SB208 Summary - Social Work Licensure Compact

• Adopts the Social Work Licensure Compact, enabling regulated social workers (clinical, master's, and bachelor's level) to practice across multiple member states under a single multistate license while maintaining state regulatory authority.

• Establishes the Social Work Licensure Compact Commission as an interstate governmental agency to oversee implementation, manage a centralized data system for licensing and disciplinary information, and adopt rules governing multistate practice.

• Allows licensees to hold one multistate license in their home state and practice in remote states, subject to those states' laws; remote states can take adverse action against a licensee's authorization in their state, while only the home state can discipline the multistate license itself.

• Requires member states to participate in a coordinated data system, conduct criminal background checks on multistate license applicants, report adverse actions and investigative information, and meet eligibility criteria including requiring graduates from accredited social work programs.

• Becomes effective October 1, 2024, and requires seven states to enact the compact before it takes effect; includes provisions for state withdrawal, dispute resolution, and enforcement through federal courts.