New Program Helps Social Workers Advance Their Careers
The program will provide financial support to help LMSW-level social workers at NYC Health + Hospitals attain their clinical licensure in exchange for a two-year commitment to the health care system Funded by the van Ameringen Foundation, this strategic initiative will help strengthen and expand the behavioral health workforce at NYC Health + Hospitals
Jun 02, 2025
NYC Health + Hospitals today announced the Social Work Clinical Licensure Training Program, which provides Licensed Master Social Workers (LMSWs) at NYC Health + Hospitals with training and financial support to attain their clinical licensure in exchange for a two-year commitment to the health care system. Funded by the van Ameringen Foundation, this strategic initiative will help strengthen and expand the behavioral health workforce at NYC Health + Hospitals. Participants will receive free test preparation, which includes study materials and 24 hours of training, as well as reimbursement for the exam registration and licensure fees to prepare them for the Association of Social Work Boards exam and become a New York State Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Attaining this licensure will allow them to earn higher salaries and move into supervisory social work positions in the system. The program was developed in response to exit data showing 20% of social workers who left their role at NYC Health + Hospitals did so due to a lack of career advancement opportunities. The Social Work Clinical Licensure Training Program is available to LMSWs who have worked at NYC Health + Hospitals for at least two years.
Today’s announcement builds on NYC Health + Hospitals’ successful social work marketing campaign in June 2024, which resulted in nearly 300 new social workers being hired in the last 12 months and reduced the social work vacancy rate at the health care system from 15% in July 2024 to currently about 8%. NYC Health + Hospitals ran the marketing campaign again in April to recruit additional new hires.
“Our vision is to position NYC Health + Hospitals as the go-to place for careers in public behavioral health. This is why we are simultaneously prioritizing increasing our staff capacity while building the future workforce through an array of initiatives,” said NYC Health + Hospitals System Chief of Behavioral Health Services Omar Fattal, MD, MPH. “For Social workers motivated by mission-driven work, we offer an unparalleled professional opportunity to have a community impact. By creating a clinical social work licensure track within our public hospital system, we are demonstrating our commitment to advancing the careers of our social workers and building our clinical social work capacity to better serve New Yorkers in need.”
“Our new training program is a significant step forward in addressing the growing need for clinical social workers,” said NYC Health + Hospitals System Director of Social Work Kara Simpson, LCSW-R, MSc. “We are committed to providing high-quality education and support to help our employees succeed in their licensure exams and beyond, this is a dream actualized.”
“As a social worker myself, I understand how vital it is to invest in those who provide the compassionate, high-quality care New Yorkers rely on every day,” said Deborah Brown, JD, MSW, Senior Vice President and Chief External Affairs Officer.“This program supports our social workers’ professional growth and removes barriers to clinical licensure, helping us retain this vital talent. It is through philanthropic leadership like this that NYC Health + Hospitals can make a lasting difference for our workforce and the patients we serve. These investments help us retain dedicated staff who remain connected to the mission that brought them here, ensuring we continue to meet the evolving needs of our communities.”
“Participating in this program has been important to me professionally and personally,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Child Protection Coordinator, Priscilla Collado, LMSW-III. “On a personal level, I have learned to better address my anxiety with taking the exam and I have become more confident. On a professional level, being a participant in this program represents a significant step forward in my career journey. This opportunity has given me the tools I need to attain my clinical licensure and better serve my community. Investing in my career advancement demonstrates that NYC Health + Hospitals values the role I play in treating our patients and our shared mission.”
The Social Work Clinical Licensure Training Program is part of the NYC Health + Hospitals’ Social Work Training Academy, which launched in May 2024 to standardize training for the health care system’s more than 1,000 social workers, strengthening practice and patient outcomes. The Social Work Training Academy serves social workers at all points along the career spectrum by streamlining clinical internship placement and orientation offerings for behavioral health; offering an evidence-based practice training program for established system social workers; providing ongoing continuing education; and supporting social workers in earning their licensure and moving into leadership roles.
Social work at NYC Health + Hospitals is integrated across the patient care spectrum from emergency, to inpatient, to outpatient settings to support patients’ psychiatric needs and other social determinants of health, including food and housing insecurity. Social workers are charged with ensuring the continuity of care through ongoing engagement of patients, facilitating access to appropriate health care and social services, and supporting recovery.
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest provider of behavioral health in New York City. The system provides almost 60% of behavioral health services citywide serving over 78,000 patients annually across emergency, inpatient and outpatient care.
###
MEDIA CONTACT: Press Office
#088-25
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
