1.This Act may be cited as the
Strengthen Social Work Workforce Act
of 2011
.
2.
(a)Health
professions schoolsSection 736(g)(1)(A) of the
Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C.
293(g)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting , including a
graduate program in clinical social work or a program in social work
,
after graduate program in behavioral or mental health
.
(b)Section
737(d)(1)(A) of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293a(d)(1)(A))
is amended by inserting (including a graduate program in clinical
psychology, a graduate program in clinical social work, or a program in social
work)
after mental health practice
.
(c)Loan repayments
and fellowships regarding faculty positionsSection 738(a) of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293b(a)) is amended—
(1)in paragraph
(2)—
(A)subparagraph (A),
by inserting social work,
after nursing,
;
and
(B)subparagraph (B),
by inserting social work,
after nursing,
;
and
(2)in paragraph (3),
by inserting , including graduate programs in clinical psychology,
graduate programs in clinical social work, or programs in social work
after offering graduate programs in behavioral and mental
health
.
3.Geriatrics
training projectsSection
753(b) of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 294c(b)) is
amended—
(a)in paragraph (1)—
(1)by inserting schools offering
degrees in social work,
after teaching
hospitals,
;
(2)by inserting
(including social workers)
after behavioral and mental
health professionals
; and
(3)by inserting
(including geriatric social work)
after geriatric
behavioral or mental health
;
(b)in paragraph
(2)—
(1)in subparagraph
(C)—
(A)by inserting
(including social workers)
after mental health
professionals
; and
(B)by inserting
(including social work)
after geriatric behavioral or
mental health
; and
(2)in subparagraph
(D), by striking geriatrics or behavioral or mental health
and
inserting geriatrics, behavioral or mental health, or social
work
; and
(c)in paragraph
(3)(A)(iii)—
(1)by inserting
(including social workers)
after behavioral and mental
health professionals
; and
(2)by inserting
or departments of social work
after departments of
behavioral or mental health
.
4.Social work
training programSubpart 2 of
part E of title VII of the Public Health Service
Act (42
U.S.C. 295 et seq.) is amended—
(1)by redesignating
section 770 as section 770A;
(2)by inserting
after section 769, the following:
770.Social work
training program
(a)The
Secretary may make grants to, or enter into contracts with, any public or
nonprofit private hospital, any school offering a program in social work, or
any public or private nonprofit entity that the Secretary has determined is
capable of carrying out such grant or contract—
(1)to plan, develop,
and operate, or participate in, an approved social work training program
(including an approved residency or internship program) for students, interns,
residents, or practicing physicians;
(2)to provide
financial assistance (in the form of traineeships and fellowships) to students,
interns, residents, practicing physicians, or other individuals, who—
(A)are in need of
such assistance;
(B)are participants
in any such program; and
(C)plan to
specialize or work in the practice of social work;
(3)to plan, develop,
and operate a program for the training of individuals who plan to teach in a
social work training program; and
(4)to provide
financial assistance (in the form of traineeships and fellowships) to
individuals who are participants in any such traineeship or fellowship program
and who plan to teach in a social work training program.
(b)Academic
administrative units
(1)The Secretary may award grants to, or enter into
contracts with, schools offering programs in social work to meet the costs of
projects to establish, maintain, or improve academic administrative units
(which may be departments, divisions, or other units) to provide clinical
instruction in social work.
(2)Preference in
making awardsIn awarding grants and contracts under paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall give preference to any qualified applicant for such an
award that agrees to expend the award for the purpose of—
(A)establishing an
academic administrative unit for a program in social work; or
(B)substantially
expanding the programs of such a unit.
(c)The period during which payments are made to an entity from
an award of a grant or contract under subsection (a) may not exceed 5 years.
The provision of such payments shall be subject to annual approval by the
Secretary and subject to the availability of appropriations for the fiscal year
involved to make the payments.
(d)
(1)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012, 2013, and
2014.
(2)Of
the amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary
shall make available not less than 20 percent for awards of grants and
contracts under subsection (b).
;
and
(3)in section 770A,
as redesignated by paragraph (1), by inserting except for section
770,
after carrying out this subpart,
.
5.Clinical social
worker servicesSection 1302
of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C.
300e–1) is amended—
(1)in paragraphs (1)
and (2), by inserting clinical social worker,
after
psychologist,
each place the term appears;
(2)in paragraph
(4)(A), by striking and psychologists
and inserting
psychologists, and clinical social workers
; and
(3)in paragraph (5),
by inserting clinical social work,
after
psychology,
.