Meet Natalie West, a social worker, military spouse, and mother of two boys.When Natalie decided to become a social worker, out of a desire to help 
Hi Friend,
Meet Natalie West, a social worker, military spouse, and mother of two boys.

When Natalie decided to become a social worker, out of a desire to help those in need, she never knew how hard it would be to just get licensed to work. ([link removed])

After spending thousands of dollars and hours on her education to earn both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work—while her husband was deployed and she was raising their young sons—she began pursuing her Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) degree. Yet, there were even bigger challenges ahead to become licensed to practice.

The problem: strict occupational licensing requirements vary from state to state. ([link removed])

Obtaining an occupational license is usually anything but an easy process. For Natalie and many others hoping to work in industries that require licenses, it involves painful processing, fees, tests, transfer of the license, and internships. Natalie must accrue about 3,000 unpaid service hours, which not all states accept.

To make matters worse, her family moves every 2-3 years for deployments, which means she must begin the process all over again each time they move. “I can’t just go and practice in another state,” says Natalie.

For their upcoming move to Texas, Natalie spent upwards of $1,000 in fees and many hours preparing to take the state’s licensing test. If she fails, she’ll have to wait another 3-4 months before she can take the test again. And she’ll be unable to work to support her family during that time.

It shouldn’t be so hard to work or to get licensed to work. ([link removed])

Our economy desperately needs more Americans back in the workforce, and our society greatly needs people like Natalie practicing social work, especially during this time.

Yet, too many Americans like Natalie find themselves running in circles while chasing work. These government mandates are unnecessarily burdensome and costly.

But to motivate lawmakers to make necessary reforms to occupational licensing regulations, we need to shed light on the problem and elevate the issue. And we need your help.

Watch and share Natalie’s Chasing Work story today. ([link removed])

Thanks,

Patrice Onwuka
Senior Policy Analyst
[link removed]

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