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Michigan is facing a growing behavioral health workforce shortage while too many qualified social workers continue to be pushed out of the profession by barriers that do not reliably measure clinical competence. 

This legislative package is supported by all 37 accredited schools of social work in Michigan and a wide variety of organizational partners within the mental and behavioral health space. 

• SB 845 would create a Practice-Driven Path to Licensure for individuals who have completed extensive supervised post-degree experience but have been unable to pass the current required exam. The bill requires an additional 2,000 hours beyond Michigan’s current requirement (6,000 supervised hours total) to qualify for an exam waiver.
• SB 846 would create a Social Worker Scholarship Program to help applicants cover exam fees, preparation courses, and related licensure costs.

These bills do not remove standards or accountability. They recognize that competency can be demonstrated in more than one way.

Social workers already complete rigorous graduate education, field placements, and extensive supervised experience before becoming fully licensed. Clinical competence is demonstrated through sustained ethical practice, judgment, communication, and real-world decision making — not just performance during a single testing event.

At the same time, national exam data has demonstrated substantial disparities in exam pass rates across race, age, and language groups, raising serious concerns about equity and validity.

As researchers Victor, Kubiak, Angell, and Perron wrote in Research on Social Work Practice:

“Licensing exams with serious validity issues that disproportionately exclude workers from the profession on the basis of race, age, and language are not the path forward.”

Michigan communities need more qualified social workers, not unnecessary barriers that shrink the workforce without improving client safety or care quality.

Tell your legislators to support SB 845 and SB 846 and protect pathways into the profession while maintaining strong standards for safe, ethical, and competent care.