In Felice J. Freyer’s article “In crisis, a call brings help, hope’’ (Page A1, July 28), we see the exciting possibilities of our new Behavioral Health Help Line but also the reality of the mental health care workforce shortage. Yet solutions are out there, and they are attainable.

The Social Work Uplifting Practices and Exam Removal Act, or SUPER Act, is pending before the Massachusetts Legislature. If passed, it would remove the racially biased licensing exam requirement — itself an unproven tool to measure competency — for all master’s-level social workers. Several states do not require master’s-level social workers to take this high-stakes exam in order to obtain the credential of licensed clinical social worker. Indeed, states such as Illinois and Rhode Island recently have enacted legislation to remove the exam at this licensure level.

In just one year, Rhode Island saw a roughly 160 percent increase in master’s-level social workers attaining the first level of licensure and joining the workforce, according to our review of raw data from the state’s licensing board. If the SUPER Act passed in Massachusetts, hundreds of additional social workers could begin work in mental health settings under the supervision of a licensed independent clinical social worker.

The SUPER Act also leverages the existing Behavioral Health Trust Fund to provide grants to master’s-level social workers for their unpaid field placements, with a focus on students from historically marginalized communities. In addition, the bill offers incentives to licensed independent clinical social workers to provide supervision to others coming up in the field.

It shouldn’t take devastating mental health crises or endless wait times for people to access care they need. We have a common-sense solution in the SUPER Act and we should pass it into law as soon as possible.

REBEKAH GEWIRTZ

Executive director, Massachusetts chapter

National Association of Social Workers

Boston