JANI BELCOE'S SOCIAL WORK COSTS
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Social Work IS good work.
Social Work licensures cost a lot of money.
A Masters in Social Work degree is very expensive.
I will be working to pay that bill off for the majority of my professional life it would seem and yet, the jobs that would aid me in doing that are nearly unattainable without more alphabet soup after my name.
I am also a single mom. With two very awesome, yet expensive, teenaged children. Two children that I will probably not be able to financially help go to college because of my own student loan debt and income. I work full-time as a housing case manager with veterans and homeless families. The reality of my situation is that I can cover the basics, not much more. It is going to take me years to get on top of my student loan debt, let alone be able to afford a luxury like "licensure." In order to get a more lucrative position, both financially and professionally, I need to be licensed.
Given my unique place in the world, right on a state border, I need a dual license to have the best occupational opportunities. Both Washington and Oregon have different requirements and costs which lend themselves to widening the gap between the haves and the have nots of social workers.
There is a very real class system within Social Work. Those that have money (and thus, privilege) typically are the ones who are able to become clinical/therapists. Those that can afford the costs get to become more "legitimized" and "professional" therefore are able to become the clinicians, the psychotherapists, the counselors.
There is a very real power dynamic that is reinforced. Social work and the professionalizing of it through licensure and associations has limited the field greatly to only those who can afford and have the resources to test. This prevents some of our best social workers from having access to the jobs and populations that could benefit from them.
I think I have the potential to be one of those social workers. I have big dreams. Dreams of helping veterans. Dreams of helping LGBTQ youth. Dreams of helping children who were sexually abused and exploited. Dreams of helping those who others turn away, throw away. To fulfill those dreams and help the people I want to help most efficiently, I have the following costs:
Oregon License Fee: $200 http://www.oregon.gov/blsw/Pages/lmsw.aspx#Fees
Oregon Jurisprudence Exam: $150 http://www.oregon.gov/obpe/Pages/Examinations.aspx
ASWB Exam: $260 http://www.aswb.org/exam-candidates/exam-registration/
Washington Associate License Fee: $50 http://www.doh.wa.gov/LicensesPermitsandCertificates/ProfessionsNewReneworUpdate/SocialWorker/Fees.aspx
For a grand total of: $660 + the fees to this damn website.
*once I finish my extremely expensive supervision hours at $75-$150 a pop for NINETY of them, I have to pay $266 to "update" my Washington license*
*Also, there are continuing education units that must be paid for every two years to keep one's license!*
Social Work licensures cost a lot of money.
A Masters in Social Work degree is very expensive.
I will be working to pay that bill off for the majority of my professional life it would seem and yet, the jobs that would aid me in doing that are nearly unattainable without more alphabet soup after my name.
I am also a single mom. With two very awesome, yet expensive, teenaged children. Two children that I will probably not be able to financially help go to college because of my own student loan debt and income. I work full-time as a housing case manager with veterans and homeless families. The reality of my situation is that I can cover the basics, not much more. It is going to take me years to get on top of my student loan debt, let alone be able to afford a luxury like "licensure." In order to get a more lucrative position, both financially and professionally, I need to be licensed.
Given my unique place in the world, right on a state border, I need a dual license to have the best occupational opportunities. Both Washington and Oregon have different requirements and costs which lend themselves to widening the gap between the haves and the have nots of social workers.
There is a very real class system within Social Work. Those that have money (and thus, privilege) typically are the ones who are able to become clinical/therapists. Those that can afford the costs get to become more "legitimized" and "professional" therefore are able to become the clinicians, the psychotherapists, the counselors.
There is a very real power dynamic that is reinforced. Social work and the professionalizing of it through licensure and associations has limited the field greatly to only those who can afford and have the resources to test. This prevents some of our best social workers from having access to the jobs and populations that could benefit from them.
I think I have the potential to be one of those social workers. I have big dreams. Dreams of helping veterans. Dreams of helping LGBTQ youth. Dreams of helping children who were sexually abused and exploited. Dreams of helping those who others turn away, throw away. To fulfill those dreams and help the people I want to help most efficiently, I have the following costs:
Oregon License Fee: $200 http://www.oregon.gov/blsw/Pages/lmsw.aspx#Fees
Oregon Jurisprudence Exam: $150 http://www.oregon.gov/obpe/Pages/Examinations.aspx
ASWB Exam: $260 http://www.aswb.org/exam-candidates/exam-registration/
Washington Associate License Fee: $50 http://www.doh.wa.gov/LicensesPermitsandCertificates/ProfessionsNewReneworUpdate/SocialWorker/Fees.aspx
For a grand total of: $660 + the fees to this damn website.
*once I finish my extremely expensive supervision hours at $75-$150 a pop for NINETY of them, I have to pay $266 to "update" my Washington license*
*Also, there are continuing education units that must be paid for every two years to keep one's license!*
Organiser
Jani Belcoe
Organiser
Vancouver, WA
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