1.This Act may be cited as the
Teri Zenner Social Worker Safety
Act
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)According to the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, some 2 million American workers
are victims of job-related violence each year.
(2)On August 17, 2004, Teri Zenner, a social
worker and case manager with Johnson County Mental Health Center, was stabbed
and killed during a routine, in-home visit with a client.
(3)Based on OSHA’s
most recently published Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for
Health Care & Social Service Workers
, 48 percent of all non-fatal
injuries from occupational assaults and violent acts occurred in the fields of
health care and social services.
(4)A major study by the American Federation of
State, County, and Municipal Employees, found that 70 percent of front-line
child welfare workers had been victims of violence or threats in the line of
duty. A review of the 585 exit interviews found that 90 percent of former child
welfare workers experienced verbal threats, 30 percent experienced physical
attacks, and 13 percent had been threatened with weapons.
(5)Based on 2000
Bureau of Labor Statistics findings, social service workers in the public
sector, including social workers and case workers, are approximately 7 times
more likely to be the victims of violent assaults while at work than are
workers in the private sector.
(6)States such as
California, New Jersey, and Washington, and the National Association of Social
Workers, have all developed various safety programs with safety guidelines for
social workers and case workers to follow while in the course of their
employment.
(7)Social workers and
case workers elevate service to others above self-interest, and draw on their
knowledge, values and skills to help people in need and to address social
problems. Job-related violence against social workers and case workers affects
these hard-working and dedicated individuals, their families, their clients,
and their communities throughout the United States.
(8)There is a need to
increase public awareness and understanding of job-related violence in the
field of social services and to meet the needs of social workers and case
workers in preventing such violence. Although not every incident of job-related
violence can be prevented, many can, and the severity of injuries sustained by
social workers and case workers can be reduced.
3.Social worker
safety grant program
(a)The Secretary of Health and Human Services (the
Secretary
), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, is authorized to award grants to States to provide
safety measures to social workers and other professionals working with violent,
drug-using, or other at-risk populations.
(b)Grants awarded pursuant to subsection (a) may be used to
provide or support the following safety measures:
(1)The procurement and installation of safety
equipment, including communications systems, such as GPS tracking devices and
GPS cell telephones to assist agencies in locating staff, and any technical
assistance and training for safety communications.
(2)Training exercises
for self-defense and crisis management.
(3)Facility safety
improvements.
(4)The provision of
pepper spray for self-defense.
(5)Training in
cultural competency, including linguistic training, and training on strategies
for de-escalating a situation that could turn volatile.
(6)Training to help
workers who work with mentally ill community or that have behavioral problems
and need help coping.
(7)Educational resources and materials to
train staff on safety and awareness measures.
(8)Other activities
determined by the Secretary to be safety training.
(c)
(1)A State seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall submit
an application to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and accompanied
by such additional information as the Secretary may require.
(2)Each
application submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall—
(A)describe the type of agencies that will be
receiving funding from the grant and type of work done by such agencies;
(B)describe the
specific activities for which assistance under this section is sought and
include a program budget; and
(C)contain an
assurance that the applicant will evaluate the effectiveness of the safety
measure provided with funds received under the grant.
(d)In
awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to
those applicants that—
(1)demonstrate the
greatest need based on documented incidents; and
(2)seek to provide
assistance to multiple agencies.
(e)Quality
assurance and cost-effectivenessThe Secretary shall establish
guidelines for assuring the cost-effectiveness and quality of the safety
measures funded under this section.
(f)The Secretary may provide technical assistance to
grant recipients with respect to planning, developing, and implementing safety
measures under the grant.
(g)States receiving
grants shall file with the Secretary, not later than 2 years after the receipt
of the grant, information that includes—
(1)an assessment of
the activities funded in whole or in part with such grant;
(2)the range and
scope of training opportunities, including numbers and percentage of social
workers engaged in the training programs funded in whole or in part by such
grant; and
(3)the incidence of
threats to social workers, if any, and the strategies used to address their
safety.
(h)For any State receiving
a grant under this section, the non-Federal share of any program to provide
safety measures shall be 50 percent.
(i)Authorization of
AppropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary of Health and Human Services $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010
through 2014 to carry out this Act.