PSWI (HB 35/SB 226)
Update - March 2008
NASW-FL volunteers,
Legislative Committee members, staff, and lobbyists have continued
to actively pursue the passage of the PSWI bill (HB 35 / SB
226) in the 2008 session. PSWI would make it a misdemeanor offense
to use the title “social worker” unless the person
has a BSW, MSW, or Ph.D. in social work.
Thanks go out to the 75 NASW-FL members who signed up as legislative
sponsors for the 2008 session. Many of those sponsors have already
met with their legislators to promote their support and/or co-sponsorship
of the bill.
At the Reinvestment Day in January, we had 6 legislators or
their representatives attend the NASW-FL Legislative Summit
and interact with the social workers in attendance—we
thank all who participated in that event. In addition, several
NASW-FL Units, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Gainesville,
have held events that either invited legislators or trained
social workers to advocate for PSWI.
In February, we asked members to call in to a radio talk show,
Florida On The Line, held on Florida Public Radio, where the
Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Marco Rubio,
was accepting calls from listeners. Ann Johnson, an Army Social
Work Officer from Jacksonville, was able to dial in and ask
about PSWI. You can listen to or download this program in the
archives at www.floridaontheline.org.
We currently have a record number of co-sponsors on HB 35. Originally
sponsored by Rep. Curtis Richardson, it is now has 10 co-sponsors:
Rep. Boyd, Rep. Brandenburg, Rep. Bucher, Rep. Carroll, Rep.
Cusack, Rep. Jenne, Rep. Porth, Rep. Randolph, Rep. Skidmore,
and Rep. Vana.
Our next step will be to appear before the House Committee on
Health Quality and the Senate Committee on Children, Families,
and Elder Affairs. As votes our scheduled, we will be asking
members to contact their representative or senator as needed.
Watch your e-mail boxes for your request… or write to
johanna@naswfl.org to
sign up for NASW-FL’s legislative network.
2008 NASW-FL
Advocacy Agenda
This advocacy agenda will be distributed to all of the
40 Florida Senators and the 120 members of the Florida House
of Representatives.
The Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers
(NASW-FL) is part of the world’s largest organization
of professional social workers, and represents almost 6000 professional
social workers in Florida. NASW is a membership organization
that promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social
work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the effective
functioning and well-being of individuals, families, and communities
through its work and through its advocacy.
The NASW-FL Board of Directors has outlined the following areas
as legislative and advocacy issues for 2008.
I. Professional Social Worker Identification
• Support the rights of Florida consumers to identify
their service providers’ education and training by limiting
the use of the title “social worker” to those with
a degree in social work.
II. Mental Health
• Support legislation (such as HB 19 / SB 164) that promotes
mental health equity and reduces the stigma of mental illness.
• Support fair and marketable reimbursement rates for
social workers.
• Support the right of the mentally ill who are homeless
or in prison to have treatment rather than punishment.
• Support legislation that would help families with autistic
children receive care.
III. Family and Child Welfare
• Support legislation that would reduce bullying in schools.
• Oppose cuts in foster care program funding.
• Support legislation that would reduce barriers to adoption
and expand the pool of available homes for foster children.
• Support additional funding for loan forgiveness for
social workers in child welfare.
• Support legislation to protect elders and disabled persons
from abuse and neglect.
IV. Health Care
• Support accessible and affordable health care for all
Florida citizens.
• Support full funding for the KidCare program.
• Oppose any state budget cuts to KidCare or medically
needy programs in Florida.
V. Diversity
• Support the creation of fair immigration laws that protect
both Florida citizens and immigrants.
• Support legislation that would reduce human trafficking
in Florida.
• Support legislation that would reduce discrimination
based on any cultural, racial, ethnic, physical, religious,
or sexual difference.
• Oppose any legislation that would seek to promote or
maintain discrimination.
PSWI Legislation (HB 35/SB
226)
What is Professional Social Worker Identification (PSWI)?
Professional Social Worker Identification would require that
an individual could not call himself or herself a social worker
without having received an appropriate social work degree.
How would PSWI work?
The PSWI bill, if enacted, would first define the term “social
worker” in statute to refer to a person with a bachelor’s,
master’s, or doctoral degree in social work. It would
then make it a misdemeanor of the first degree for a person
to hold themselves out to the public if they did not meet that
definition.
The bill would not require agencies to hire social workers,
but agencies would need to ensure their job titles reflect the
education and the training of their employees.
Why is PSWI necessary?
Many individuals in Florida have been and continue to be recipients
of care by “social workers” who, in fact, do not
possess degrees in social work.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, close to 845,000 people nationwide
identify as social workers, but 245,000 of them do not hold
social work degrees or licenses. This means that proportionally,
nearly 30% of social work positions are held by “social
workers” that do not possess social work degrees.
How does PSWI impact the Florida social worker?
The lack of protection of the title of social worker impacts
every Florida social worker, regardless of their educational
level, practice area, background, or license. The public perception
of the social work profession is tied to the experience of the
consumers. When non-social workers are permitted to freely use
the title of social worker, the profession as a whole suffers
due to the decreased ability to define “social work”
to the community. In addition, our ability to recruit or relate
to clients may be hampered as we deal with persons who may have
had negative experiences with “social workers” who
were inappropriately using the title, or the report of such
happenings in the media.
How does PSWI impact our clients and other consumers?
Consumers of social work services should be given the tools
needed to distinguish between service providers and therefore
make informed decisions regarding their treatment. General declassification
of the term “social worker” provides a disadvantage
in making those decisions. Consumers are unable to determine
any information regarding the educational background and professional
training of the people they are trusting with sensitive personal
information and asking for solutions to life’s problems.
It is unreasonable to expect a consumer to ask for this information—it
should be provided freely. The title of the bill says it all—this
bill would assist in identifying the professional social workers
in our state to the consumer.
Why should social workers get involved with PSWI?
Social workers are the ones with the knowledge of how the lack
of professional social worker identification is currently hurting
consumers, which is asked often by legislators considering this
bill.
Social workers are familiar with the knowledge, skills, training,
experience, and ethics that a social work education provides.
We know the value of a professional social worker, and the unique
skills that a social worker provides. We must be able to explain
that value to the legislature.
Social workers are very good at standing up for others, but
poor at standing up for themselves. It is time that social workers
stand up for the profession. If we do not do it, no one else
will.
Do your part, and sponsor a legislator. Complete
this form and fax it to 850-561-6279.
Page
last updated on
Friday, March 21, 2008
