We were very happy to be here in Atlanta. We live north of the city and the area is a mix of farm and growing city. Next on my list after moving into our new home was to transfer my Clinical Social Work license to Georgia so I could go back to work. I had all my paperwork from the north notarized and proceeded to fill out the necessary paperwork to transfer my license to Georgia. I had reciprocity with New Jersey, PA, New York and Delaware with this license, but not Georgia. The first application was turned down. I was told I didn’t have enough credits. I knew this wasn’t true so I filled out the second set of papers and documented all of my class work, Continuing Education Credits, work experience, and awards. I was refused again. This time I was told that I didn’t have enough training hours documented to become a Clinical Therapist. Now wait a minute!!!
I called the office of the Secretary of State to make an appointment with the Board of Commissioners for Social Work. I gathered all of my documents and headed on down to Macon, GA. I waited for 3 hours to see the Board representative. Finally I asked the State Trooper who was at the reception desk if I could please speak to someone from the office staff. He informed me that they were all at lunch but he would see what he could do.
I was taken downstairs to an office without any furnishings except for long grey tables and folding chairs. Sure enough, two members of the Board were eating from brown bags. I explained my case. The part these Board members didn’t understand or ask about earlier was: how did I received my Bachelor’s Degree in 1996 and Masters in 1997 (both with honors) and take my exam for a license to be a Clinical Social Worker in 1998? After all, you are a lot older than most of our applicants. The answer is I returned to college when I was in my late 40’s early 50’s. I was 56 years old when I received my Clinical License. Ohhhhh, we see! This response was followed by, “You know we get so many strange applications we just have to be careful.”
