Commending the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers.

Commending the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 28, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, February 5, 2026
WHEREAS, for 50 years, the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers has provided advocacy and expertise to its members and promoted the highest standards of professional education and clinical social work practice throughout the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers was founded in 1976 by a small group of clinical social workers in Richmond; under the leadership of its first president, Henry Morris, the organization quickly began working toward the passage of a Virginia social work licensure bill that same year; and
WHEREAS, the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers subsequently supported the passage of a vendorship law, which mandated that health insurance companies reimburse clinical social workers for their services, and the passage of a bill establishing parity with psychiatrists and psychologists in the provision of independently practiced mental health services; and
WHEREAS, in 1991, the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers merged four chapters across the Commonwealth into a single statewide organization with Wayne Martin as president; and
WHEREAS, in 2011, the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers, led by legislative vice president Rick Goodling, worked with state officials to successfully support social work title protection legislation, which made it unlawful for individuals not licensed by the Board of Social Work to use the term social worker; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers, led by legislative vice president Joe Lynch, oversaw the addition of licensed clinical social workers to the list of state-recognized treatment providers and enabled licensed clinical social workers to refuse to release a child's psychotherapy records when such a release is deemed to be potentially harmful to the child; and
WHEREAS, in 2024, the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers partnered with the Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work and successfully advocated for the passage of the Social Work Licensure Compact, becoming the first of seven states to pass such legislation, which allows for telehealth sessions in all compact states, reducing shortages in mental health treatment across the country; and
WHEREAS, as part of the Behavioral Health Coalition, the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers is one of 13 organizations advocating for insurance coverage parity for the treatment of mental health conditions; and
WHEREAS, over the course of its history, the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers has upheld the values of equity, inclusion, and social justice in the practice of clinical social work and advocated for the dignity and rights of all individuals and communities; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Susan Witt, president, and Ophelia Von Ludwig, legislative vice president, of the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Workers as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the organization's longstanding commitment to the mental health and well-being of Virginians.