Updates on Compact Bill Passage
On April 12, 2024 Kansas became the seventh state to pass Social Work Interstate Licensing Compact Legislation. That was a threshold that had to be met for states to create a Compact Commission that will govern the compact and ensure coordination between the participating states.
In all, 22 states have passed the compact legislation. They are are Missouri on July 7, 2023, followed by South Dakota on February 4, 2024; Utah; Washington state, and Kentucky in March; Virginia, Nebraska, Vermont, and Maine in April; Georgia, Iowa, Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee and Minnesota* in May; Colorado, Louisiana, Arizona and Rhode Island in June; and New Hampshire in July.
The legislation has been introduced in about a dozen other states. Additional states can join the Compact Commission after they pass the legislation.
* The Minnesota compact legislation includes an alternate pathway to licensure. Starting on Oct. 1, in lieu of the exam, any one with a social work degree can apply for a provisional licensure at any level of licensure provided they have 37.5 hours of supervision over one to three years.
Learn more about the Model Social Work Interstate Compact Bill
Read NASW press release applauding progress on compact and next steps
Watch a May 16, 2024 Facebook and YouTube Live Update on the Social Work Interstate Compact Bill
Model Social Work
Interstate Compact Bill
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) welcomed the release of the Social Work Compact Model Bill on February 27, 2023. The bill will expand opportunities for social workers to provide services in multiple states. Seven states must enact the Model Social Work Compact Bill before the Compact Commission is established. The Commission will serve as an administrative body overseeing the Interstate Compact for Social Workers. The Council of State Governments (CSG) oversaw the development of the legislation.