| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 877 FILED ON: 1/13/2025 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1423 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Christine P. Barber and Michael P. Kushmerek |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to social work uplifting practices and exam removal. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Christine P. Barber34th Middlesex1/13/2025Michael P. Kushmerek3rd Worcester1/30/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/30/2025James Arciero2nd Middlesex2/21/2025James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex2/11/2025Jennifer Balinsky Armini8th Essex3/4/2025Rob Consalvo14th Suffolk2/20/2025Manny Cruz7th Essex2/4/2025Paul R. FeeneyBristol and Norfolk2/13/2025Russell E. Holmes6th Suffolk2/18/2025Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth1/31/2025Mary S. Keefe15th Worcester3/4/2025Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk2/3/2025Tram T. Nguyen18th Essex2/14/2025Steven Owens29th Middlesex2/6/2025Edward R. Philips8th Norfolk2/13/2025Estela A. Reyes4th Essex2/3/2025Margaret R. Scarsdale1st Middlesex3/3/2025 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex1/31/2025Dawne Shand1st Essex2/24/2025Chynah Tyler7th Suffolk2/13/2025Christopher J. Worrell5th Suffolk3/5/2025 1 of 3 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 877 FILED ON: 1/13/2025 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1423 |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | By Representatives Barber of Somerville and Kushmerek of Fitchburg, a petition (accompanied |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | by bill, House, No. 1423) of Christine P. Barber, Michael P. Kushmerek and others that the |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | Department of Education create and administer a field placement grant program to ensure a |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | stable, diverse workforce of licensed social workers. Higher Education. |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 1253 OF 2023-2024.] |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | (2025-2026) |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | An Act relative to social work uplifting practices and exam removal. |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 1 SECTION 1. The first paragraph of section 131 of chapter 112 of the General Laws is |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 2hereby amended by striking out the words “has passed an examination prepared by the board for |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 3this purpose;”. |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 4 SECTION 2. The first sentence of the first paragraph of section 132 of chapter 112 of the |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 5General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the words “Examinations for licensed certified |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 6social workers, including those in independent clinical practice” and inserting in place thereof |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 7the following words:- Examinations for licensed independent clinical social workers. |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 8 SECTION 3. Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 9section 135C the following section:- 2 of 3 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 10 Section 135D. To ensure a stable, diverse workforce of licensed social workers in the |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 11commonwealth, and to provide for increased support and retention of practicing licensed social |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 12workers, the commonwealth shall administer a paid practicum placement grant program for |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 13Master of Social Work (MSW) students in good standing. The program shall, subject to |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 14appropriation, provide grant funding to designated recipients with a specific focus on recruiting |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 15and retaining MSW students from historically marginalized communities and low-income |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 16communities. Funds to establish this program shall be allocated from state, federal, or other |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 17dedicated resources, including existing trust funds. |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 18 Eligible applicants must attend a school of social work Masters program physically |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 19located in Massachusetts that has been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 20 Applicant data, including application details submitted, shall be tracked by the executive |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 21office so that the program efficacy and equity can be evaluated. |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 22 SECTION 4. Section 136 of chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 23inserting after the fourth paragraph the following paragraph:- |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 24 Licensed independent clinical social workers engaged in independent clinical practice |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 25who provide one-on-one supervision to a licensed certified social worker, licensed social worker, |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 26Masters of social work intern, or Bachelors of social work intern, shall be eligible to receive up |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 27to 8 continuing education credits during a licensing period for this supervision. |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 28 SECTION 5. The executive office of health and human services shall conduct an |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 29evaluation of the impact of removal of the licensing examination requirement for Licensed |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 30Certified Social Workers under sections 1 and 2, should it deem such an evaluation necessary. |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | 31The evaluation may include an analysis of the impact of removing the examination requirement 3 of 3 |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | 32on alleviating shortages of qualified social workers, expanding access to quality behavioral |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | 33health services, increasing the diversity of the social worker workforce among diverse language |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | 34skills, race, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds, and the impact of any increase in diversity on |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | 35patient care, particularly for vulnerable populations. In preparing the evaluation, the consultant |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | 36shall meet with representatives of organizations representing social workers, social work |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | 37education, social work testing, social work patients, behavioral health advocacy organizations, |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | 38and other groups that may assist the evaluation. The evaluation and analysis shall be conducted |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | 39independently of the executive office. The executive office shall submit the evaluation to the |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | 40committee on higher education, the committee on mental health, substance use and recovery and |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | 41the house and senate committees on ways and means no later than the year in which said |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | 42evaluation was initiated. |
|---|