Dr. Lauren A Ricciardelli

In July 2023, the Council of State Governments (CSG) hosted a legislative summit for policymakers to learn about the social work interstate compact (IC; CSG, 2023b). According to the CSG website, agenda items included a framework for social work regulation, detailed review of the compact, compact perspectives panel, and advocacy strategies. The national IC model legislation is the result of a partnership between the CSG, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). The stated goal of the proposed social work IC is to support the mobility of licensed social workers, thus addressing critical needs in various jurisdictions and supporting more effective service delivery. The compact proposes an additional pathway to licensure and promises to facilitate multistate practice among member states, thus reducing barriers to license portability (CSG, 2023b). However, the IC, as drafted in some state bills, also codifies the national exam (administered by the ASWB), which itself is a barrier for social work licensure—and a barrier that disparately impacts social work exam takers who are Black and African American, who are older, and/or for whom English is not the primary language (ASWB, 2022).

The release of the Association of Social Work Boards’ (ASWB) exam pass rate data in August 2022 marked a significant moment for the social work profession. This special edition highlights demographic-based disparities among exam-takers and catalyzes a crucial discourse on professional regulation and ethics. The Journal of Evidence Based Social Work, recognizing the timeliness and importance of this discussion, has dedicated this special issue to exploring the implications of these findings. The articles presented in this special edition offer a multifaceted examination of the challenges and potential solutions surrounding the ASWB exams. Articles range from empirical studies assessing measurement invariance and exploring institutional predictors of pass rates, to critical analyses of alternative licensure pathways and the lived experiences of African American social workers. Each piece contributes to a collective understanding and a comprehensive advocacy framework for addressing systemic inequities within social work licensure.