Social Work Licensure Compact

On July 7th, 2023 Governor Mike Parson signed Senate Bill 70 and Senate Bill 157 making Missouri the first state to enact the Social Work Licensure Compact. This is a milestone development in supporting the mobility of licensed social workers.

SB 70 was sponsored by Senator Travis Fitzpatrick and Senator Lauren Arthur, and SB 157 was sponsored by Senator Rusty Black.

The Social Work Licensure Compact seeks to increase public access to social work services, provide licensees with opportunities for multistate practice, support relocating military families, and allow for expanded use of telehealth technologies. Currently, the model compact legislation is available for other states to introduce and enact like Missouri. Thus far there have been nine other states that have introduced: Utah, Kentucky, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Ohio.

The compact will become active once enacted by seven states.

The Social Work Licensure Compact project team approved the final draft of the Social Work Licensure Compact legislation in January 2023.

This legislation will be distributed to the states for enactment during the 2023 legislative sessions. The Compact will go into effect once enacted into law by seven states.

The project team was composed of professionals, state regulators, and representatives of professional organizations, as well as staff from the National Center for Interstate Compacts at the Council of State Governments, which is facilitating the project.

The model legislation for the Compact may be downloaded here.