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Legislature
Passes BH 109!
On Monday, April 27th,
both chambers of the Florida Legislature voted unanimously
in favor of HB 109, a bill originated by NASW-FL.
HB 109 will add language to the Florida Statutes that will
serve to protect clinical social workers, marriage and family
therapists, and mental health counselors in situations where
the client is a potential threat to other individuals.
Currently in Florida, if a social worker or other psychotherapist
feels that a client presents a threat, the social worker
has the option of warning the potential victim and/or law
enforcement. However, if they choose to take that option,
they put themselves at risk for being sued.
The new language will limit liability in these cases. As
a result, social workers and other psychotherapists will
be able to make their decisions based on their own clinical
judgment and the best interest of the client, rather than
having to consider the impact on their own practice.
This bill passed through five committees in the Florida
House with Representative Leonard Bembry (D-10) along with
nine co-sponsors, and two committees in the Florida Senate
with Senator Carey Baker (R-20). Now that it has successfully
passed the House and Senate floors, the next stop will be
to the desk of Governor Crist.
Thank you to all the NASW-FL members who advocated on behalf
of HB 109! To do more, contact Governor Crist’s office
at (850) 488-7146 and ask him to sign the bill.
Please
visit our Legislative page for additional updates.
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The National Social Work Public Education
Campaign has created tools for social
workers to use to educate people about the
breadth and depth of the profession. We have
created advertising, public relations, and
marketing materials that tell people about
the profession. Now, we have a 5-minute video
that will show people that, on any given day,
social workers help in so many ways.
Goals of Video:
- Educate the public
about what social workers do;
- Demonstrate the
depth and breadth of the profession;
- Provide another
tool for social workers to reach out to
the public.
Where
can I see On Any Given Day?
... On PBS. NASW has secured
sponsorship placement on public broadcasting
stations across the country through Spotlight
On programming.
... On the Internet. On
Any Given Day is on www.SocialWorkers.org
and on www.HelpStartsHere.org,
as well as popular video Web sites such as
www.YouTube.com.
On Any Given Day is an excellent
tool to educate people about the breadth and
depth of the social work profession. If you
are willing to show the DVD at your agency
or in your community during March, the NASW-FL
Chapter Office will provide you a copy at
no cost. Please contact the Chapter Office
to request your copy at 1-800-352-6279 or
naswfl@naswfl.org.
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Page
last updated on
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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2009
Florida
Social Work Conference
Click here for Conference information!
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