The Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act was introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate earlier this year. CSWE signed on as a supporter of this legislation in the spring. The bill would establish a Social Work Reinvestment Commission to provide independent counsel to Congress on policy issues associated with the recruitment, retention, research, and reinvestment in the profession of social work. The Commission, which among its members would include two deans of schools of social work, would be tasked with issuing a report to include findings on issues facing the profession, including debt load, fair market compensation, workforce trends, and social worker safety.
The bill would also authorize a number of grant programs which would be used “to support demonstration programs and other activities related to research, workplace improvements, education, training, and programs of excellence.” Among the grant programs would be a program for education and training grants. The bill would authorize 20 grants to institutions of higher education “to support recruitment and education of social work students at the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels as well as the development of faculty.” Under the bill, each grant would be funded at $75,000 to $100,000 each year for 4 years.
Lastly, the bill would establish a national coordinating center for the purpose of interacting with universities, research entities, and social work practice settings “to identify key research areas to be pursued, select research fellows and organize appropriate mentorship and professional development efforts.”
For more information on the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act, please visit http://www.socialworkreinvestment.org.
See the attached file for addtional information.