STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1262

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 1773

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 1773, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SOCIAL WORKERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to help ensure the professionalism of social workers by:

(1) Requiring a social worker/human services professional with a social work degree to be called a social worker and all others to be called human services professionals;

(2) Requiring the Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD) to develop a plan for separating the social worker/human services professional class into two separate classes;

(3) Requiring new state social workers and all federal and county social workers to be licensed beginning July 1, 2007;

(4) Prohibiting DHRD from eliminating the social worker class; and

(5) Exempting employees of the Hawaii Paroling Authority from these provisions.

The National Association of Social Workers, Hawaii Government Employees Association, and several concerned individuals supported this bill. The Department of Human Services, DHRD, Department of Public Safety, Department of Health, and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation testified in opposition to this bill. The Judiciary and Hawaii Paroling Authority provided comments.

Your Committee finds that it is important to continue to reserve the title and requirements of the social worker classification to uphold the quality of care given to persons in need of their services. Although many executive departments are in dire need of social workers and reclassification has been able to help them with this dilemma, your Committee finds that use of the title "social worker" by an individual not specifically trained in the social work profession is misleading and may result in decreased public safety.

However, your Committee understands the concerns raised by the Judiciary that this measure may have the unintended consequence of limiting its ability to recruit individuals who are not necessarily social workers but who meet the minimum qualifications for a social worker position and may curtail its ability to re-describe a social worker position into another class of work if the need arises. Your Committee notes that it is not the intent of this legislation to adversely affect the Judiciary and will work with the Committee on Finance to look at adding an exemption for the Judiciary to the bill.

In addition, your Committee has amended this measure by deleting its substantive contents and replacing it with the substance of H.B. No. 1146, H.D. 1. As amended, this bill ensures the professionalism of social workers by:

(1) Prohibiting DHRD from eliminating or replacing the social worker class that existed on July 1, 2004;

(2) Restoring the social worker class if it is eliminated or replaced before the effective date of this bill;

(3) Requiring that, following the restoration of the social worker class should that class be eliminated, all social workers admitted to this restored class hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in social work;

(4) Requiring that all individuals who meet the qualifications for the restored social worker class who either:

(a) Transferred from the eliminated social worker class; or

(b) Were employed following July 15, 2004, in a class that replaced the eliminated social worker class;

be transferred back to the restored social worker class; and

(5) Directing DHRD to create a new class for those employees who do not meet the qualifications for the restored social worker class and transferring these employees into that new class.

Your Committee has also amended this bill by:

(1) Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1773, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1773, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment,

 

____________________________

KIRK CALDWELL, Chair