Florida’s licensed social workers are already put through a stringent process before they ever earn a license to practice — a master’s degree in social work, thousands of hours of on-the-job experience in closely supervised settings after graduation, and passing both a national exam and a Florida-specific law and rules course. This makes state-licensed social workers here some of the best qualified in the nation.
Even with all that preparation, many social workers will tell you their practical preparation for the role barely got started until they were actually on the job. You might have studied the plight of refugees in the classroom in depth during your Master of Social Work, but maybe it wasn’t until you started advocacy work with the Florida Immigrant Coalition that you truly understood the needs in that community.
Every sort of social work is like that. The kinds of issues that social workers deal with span a huge range. They cover newborns and the elderly; working families and the homeless; schools and hospitals.
All-in-all, it’s almost too much to take in to expect that even the most dedicated license candidate could develop true mastery of the skills required, even with a master’s degree and two years of supervised practice.
For both social workers and clients, national professional certification offers an additional level of validation of role-specific expertise on top of a Florida state-issued LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) and CMSW (Certified Master Social Worker) credential.
Professional Certification for Florida’s Social Workers is No Different Than Anywhere Else in the Country
A professional social work certification is a purely voluntary validation of your knowledge and skills. It does not grant the legal authority to practice. Legal authority to practice in Florida can only come from an LCSW or CMSW credential granted through the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling.
While certification may require some specialized education, it also tests what you have learned and verifies that you have built on that knowledge with experience. It’s a demonstration of skill and knowledge that goes beyond state licensing and signals to employers and clients alike that you have developed additional expertise in your area of practice.
Florida state continuing education rules allow for CE hours offered by the National Association of Social Work (NASW) to count toward your state LCSW or CMSW renewal requirements. This offers a built-in incentive to stack training toward NASW certification.
Professional certification isn’t related to your state license, although some of the education you receive for it may count toward your continuing education requirement for renewals. But it’s a qualification that employers and other social workers look for to assess your skillset in specific areas of practice.
You may already be familiar with social work certificates, short education courses in various focused areas of social work practice or skills. While those can be important in building your specialized knowledge and techniques, they aren’t the same thing as a professional certification.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the Big Player in Professional Certification for Social Workers From Coast-to-Coast
For professional certifications to carry that kind of weight, they have to come from a body that has the institutional knowledge and administrative capacity to know what to look for. NASW, the National Association of Social Workers, is the big dog in providing and validating social work certifications in every state.
Active since 1955, NASW provides advocacy and community for social workers. The Florida chapter has 18 local units that support social workers throughout the state.
That gives the organization a lot of expertise when it comes to assessing competencies among social workers.
NASW offers 10 different roles in which one or more levels of certification are offered. Some of those categories have only a single available certification, but others have as many as three. It’s most common to find those broken out by educational or licensing level.
- Certified Social Worker - Where the entry level of certification is available, this is typically the first tier. It may be available with only a BSW degree, depending on the area of practice.
- Clinical Social Worker - Requires clinical licensure and training as well as practical experience, which by definition means it is only open to MSW graduates.
- Advanced Certified Social Worker - Usually the highest level of certification, requiring at least a MSW degree and addition training and on-the-job experience in the field.
These encompass a wide range of different social work specializations for both BSW and MSW prepared social workers, all of which are in high demand in Florida today:
Master of Social Work (MSW) Required:
- Certified Clinical Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs Social Worker (C-CATODSW)
- Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM)
- Qualified Clinical Social Worker (QCSW)
- Clinical Social Worker in Gerontology (CSW-G)
- Certified Clinical Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs Social Worker (C-CATODSW)
- Certified School Social Work Specialist (C-SSWS)
- Clinical Social Worker in Gerontology (CSW-G)
- Advanced Social Worker in Gerontology (ASW-G)
- Certified Social Worker in Health Care (C-SWHC)
- Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Social Worker (ACHP-SW)
- Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW)
- Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (DCSW)
- Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families - Advanced Social Worker (MVF-ASW)
- Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families - Clinical Social Worker (MVF-CSW)
- Certified Advanced Children, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-ACYFSW)
Bachelor of Social Work (MSW) Required:
- Certified Social Work Case Manager (C-SWCM) Social Worker in Gerontology (SW-G)
- Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Social Worker (CHP-SW)
- Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families - Social Worker (MVF-SW)
- Certified Children, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-CYFSW)
In some states, advanced certifications are also only available for clinical social workers since only clinical licenses are offered for MSW graduates… but in Florida, the non-clinical Certified Master Social Worker (CMSW) credential offers eligibility for Advanced certifications even if you don’t practice clinically.
Although the categories may be similar from field to field, the specific requirements can be different, with different specialized training hour qualifications, for instance.
There are also some credentials that live in more than one field, such as the Certified Clinical, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs credential, which is in both Addictions and Clinical areas.
Florida’s Drug Crisis Calls for a Particular Kind of Professional Certification
While earning professional certification from NASW as a C-CATODSW shows you have developed advanced social work skills in assessing and treating patients with substance use disorders (SUD), that may not be enough to help the thousands of Floridians who struggle with these issues.
In 2022, according to the Florida Department of Health, there were nearly 8,000 fatal overdoses and more than 100,000 EMS responses to reported overdoses across the state. It’s only a slight drop from the record highs of 2021, but more social services and therapy help is needed.
That’s where a different kind of certification comes in: the Certified Addiction Professional, or CAP, from the Florida Certification Board.
This is a path that many social workers specializing in substance abuse take, both to legally offer SUD treatment services in the state and to expand their clinical skills in screening, counseling, performing interventions, and managing cases for people with addiction.
The qualifications for the CAP are a bit off the beaten path for licensed social workers, but a BSW or MSW both count as a Tier I related degree for FCB purposes. Stacking 150 hours of approved education (which may also count toward your license renewal CE needs), 2000 hours of addiction-specific work experience, and 100 hours of supervision will get you this critical certification.
Certifications for Social Workers Aren’t Just From Social Work Organizations
NASW is unquestionably the major player in social work certification both in Florida and across the country, but there are other niche fields where different organizations offer certifications for social work professionals.
As professional certifications, they fill the same general purpose as the NASW certs in establishing and validating your expertise in their areas. But they may have a more hands-on role in delivering the specialist education requirements. While NASW certs generally require additional education in the field offered by NASW-approved providers, other organizations may require you get that training directly from them.
And while NASW certifications are specifically designed for and only available to social workers, other organizations may have less focus on social work and more on providers that work in the specialty area itself. That can mean that almost any sort of health care or human services professional may qualify.
Forensic Social Work Certification
Working in and around the criminal justice system requires many special considerations for social workers. NAFC, the National Association of Forensic Counselors, makes sure you have those skills down cold with a range of certifications that weigh capabilities ranging from general forensic counseling to working specifically with juvenile sex offenders.
Financial Social Work Certification
A relative newcomer in the social work certification world is the Certified Financial Social Worker credential. Created in 2013 by the Center for Financial Social Work, it is intended to help educate and support social workers counseling clients in financial health and well-being. Other, more general, certification in financial counseling like that CPFC (Certified Personal Financial Counselor) or CFT (Certified Financial Therapist) may also be useful for social workers in this field.
Oncology Social Work Certification
The specialized Board of Oncology Social Work Certificate offers the Certified Oncology Social Worker™ (OSW-C) to social workers operating in this particularly difficult and stressful area of practice.
New certifications come up with new specialties or new professional organizations that emerge, but it’s important to carefully review any such credential before you pursue it. NASW and various other long-standing organizations have credibility and a proven track record.
These are exactly the factors that employers and clients will be looking at when they look at your certs, so it’s important that you validate them before you consider pursuing certification in the first place.
How To Qualify for Social Work Certifications in Florida
While the detail can vary, you will typically need to meet the standards in five different areas to earn one of these certifications:
- College Education - Either a BSW or a Master of Social Work from a CSWE-accredited program are needed for any NASW certification.
- Continuing Education - A certain number of continuing education hours acquired after your college graduation from a NASW-approved source, and typically focused on the field of specialization. For certain entry-level certs, you may be able to satisfy this standard with evidence that you received specialized training as part of your degree program.
- Licensure - Many credentials for require a current, active, and unrestricted license to practice social work to establish your eligibility. In Florida, that means the LCSW or CMSW through the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. For some certifications, you may be able to satisfy this requirement by passing an ASWB (Association of Social Work Boards) examination instead.
In Florida, which doesn’t have a license level for BSW graduates, the ASWB exam qualification will be needed for certifications offered at the BSW level.
- On-The-Job Experience - You’ll need to provide proof of some level of relevant practical experience working under supervision within the field of the certification, often between two and three years.
- Ethics and Professional Conduct - For all NASW certifications, you must also promise to hold to the NASW Code of Ethics, Standards for Continuing Professional Education, and sometimes other requirements based of the specific credentials
Also, for the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW) and the Diplomate in Clinical Social Worker (DCSW), the two leadership certifications, you will have to be a current NASW member in good standing.
Most certifications have to be renewed every two years, although some require annual and some offer three year renewals.
Of course, membership in the various organizations that offer these credentials is beneficial even when not absolutely required. Particularly for the NASW certs, NASW’s Florida Chapter can offer home study and mentorship resources that can help you get qualified.
How Does Professional Certification as a Social Worker Impact Your Career in Florida?
Unlike licensure, certification isn’t usually listed as a requirement for any kind of social work job in Florida. It’s better to look at this sort of thing as an additional qualification that can make your application pop when employers are hiring.
If you’re looking for a position as a case worker with Elder Care Services in Tallahassee, which serves older adults in Leon and Wakulla counties, then either a Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM) or Advanced Social Worker in Gerontology (ASW-G) on your resume could float it to the top of the stack.
Although it’s not common, there’s nothing that prevents you from earning and maintaining multiple certifications to cover all possible areas of expertise in your career path.
This is a step over and above the simple accumulation of experience and additional training that you may go through during the course of your career in a specialized field. Certification puts those education hours and that time on the job to a real test. Having a major professional organization standing behind you says a lot about your skill and dedication to the field.
Because these are nationally recognized, professional social work certifications also bring a level of respect that comes in handy on a larger stage. If advocacy and lobbying efforts are part of your macro practice, you will find that the right certs give you weight even at the federal level.
At the roots, however, it is the individual Floridians in your field of practice that benefit the most from your certification. And at the end of the day, the certification itself is secondary. It’s the effort you go through to perfect your own skills and understand their needs that makes you an exceptional social worker.