S.2590 / H.4650 (Original Sponsors: Sen. DiDomenico, Rep. Barber & Rep. Kushmerek)
Counts supervision toward CE requirements, eliminates licensing tests at Masters level (LCSW) and secures funding for paid internships for MSW students to retain/grow number of providers and remove barriers. (Lead: National Association of Social Workers)
Why we need this bill now? To:
- Increase the number of mental health providers in the state to combat the severe shortage of behavioral health professionals and meet more of the demand.
- Remove barriers to entry, especially for linguistically diverse, individuals of color who cannot afford unpaid work.
- Incentivize social workers already in the field, bolstering our workforce.
More on the three key components:
- Provide Master’s level social work students with stipends for field placements.
- Remove the current exam at the non-clinical LCSW level for Master’s level social workers applying for licensure (other states, such as Rhode Island, have successfully removed the exam at the non-clinical level and have seen a 160% increase in new master’s level social workers).
- Allow LICSWs to receive continuing education credits for providing supervision to LCSWs, MSW and BSW interns.
Status: S.2590 reported favorably by joint committee on higher ed and referred to the committee on Senate Ways and Means (9/08/2025); H.4650 reported favorably by joint committee on higher ed and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means (10/27/2025)
SPONSORS
House: Barber, Kushmerek, Ssabadosa, Arciero, Arena-DeRosa, Armini, Cataldo, Consalvo, Decker, DuBois, Feeney, Garballey, Higgins, Holmes, Honan, Howard, Kearney, Keefe, LeBoeuf, Madaro, Montaño, Moran, Nguyen, Owens, Philips, Reid, Reyes,Scarsdale,Sena,Shand,Stanley,Tyler,Ultrino, Uyterhoeven
Senate: DiDomenico, Comerford, Cruz, Feeney, Jehlen, Keenan, Kennedy, Eldridge, Driscoll, Jr., O'Connor, Lovely, Fernandes, Mark, Rausch