[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3006 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3006

 To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
  support the placement of students and licensed professional social 
          workers in public libraries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 28, 2023

   Ms. Garcia of Texas (for herself, Ms. Lee of California, and Ms. 
  Scholten) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
  support the placement of students and licensed professional social 
          workers in public libraries, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. GRANTS FOR PLACEMENT OF STUDENTS AND SOCIAL WORKERS IN 
              PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

    (a) In General.--Beginning not later than one year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education (referred to in 
this section as the ``Secretary'') shall carry out a program under 
which the Secretary makes grants, on a competitive basis, to 
institutions of higher education to support the placement of students 
and licensed professional social workers in public libraries.
    (b) Application.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, an institution of higher education shall submit 
        to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 
        and containing such information as the Secretary may require. 
        As part of such application the institution shall demonstrate 
        that--
                    (A) it has established a partnership with each 
                library in which a social worker or intern is expected 
                to be placed pursuant to subsection (d);
                    (B) it has developed a thorough plan, in 
                coordination with each such library, to support such 
                social workers and interns; and
                    (C) each library in which a social worker or intern 
                is expected to be placed pursuant to subsection (d) is 
                in a community with a demonstrated need for social work 
                support and services.
            (2) Considerations.--In selecting institutions of higher 
        education to receive grants under this section, the Secretary 
        shall give special consideration to institutions that will use 
        the grant to serve communities that are under resourced or have 
        a high level of need for social workers.
    (c) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate with the 
Institute of Museum and Library Services to develop and review grant 
applications under this section, which shall include the solicitation 
of feedback from relevant stakeholders in the development of such 
materials.
    (d) Use of Funds.--An institution of higher education that receives 
a grant under this section shall use the grant--
            (1)(A) to employ one or more licensed professional social 
        workers whom the institution shall seek to place on a full-time 
        basis in public libraries in the geographic region surrounding 
        the institution; or
            (B) to arrange placements of one or more licensed 
        professional social workers who are employed by other entities, 
        whom the institution shall seek to place on a full-time basis 
        in public libraries in the geographic region surrounding the 
        institution; and
            (2) to arrange and fully fund internships and field 
        placements at such libraries for students of the institution 
        who are majoring in social work, including students pursuing a 
        bachelor's or master's degree in social work.
    (e) Additional Requirements.--
            (1) Duties of institutions.--An institution of higher 
        education that receives a grant under this section shall--
                    (A) be responsible for the payment and employment-
                related administration of the social workers placed at 
                public libraries pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(A) and 
                the interns placed at such libraries pursuant to 
                subsection (d)(2);
                    (B) pay a wage of not less than $15 per hour to 
                each intern serving in a public library pursuant to 
                subsection (d)(2);
                    (C) ensure that each such intern--
                            (i) is supervised by a licensed 
                        professional social worker (who may be a social 
                        worker employed by the institution or a social 
                        worker otherwise employed at the public library 
                        at which the intern serves); and
                            (ii) practices within the scope and 
                        limitations of a social work intern role as set 
                        forth by the accreditation standards of the 
                        Council on Social Work Education; and
                    (D) enter into and maintain a partnership with each 
                library at which social workers and interns are placed 
                by the institution to ensure that such social workers 
                and interns are--
                            (i) continuously supported by the library 
                        and the institution; and
                            (ii) able to carry out their duties 
                        effectively.
            (2) Duties of social workers.--
                    (A) In general.--The duties of a social worker 
                placed at the public library pursuant to subsection 
                (d)(1) shall be to provide services and support to the 
                library and library patrons to boost the library's 
                capacity to address the holistic needs of patrons, 
                including--
                            (i) information or referrals on health, 
                        mental health, nutrition, financial well-being 
                        and economic mobility, and other social 
                        services for which the patron may be eligible;
                            (ii) direct assistance in applying for and 
                        accessing such services;
                            (iii) conducting library staff training on 
                        relevant topics within the social workers' and 
                        social work interns' competence and scope of 
                        practice; and
                            (iv) other duties as may be determined by 
                        local conditions, the institution, and the 
                        participating library.
                    (B) Code of ethics.--A licensed professional social 
                worker or intern placed at the library pursuant to 
                subsection (d) shall be required to adhere to the 
                social work profession's code of ethics as set forth by 
                the National Association for Social Workers.
                    (C) Limitations.--A licensed professional social 
                worker or intern placed at a library pursuant to 
                subsection (d)--
                            (i) shall not be required to report an 
                        alien who is not in lawful immigration status 
                        to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and 
                        may provide such alien with appropriate 
                        professional services; and
                            (ii) shall not be required to provide 
                        direct healthcare and mental health services to 
                        library patrons, such as the administration of 
                        diagnostic medical tests.
            (3) Duties of libraries.--A library that enters into a 
        partnership with an institution of higher education as 
        described in paragraph (1)(D)--
                    (A) shall--
                            (i) provide social workers and interns 
                        placed at the library with general support, 
                        including access to resources (such as office 
                        space, technology, and staff time) to ensure 
                        such social workers and interns are able to 
                        effectively carry out their responsibilities;
                            (ii) provide input regarding the services 
                        and programming offered by such social workers 
                        and interns; and
                            (iii) adhere to the American Library 
                        Association's code of ethics; and
                    (B) may designate members of the library staff to 
                serve as a preceptor or library task supervisor for 
                such interns.
            (4) Supplementary grants.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, an institution of higher education that 
        receives a grant under this section may apply--
                    (A) to the Secretary for a supplementary grant 
                which, if received by such institution, shall be used 
                in accordance with the requirements of this section; or
                    (B) to the Secretary for additional funds to 
                support the maintenance of a program or department 
                established though the program under this section.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary Education, in coordination with the 
Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and through 
the solicitation of feedback from relevant stakeholders, shall 
establish an evaluation, documentation, dissemination, and technical 
assistance resource center to provide appropriate information, 
training, and technical assistance to States, political subdivisions of 
States, federally recognized Indian Tribes, tribal organizations, 
institutions of higher education, State and local educational agencies, 
and individual students and educators with respect to--
            (1) hiring and retaining social workers in libraries; and
            (2) carrying out programs to facilitate the placement of 
        social workers in libraries on a temporary or permanent basis.
    (b) Responsibilities of the Center.--The center established under 
subsection (a) shall conduct activities for the purpose of--
            (1) developing and continuing statewide or tribal 
        strategies for improving the effectiveness of the social work 
        and library workforce;
            (2) studying the costs and effectiveness of library social 
        work programs at institutions of higher education to identify 
        areas of improvement and provide information on relevant issues 
        of importance to State, Tribal, and national policymakers;
            (3) working with Federal agencies and other State, Tribal, 
        and national stakeholders to collect, evaluate, and disseminate 
        data regarding social work ratios, outcomes and best practices 
        of services provided, and the impact of expanding the number of 
        social workers within libraries; and
            (4) establishing partnerships among National, State, 
        Tribal, and local governments, and local educational agencies, 
        institutions of higher education, libraries, nonprofit 
        organizations, and State and national trade associations for 
        the purposes of--
                    (A) data collection and dissemination;
                    (B) establishing a library social work workforce 
                development program;
                    (C) documenting the success of library social work 
                methods on a national level; and
                    (D) conducting other activities as determined 
                appropriate by the Secretary of Education.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 202 of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 
        U.S.C. 9101).
            (2) The term ``institution of higher education'' means an 
        institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of 
        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) acting 
        through a school of social work within the institution that is 
        accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
            (3) The term ``library'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 213 of the Library Services and Technology Act (20 
        U.S.C. 9122).
            (4) The term ``licensed professional social worker'' means 
        a social worker who has a master's or doctoral degree in social 
        work.
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