[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 27, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NATIONAL CENTER FOR SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH ACT

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                         HON. CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 27, 2002

  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the hard work 
and dedication of social workers across the nation. This Friday, March 
1st, marks the start of the National Professional Social Work Month. I 
encourage Members to take this opportunity to reach out to social 
workers in their local communities.
  Social workers are an integral part of the safety net fabric woven to 
support the most vulnerable in our community--children, senior 
citizens, victims of violence. Every day, social workers are on the 
front lines coordinating services and ensuring individuals have their 
basic needs of food, shelter, and health care met. On the local level, 
they can be found in elementary schools, nursing homes, children's and 
veteran's hospitals, and a variety of service agencies. On the national 
level, they advocate for better social welfare policy through 
organizations like the National Association of Social Workers.
  Through their work, social workers promote healthier and stronger 
communities, and their experience puts them in a unique position to 
provide valuable research information on how to address societal 
challenges. However, the bulk of research addressing these complex 
social issues has produced clinical and empirical data that is 
difficult to translate into effective policy solutions. The Social Work 
Research Center would provide a venue for this research to be 
coordinated and disseminated to Congress and the public.
  While the Federal Government provides funding for various social work 
research activities through the National Institutes of Health and other 
Federal agencies, it is difficult to coordinate or consolidate these 
critical activities. Furthermore, for the data we do have, there has 
been neither an overall assessment of need nor the opportunity to 
translate the data into effective policy recommendations. For this 
reason, I strongly believe in the creation of a National Center for 
Social Work Research within the National Institutes of Health. This 
proposal has received wide-spread support from the community and 
bipartisan support in Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, the establishment of a National Center for Social Work 
Research would result in improved behavioral and mental health care 
policy proposals for our nation's children, families, and elderly.
  I urge my colleagues to support the establishment of this Center and 
cosponsor the National Center for Social Work Research Act.

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