are presented. Directions for future research are also discussed.
LITERATURE REVIEWThe first social work licensing laws were passed in Puerto Rico in 1934, followed by California in 1945. By 1979, more than 20 jurisdictions (e.g., states) had some form of minimal regulation standards for the social work profession in place, although budgets were often insufficient to meet
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