What is title protection?

In 2009, NASW-NC achieved Title Protection for social workers in the private sector. This means, unless you are hired under the North Carolina State Social Work Personnel Series, you cannot call yourself a "social worker" without a degree in social work.

"Social work" is defined in North Carolina as someone who holds a bachelor's (BSW), master's (MSW) or doctorate (PhD) in social work from a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited school. North Carolina has previously had mandatory licensure for those who seek to practice clinical social work and school social work in our state. Social workers seeking certification and licensure in school social work should contact the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

What does the statute state?

North Carolina Code: Chapter 90B Social Worker Certification and Licensure Act

§ 90B-16.  Title protection.

(a)  Except as provided in G.S. 90B-10, an individual who (i) is not certified, licensed, or associate licensed by this Chapter as a social worker, (ii) does not hold a bachelor's or master's degree in social work from a college or university having a social work program accredited or admitted to candidacy for accreditation by the Council of Social Work Education, or (iii) has not received a doctorate in social work shall not use the title "Social Worker" or any variation of the title.   

(b)  The Board is authorized to enforce title protection pursuant to this section in accordance with G.S. 90B-13.   

(c)  The Board shall adopt rules to implement this section.

2009-88, s. 3 ;   2012-72, s. 4

What can I do if I find an organization who is in violation of title protection?

NASW-NC cannot enforce the law. Therefore, violations of title protection have to go through North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board.

From the New Social Work Magazine, A Collaborative Project to Achieve Title Protection in NC: Learn more about the passage of title protection.

What is NASW-NC’s position on expanding Title Protection in the public sector?

NASW-NC strongly believes North Carolina should eliminate the exemption for state and local government employees from the Social Worker Certification and Licensure Act to protect the title of Social Worker to those with social work degrees. If an individual does not have a degree in social work from an accredited university, they should not be called a “social worker”.

Will NASW-NC be pursuing these changes legislatively in the future?

There are a large number of stakeholders that need to be involved and agree upon the elimination of this exemption and a solution to the child welfare workforce shortage. The County Department of Social Services of North Carolina have a severe workforce shortage and, while North Carolina DSS Directors (many of whom have MSWs AND are members of NASW-NC) would love to hire talented, educated, degreed social workers, they are having an incredibly hard time hiring and retaining a qualified workforce. The North Carolina Association of County Department of Social Services, the North Carolina County Commissioners Association, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the North Carolina Public Health Association and the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections are the main stakeholders in this conversation. These stakeholders WANT Title Protection for social workers. They WANT degreed social workers in these roles. But these administrative changes would further cripple an already weakened workforce at this point in time.

What is the solution?

Until the North Carolina General Assembly can pass a budget that fully funds the child welfare system, we don’t foresee these changes advancing in the near future. Continued conversations with stakeholders about fully supporting County Department of Social Services so they can hire educated, talented employees with competitive salaries will continue to occur.

What can I do to help?

Contact your legislators and have ONGOING conversations about how critical it is to fully fund AND support DSS systems across the state and hire degreed social workers. VOTE! Elect officials who will support the workforce in child welfare and aging in our state so that degreed social workers will willingly enter this critical workforce.