North Carolina urgently needs expanded access to behavioral health care. Currently, 91 of the state’s 100 counties are designated as mental health professional shortage areas, and 22 don’t have a practicing psychiatrist. Nearly 4 million North Carolinians are affected by this shortage, and rural counties are feeling its effects the most. 

These numbers are especially concerning considering North Carolina has the second-largest rural population in the country. Issues with health insurance, transportation, and a general lack of available providers create significant barriers to care in rural areas. Rural communities especially need access to mental health services, but since social worker and health provider shortages are prominent in rural areas, finding care can be nearly impossible. North Carolina must take steps toward mitigating disproportionate access to care and tackle this critical issue. 

Earlier this year, North Carolina legislators introduced Senate Bill 155 and House Bill 231 — which would enact the Social Work Licensure Compact (SWLC). Like the Nurse Licensure Compact, the SWLC would allow licensed social workers to provide their services across state lines without having to go through multiple re-licensure processes.

It will also enable social workers to serve clients in any state that joins the agreement, bringing much-needed relief to North Carolina’s behavioral health professional shortage. During a period of heightened mental health needs and decreased access to care, North Carolina must prioritize passing the compact to deliver long-lasting benefits to its communities. 

The compact would also improve continuity of care when clients relocate to a different state. It takes a long time for social workers to build trust with their clients, and relocations can erase all that time and investment. The compact helps solve this problem by allowing social workers to continue supporting their clients through telehealth services, regardless of their physical location. 

Though the compact is a forward-thinking step that benefits all of North Carolina, there is more to do. High educational costs and low pay place a heavy financial burden on social workers and can turn prospective social workers away from the field. This furthers the shortage and contributes to continued burnout in the profession since social workers must take on more work than they have the bandwidth for.

Addressing these issues requires creative approaches such as offering more scholarships or financial incentives for social workers entering the field. Paid internships should also be the standard. Social workers do so much for North Carolina’s most vulnerable communities, and alleviating the financial pressures of becoming a social worker can help further the state’s mission to promote access to care while making it easier for social workers to provide it.

Social workers are a lifeline for many North Carolinians. By joining the compact and implementing additional solutions to prevent burnout and close the behavioral health professional gap, North Carolina will eliminate unnecessary hurdles for social workers, freeing up time and resources that can instead be used to serve clients who need them the most.