As required by law, the existing licensed mental health professions, primarily psychiatry and psychology, will be exempt. Both social work interns and BSW's will be permitted to practice under the scope provided that they are supervised by a social worker who has the license. Other exemptions are extended to staff holding social work titles in public agencies, but the exemption will be lifted as each person leaves their job. Who is exempted and who is not is important. It determines whether licensed social workers must be utilized to carry out social work functions.
Common practice is that many organizations employ just about anyone to do social work.
In other states some organizations have pursued exemptions from social work licensing for their type of setting. It remains to be seen how this will play out in New York State as the bill is deliberated in the legislature. Having a scope of practice for the LSW will prohibit anyone from making such claims. When the profession first came together to enact the certification law, which was passed in 1965, it was felt that gaining consensus on a scope of practice for the profession was too difficult. With so many views on what social workers do, agreement was reached to not define practice.