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This Salon will be recorded and shared with everyone who has registered. However, we can only give CEUs for live attendance.

Summary:
Licensure is an important component of professional identity for many social workers employed in both clinical and non-clinical work settings in Colorado, but it is often a very confusing process for new graduates to navigate. Social workers are committed to lifelong learning and growth as professionals and often look to continuing education to meet this need, but many social workers are unfamiliar with Colorado’s requirements for continuing professional development as it relates to licensure renewal. This workshop aims to provide an overview of the process involved in developing an interstate licensure compact at the national level, the important components to consider re: implementation of a compact at the state-level, and the next-steps and general timeline for pursuit of passage of the Compact legislation in Colorado and other states. Recent developments related to social work licensing exams and the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) have led many social workers to question the integrity of our profession’s licensing practices, and to consider ways to increase equity in access to licensure for all social workers moving forward. This workshop aims to provide a summary of these recent developments and information about legislative plans for the 2024 Legislative Session in Colorado that are being developed to begin addressing these challenges here.

Learning Objectives:

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of social work licensure pathways in Colorado, the value of licensure in social work, & how to navigate choosing your path.
• Summarize the development of the Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact, how licensure compacts operate, & the general timeline for implementation of the Compact in Colorado & across the country.
• Briefly review recent developments related to ASWB licensure exams, the impact of the exams on the social work profession, & the efforts in Colorado & nationally to address the barriers to professional practice associated with the exams by moving legislation to change licensing processes.
  
  

About the Leanne:
Leanne Rupp, MSW, LCSW is the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers - Colorado Chapter (NASW-CO). She shifted into macro practice in early 2021 following a 15-year clinical career in integrated health care settings in the Denver-metro area. She has served as a member of a multi-disciplinary research team focused on evaluating barriers to accessing emergency contraception in multiple states over the last decade. She is a passionate advocate for social workers & the populations they serve, focusing much of her time & effort over the last few years on providing support to social workers pursuing licensure & making improvements to social work licensing processes in Colorado. Leanne earned her MSW from the University of Denver's Graduate School of Social Work (2006) and her BSW from the University of Alabama (2005).

Who Can Attend this Event?
This event is free for active CSCSW. Non-members may attend for $45. Current social work students may attend for free after submitting proof of student status (copy of valid student id, current course schedule from registrar, etc).