Preparing MSW Students for Social Work Licensure: A Curricular Case Example

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently developing a social work licensure process to serve as a quality assurance mechanism and enhance the quality of care for service beneficiaries. This article outlines the opportunities, challenges, and contextual issues associated with the UAE regulation such as differing licensing processes and structures in three of seven emirates that are progressing licensure. With a paucity of information about this process in the UAE, this article reviews a range of international literature to situate the status and development of UAE social work licensure regionally and internationally. The UAE is currently utilizing a social work regulatory process similar to the United States in which regulation is implemented at the Emirate level and licensure is the primary regulatory process. Benefits and risks of the current UAE regulation process are provided that include recommendations for culturally relevant supervisory frameworks and regulation processes.

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Uae Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Work Regulation in the United Arab Emirates

Tedam

Wagner

Mitchell

2022

“…Failure of the exam can bring about feelings of self-doubt and result in a loss of a promotion or a job where an individual may be excelling. Research has indicated that possession of a license makes a social worker more marketable and employable (Miller, Grise-Owens, & Escobar-Ratliff, 2015). Graybow (2015), who interviewed master's-level social workers who recently failed their licensure exams, found that the impacts ranged from demotion in their positions to losing their jobs and becoming homeless, thereby needing the same assistance they were providing.…”

Section: Importance Of Licensure For Social Workers and The Academymentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking Social Work Licensing Exam Content to Educational Competencies: Poor Reliability Challenges the Path to Licensure

Apgar

Luquet

2022

Purpose: There has been increasing interest in the academy to assist social work graduates to become licensed which is likely to grow as the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) cites licensure pass rates as a post-graduation outcome required for accreditation by newly adopted standards. This study determines the ability of academics to reliably link Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities statements that are the bases of licensure tests with the CSWE competencies in the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). Method: Four full-time faculty members at two institutions conducted an interrater reliability analysis on practice tests to determine the extent to which licensure questions could be consistently linked to EPAS competencies. Results: Study findings indicate weak reliability between social work licensure examination questions and CSWE EPAS competencies. Discussion: Lack of consistency threatens the path to licensure and may explain why graduates of accredited programs lack the requisite knowledge to become licensed.

“…Occupational regulation typically takes one of three options—registration, certification, and licensure—and each state has the right to regulate professional practices in its jurisdiction (Kleiner, 2006; Miller et al, 2015; Wolchik, 2015). Registration is the least costly and restricted option as practitioners simply file their qualifications with a state agency, which does not assess their qualifications or restrict their scope of practice.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Social Work Licensure Exemptions: Theoretical Propositions, Evidence, and Research Agendas

Ishida

2022

Purpose: This article intends to review the literature to address the concern that prevalent licensure exemptions in social work undermine public safety. Methods: It reviews (1) the rationales for licensure exemptions, (2) the effects of exemptions on the public and the social work workforce, and (3) critical gaps in the extant evidence to recommend future research agendas to fill the gaps. Results: A review of the literature revealed that concerns about duplicated regulations and potential labor shortages justified licensure exemptions but with little empirical evidence. Limited evidence was found to support the claim that exemptions minimize the effects of licensure. Extant evidence, albeit scant, implies that licensure may not eliminate lower-quality services but benefit incumbent social workers with higher earnings. Conclusions: Recognizing the gaps in the literature, it recommends empirical research and discusses available data to assess the effects of exemptions on public safety and socioeconomic (in)equity within the workforce.