Addressing Racism in Social Work Licensing #StopASWB - Charla Yearwood, LCSW; Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP; Alan Dettlaff, PhD, MSW

Episode 56
Guests: Charla Yearwood, LCSW; Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP; Alan Dettlaff, PhD, MSW
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

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We are now offering our Racial Justice & Liberatory Practice Continuing Education Series at Columbia University, Michigan State University, and the University of Houston. Join us!

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor! UH has a phenomenal social work program that offers face-to-face master's and doctorate degrees, as well as an online and hybrid MSW. They offer one of the country’s only Political Social Work programs and an Abolitionist Focused Learning Opportunity. Located in the heart of Houston, the program is guided by their bold vision to achieve social, racial, economic, and political justice, local to global. In the classroom and through research, they are committed to challenging systems and reimagining ways to achieve justice and liberation. Go to http://www.uh.edu/socialwork to learn more.

In this episode, I talk with Charla Yearwood, Cassandra Walker, and Dr. Alan Dettlaff about the recent report from the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) where they finally release their social work licensing exam pass rates based on race and age. For years, people have been pushing them to release their pass rates by race, and ASWB denied that they even had this data. The report shows large differences in pass rates by race and provides clear data for what many of us have known is a racially biased exam that significantly discriminates against Black, Latinx, and Indigenous social workers. There have been many questions about what makes this exam racist, and ASWB and others have placed the blame elsewhere. We get into all of that in our discussion. We recorded this podcast so we could quickly get information out to folks about this racist exam and continue to be part of a movement to end this exam. So, please check out the conversation and get involved. There are links below to a #StopASWB petition and a recording of a recent #StopASWB press conference, and resources will be updated as available. I hope this conversation inspires you to action.

Charla Yearwood, LCSW
www.charlayearwood.com
www.connectedincommunity.org
Twitter: @CharlaYearwood

Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP
www.i-cch.com
Twitter: @MentalWoke
Instagram: intersectionsllc

Alan Dettlaff, PhD, MSW
https://www.uh.edu/socialwork/
Twitter: @AlanDettlaff

#StopASWB Petition: https://www.change.org/p/aswb-end-discriminatory-social-work-licensing-exams

#StopASWB Press Conference Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE_p6b6x06U