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January 25, 2023
Media contact: Timothy Heider, 971-599-0459, timothy.heider@oha.oregon.gov
SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is partnering with the Oregon Board of Licensed Social Workers to pay the licensing application fees for aspiring social workers.
The license is required for anyone seeking to enter the behavioral health field as a social worker in Oregon.
The license ensures that clinical social workers have received the appropriate education and professional experience. Applicants also undergo a criminal background check.
Fees run between $200 and $460 depending on the license.
The program is intended to remove barriers for potential applicants. Approximately $620,000 has been set aside to pay application fees starting Feb.1, 2023, through Feb. 19, 2024.
Applicants will see the benefits of this program when they submit their licensing application for payment and see zero balance due.
This program is offered in conjunction with a similar program announced earlier this month to pay the testing fees for social worker candidates over the same period.
The program is part of a larger effort to rebuild and retool a behavioral health workforce that was decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding comes from $60 million allocated by the Oregon Legislature under House Bill 4071 (2022) to develop a diverse behavioral health workforce in licensed and non-licensed occupations through scholarships, loan repayment, professional development, other incentives, and peer workforce development.
More about this program can be found on the Behavioral Health Workforce Initiative web page.
General questions about the application fee waiver program can be directed to: bh.workforceinitiative@odhsoha.oregon.gov. Technical questions about how the benefit works can be directed to the Oregon Board of Licensed Social Workers: oregon.blsw@blsw.oregon.gov
The Oregon State Hospital is looking to hire psychiatric social workers at its Salem and Junction City campuses.
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