Social Work Compact Continues to Advance in
Missouri
NASW-MO is excited to report that the Social Work Compact continues to advance in the Missouri General Assembly. The Compact is currently on both SB 157 and SB 70. These are currently in the House. This is amazing progress and a testament to the advocacy of social workers!
What you can do.
If you would like to help advance the Compact, please email your personal Representative and your Senator, (look them up based on your address here), and emphasize the importance of the Social Work Compact to you, to our workforce shortage, and to social work. Name the bills. Be brief. Please consider emailing the bill’s sponsors, Representative Jeff Coleman (who introduced HB 1399) and Senator Lauren Arthur (who introduced SB 670), to briefly thank them for sponsoring these bills, supporting social workers, and advancing the social work profession.
How we got here.
NASW-MO Executive Director, Cassie E. Brown, testified in favor of the Compact during its hearing in the House Healthcare Reform Committee on April 11th. She discussed the importance of social workers to Missouri’s systems of care, on license portability, the need for access to telehealth, and Missouri’s workforce shortages. Also testifying was Matt Shafer from the Council of State Governments (the primary authors of the Compact), who testified for informational purposes (neither in support of nor in opposition to the bill). Over two dozen social workers also provided written testimony in favor of the Compact after NASW-MO put out an Action Alert. The bill was then unanimously voted out of Committee.
On April 20th, the Social Work Compact was heard in the Senate Governmental Accountability Committee, again with Cassie E. Brown testifying in favor. NASW-MO’s Executive Director responded to the Committee’s questions about the Compact and about social work as a profession. Also appearing in favor was Grace Nielson, a lobbyist for the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, and a social work student. Ms. Nielson testified about the positive impacts of social work in Missouri.