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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2240 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 160 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Sal N. DiDomenico |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to Social Work Uplifting Practices and Exam Removal (“The SUPER Act”). |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Sal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and SuffolkManny Cruz7th Essex1/24/2023Susannah M. Whipps2nd Franklin1/25/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex1/31/2023John F. KeenanNorfolk and Plymouth2/2/2023Rebecca L. RauschNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex2/2/2023Thomas M. Stanley9th Middlesex2/6/2023Paul W. MarkBerkshire, Hampden, Franklin and |
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| 16 | 16 | | Hampshire |
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| 17 | 17 | | 2/8/2023Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex2/8/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/10/2023Anne M. GobiWorcester and Hampshire2/23/2023James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol2/27/2023Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.12th Hampden3/2/2023 1 of 4 |
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| 18 | 18 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2240 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 19 | 19 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 160 |
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| 20 | 20 | | By Mr. DiDomenico, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 160) of Sal N. DiDomenico, |
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| 21 | 21 | | Manny Cruz, Susannah M. Whipps, Jack Patrick Lewis and other members of the General Court |
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| 22 | 22 | | for legislation relative to Social Work Uplifting Practices and Exam Removal (“The SUPER |
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| 23 | 23 | | Act”). Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. |
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| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
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| 29 | 29 | | An Act relative to Social Work Uplifting Practices and Exam Removal (“The SUPER Act”). |
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| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 official version, |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2shall be amended by inserting after Section 135C the following section:- |
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| 34 | 34 | | 3 "Section 135D. To ensure a stable, diverse workforce of licensed social workers in the |
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| 35 | 35 | | 4Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and to provide for increased support and retention of |
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| 36 | 36 | | 5practicing licensed social workers, The Department of Education (DOE) shall create and |
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| 37 | 37 | | 6administer a field placement grant program (FPGP). This program shall, subject to appropriation, |
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| 38 | 38 | | 7grant funding to designated recipients with a specific focus on recruiting and retaining Masters of |
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| 39 | 39 | | 8Social Work (MSW) students from historically marginalized communities and low-income |
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| 40 | 40 | | 9communities. Funds to establish this program shall be allocated from state, federal, or other |
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| 41 | 41 | | 10dedicated resources, including existing trust funds. 2 of 4 |
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| 42 | 42 | | 11 For the purposes of this section, eligible applicants must attend a school of social work |
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| 43 | 43 | | 12Master’s Program physically located in Massachusetts that has been accredited by the Council on |
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| 44 | 44 | | 13Social Work Education (CSWE). |
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| 45 | 45 | | 14 To be eligible for consideration, applicants must submit the following: |
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| 46 | 46 | | 15 (i) Applicant demographic background information, including but not limited to: race, |
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| 47 | 47 | | 16ethnicity, geographic location in the state, and date of birth for purposes of data collection; |
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| 48 | 48 | | 17 (ii) Applicant’s school of social work, type of Master’s program, and GPA; |
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| 49 | 49 | | 18 (iii) Applicant’s stated and signed commitment to working in Massachusetts post- |
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| 50 | 50 | | 19graduation for at least 2 years; and |
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| 51 | 51 | | 20 (iv) Applicant’s one-page statement on the importance of this stipend in the applicant’s |
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| 52 | 52 | | 21life and how the grant will support their educational goals and the workforce needs of the |
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| 53 | 53 | | 22Commonwealth. |
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| 54 | 54 | | 23 Priority for the FPGP will be to first-generation college students, and at least 50 percent |
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| 55 | 55 | | 24of recipients awarded grants must identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color. Applications |
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| 56 | 56 | | 25will be submitted and considered on a rolling basis between January 1st and no later than March |
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| 57 | 57 | | 261st of each calendar year. Recipients of stipends shall be notified no later than April 15th of said |
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| 58 | 58 | | 27calendar year. |
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| 59 | 59 | | 28 Stipends shall be allocated as follows: |
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| 60 | 60 | | 29 (i) A current MSW student in good standing completing their first-year field placement of |
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| 61 | 61 | | 3016 hours per week shall be eligible for a monthly stipend of $1,000 per month, not to exceed |
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| 62 | 62 | | 31$8,000 annually. 3 of 4 |
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| 63 | 63 | | 32 (ii) A current MSW student in good standing completing their second-year field |
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| 64 | 64 | | 33placement of 24 hours per week shall be eligible for a monthly stipend of $2,000 per month, not |
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| 65 | 65 | | 34to exceed a total of $16,000 annually. |
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| 66 | 66 | | 35 (iii) Advanced standing students who are only required to conduct one field placement |
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| 67 | 67 | | 36shall be eligible for the second-year field placement stipend. |
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| 68 | 68 | | 37 Applicant data, including application details submitted, shall be tracked by the |
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| 69 | 69 | | 38department such that the program efficacy can be evaluated." |
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| 70 | 70 | | 39 SECTION 2. Section 131 of Chapter 112 of the General Laws, is hereby amended in the |
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| 71 | 71 | | 40fourth paragraph by striking the words:- “Said individual shall also furnish evidence satisfactory |
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| 72 | 72 | | 41to the board that he has passed an examination prepared by the board for this purpose” |
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| 73 | 73 | | 42 SECTION 3. Said Section 131 of Chapter 112 of the General Laws, is hereby further |
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| 74 | 74 | | 43amended in the fifth paragraph by striking in line one the following words:- “the examination |
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| 75 | 75 | | 44and”, and in line four the following words:- “the examination or”. |
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| 76 | 76 | | 45 SECTION 4. Said Section 131 of Chapter 112 of the General Laws, is hereby further |
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| 77 | 77 | | 46amended in the sixth paragraph by striking the following words:- “and has passed a specialty |
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| 78 | 78 | | 47examination in clinical social work prepared by the board for this purpose.”. |
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| 79 | 79 | | 48 SECTION 5. Section 132 of Chapter 112 of the General Laws, is hereby struck in its |
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| 80 | 80 | | 49entirety. |
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| 81 | 81 | | 50 SECTION 6. Section 136 of said Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the |
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| 82 | 82 | | 51official 2022 version, shall be amended by inserting after the fourth paragraph the following |
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| 83 | 83 | | 52paragraph:- "Licensed independent clinical social workers (LICSWs) engaged in independent 4 of 4 |
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| 84 | 84 | | 53clinical practice who provide one-on-one supervision to a licensed certified social worker, |
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| 85 | 85 | | 54Master’s of social work intern, or Bachelor’s of social work intern, shall be eligible to receive up |
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| 86 | 86 | | 55to eight continuing education credits during a licensing period for this supervision." |
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