BSRB presents draft social-work licensee survey: 2,000 responses highlight ethics, supervision and telehealth

David Fye and staff presented a draft report on a recent licensee survey at the Aug. 12 meeting, saying the survey drew roughly 2,000 completed responses — about a 23.2% response rate from approximately 8,624 social-work licensees.

Fye summarized high-level findings: clinical-license respondents were more likely to work in private practice, response rates varied by license level, and many respondents identified education needs in ethics, AI/telehealth, documentation, billing and coding, and clinical supervision. Staff emphasized the report preserved open-ended responses in appendices so readers could review licensees' verbatim comments. "We wanted to preserve the voices of the people who responded to the survey questions," Fye said.

Written responses flagged common concerns: unlicensed case managers operating without oversight, burnout, heavy caseloads, low pay, and gaps in documentation and Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement knowledge. Telehealth comments were mixed: many praised increased access (especially for rural clients), while others noted connectivity problems, privacy concerns and difficulties engaging certain populations such as young children or older adults.

Fye said staff will circulate the draft and encouraged committee members to read question 10 (telehealth), question 11 (supervision) and question 12 (AI) plus the appendices ahead of the next meeting, where the committee will discuss those topics in more depth.