What year did M.Ed=LCSW become no longer possible?

[BlackSkirtTetra]

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In my readings I came across a person who was listed as "Jane Doe, M.Ed LCSW."

I know that up until recent memory in some states you could become an LCSW without a MSW, instead using a Masters in Education (M.Ed). I've been told that the folks who had their M.Ed LCSWs were grandfathered in but that it's no longer possible to go that route (which is all well and good).

But I can't find what year this went into effect. Anybody have any idea? Was it different for each state? That's my hunch, since I can't find any concrete data.

 

[BlackSkirtTetra]

This person advertises that she is an M.Ed LCSW: http://www.solutionsforanxiety.com/index.html

She lives in Florida.

And here is another one, in Massachusetts: http://bobditter.com/bio-contact/

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Licensure is at the state level....so it is up to the state's legislature and licensing board as to what they will accept as 'equivalent' training to meet the minimum standards for a given licensure.

 

[BlackSkirtTetra]

So the CSWE mandates what is and isn't an acceptable SW education, nationally, correct? And then some states still give SW licenses to non-social workers? I thought that had stopped. Maybe I've gotten something mixed up...

 

[pingouin]

MEd has never equalled LCSW, nor does MSW equal LCSW. And the CSWE has no say whatsoever in what licensure requirements the states create.

When the states started to create licensure and supervision rules/regs for social workers, many of them declared that MEds or MAs with [X years of certain types of experience] were ELIGIBLE to be grandfathered into licensing. In my state, this happened somewhere around 1991 or 1992. There was about a one year grace period where other professions could apply for licensure without sitting for the ASWB exam.

Since the grace period ended (again, in MY state, but I believe that others are similar), ONLY the MSW degree has qualified as eligible to apply for a LCSW. Most of the non-MSW LCSWs are reaching a point of retirement, so there are not many of them left. I don't know of any state that is actively licensing non-MSWs as LCSWs. If there is one, then it's very far behind the rest of the country.

Issues I have seen with non-MSW LCSWs: 1) not eligible to supervise practicum students (CSWE requirement- with very rare exception), 2) difficulty obtaining a social work license in a different state because they don't have the required MSW for eligibility, 3) anecdotal, but I worked in a department headed by a MEd LCSW who was so incredibly out of tune with the MSWs regarding what our role was that it was almost dangerous for our patients (she has since been demoted).

 

[BlackSkirtTetra]

Thank you. That response helps. I don't think any states still have the M.Ed leading to the LCSW possibility, because in all the instances I've seen, the social workers are of a certain age, which means they likely got their M.Ed in the 1980s or 1990s.