Debate over ‘Super Act’ centers on removing master's licensure exam, funding paid internships

The Joint Committee on Higher Education heard competing views Friday on the Super Act, a package of bills (S.218 / H.1423) that would remove the ASWB master's licensure exam for initial LCSW licensure, create a state grant program to stipend MSW field placements and allow LICSWs to receive continuing-education credit for supervision. Advocates said the changes would expand a critically short behavioral health workforce; the Association of Social Work Boards warned removing the exam would undermine public protection and complicate interstate licensure.

Why it matters: Committee members heard that Massachusetts faces a shortage of licensed social workers while the state's need for behavioral-health services has increased. Supporters said unpaid internships and racial and linguistic disparities in pass rates for the ASWB exam block entry into the profession; opponents argued a national exam provides a uniform standard that states and the pending social work licensure compact rely on.

Supporters emphasized that field placements are often unpaid and that stipends would remove an economic barrier for students working multiple jobs. "Receiving a stipend…