Amendment #173 to H4000

DCF Licensing Requirments

Representatives Jones of North Reading, Peterson of Grafton, Hill of Ipswich, Poirier of North Attleborough and deMacedo of Plymouth moves to amend the bill, by striking out Section 15 in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following new section:-

“SECTION 15. Section 7 of chapter 18B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (n) the following subsection:-

(o) The commissioner shall require all social workers employed by the department to obtain a license as a certified social worker, pursuant to section 131 of chapter 112, within the first 6 months of employment. The commissioner shall also require all social workers employed by the department as of April 1, 2014 to obtain a license as a certified social worker, pursuant to section 131 of chapter 112, by January 1, 2015. The commissioner shall require social workers employed by the department to participate in no less than 30 hours per year of paid professional development training; provided, that such training is consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements.”

; and further, by inserting the following new sections:-

“SECTION XX. Section 12 of chapter 18B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the sentences in lines 35 to 37, inclusive, and  inserting in place thereof the following sentences:-

A social worker shall have a bachelor’s degree at the time of appointment. A supervisory social worker shall have a master’s degree in social work or a related field and be a licensed certified social worker or a licensed independent clinical social worker at the time of appointment.

SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, the commissioner of the department of children and families shall ensure that all employees of the department are properly licensed according to section 15 of this act. The commissioner shall issue a report on the salaries and educational background of all social workers and supervisors employed by the department and provide a cost estimate of requiring that at least 50 percent of social workers employed by the department be licensed independent clinical social workers or licensed certified social workers.”