PA HB554

Authorizes Pennsylvania to join the Social Work Licensure Compact, enabling licensed social workers to practice across member states without obtaining separate licenses in each state

Creates a multistate license system for clinical, master's, and bachelor's level social workers who hold an unencumbered license in their home state, pass a qualifying national exam, and submit to fingerprint-based criminal background checks

Establishes the Social Work Licensure Compact Commission as an interstate governing body with authority to promulgate rules, maintain a shared data system for licensure and disciplinary information, and enforce compact provisions

Requires social workers practicing under multistate authorization to comply with the laws and professional standards of the state where the client is located at the time services are rendered

Takes effect 18 months after enactment, with the compact becoming operational once seven states have enacted the legislation