Teri Zenner Social Worker Safety Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award grants to states to provide safety measures to social workers and other professionals working with violent, drug-using, or other at-risk populations.
Authorizes such grants to be used to provide or support: (1) the procurement and installation of safety equipment, including communications systems to assist agencies in locating staff, and technical assistance and training for safety communications; (2) training exercises for self-defense and crisis management; (3) facility safety improvements; (4) provision of pepper spray for self-defense; (5) training in cultural competency and on strategies for de-escalating a situation that could turn volatile; (6) training to help workers who work with mentally ill communities and who need help coping; and (7) educational resources and materials to train staff on safety and awareness measures.
Directs the Secretary to establish guidelines for assuring the cost-effectiveness and quality of the safety measures funded.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 1490 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1490
To establish a grant program to assist in the provision of safety
measures to protect social workers and other professionals who work
with at-risk populations.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 12, 2009
Mr. Moore of Kansas (for himself, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Corrine Brown of
Florida, Mr. Holt, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Chandler, Ms. Baldwin, Mr.
Olver, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Hinchey, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. Schwartz,
Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Mr.
Meeks of New York, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Payne,
and Mr. Carnahan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a grant program to assist in the provision of safety
measures to protect social workers and other professionals who work
with at-risk populations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Teri Zenner Social Worker Safety
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, some 2 million American workers are victims of
job-related violence each year.
(2) On August 17, 2004, Teri Zenner, a social worker and
case manager with Johnson County Mental Health Center, was
stabbed and killed during a routine, in-home visit with a
client.
(3) Based on OSHA's most recently published ``Guidelines
for Preventing Workplace Violence for Health Care & Social
Service Workers'', 48 percent of all non-fatal injuries from
occupational assaults and violent acts occurred in the fields
of health care and social services.
(4) A major study by the American Federation of State,
County, and Municipal Employees, found that 70 percent of
front-line child welfare workers had been victims of violence
or threats in the line of duty. A review of the 585 exit
interviews found that 90 percent of former child welfare
workers experienced verbal threats, 30 percent experienced
physical attacks, and 13 percent had been threatened with
weapons.
(5) Based on 2000 Bureau of Labor Statistics findings,
social service workers in the public sector, including social
workers and case workers, are approximately 7 times more likely
to be the victims of violent assaults while at work than are
workers in the private sector.
(6) States such as California, New Jersey, and Washington,
and the National Association of Social Workers, have all
developed various safety programs with safety guidelines for
social workers and case workers to follow while in the course
of their employment.
(7) Social workers and case workers elevate service to
others above self-interest, and draw on their knowledge, values
and skills to help people in need and to address social
problems. Job-related violence against social workers and case
workers affects these hard-working and dedicated individuals,
their families, their clients, and their communities throughout
the United States.
(8) There is a need to increase public awareness and
understanding of job-related violence in the field of social
services and to meet the needs of social workers and case
workers in preventing such violence. Although not every
incident of job-related violence can be prevented, many can,
and the severity of injuries sustained by social workers and
case workers can be reduced.
SEC. 3. SOCIAL WORKER SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Grants Authorized.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
(the ``Secretary''), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, is authorized to award grants to States to
provide safety measures to social workers and other professionals
working with violent, drug-using, or other at-risk populations.
(b) Use of Funds.--Grants awarded pursuant to subsection (a) may be
used to provide or support the following safety measures:
(1) The procurement and installation of safety equipment,
including communications systems, such as GPS tracking devices
and GPS cell telephones to assist agencies in locating staff,
and any technical assistance and training for safety
communications.
(2) Training exercises for self-defense and crisis
management.
(3) Facility safety improvements.
(4) The provision of pepper spray for self-defense.
(5) Training in cultural competency, including linguistic
training, and training on strategies for de-escalating a
situation that could turn volatile.
(6) Training to help workers who work with mentally ill
community or that have behavioral problems and need help
coping.
(7) Educational resources and materials to train staff on
safety and awareness measures.
(8) Other activities determined by the Secretary to be
safety training.
(c) Application.--
(1) In general.--A State seeking a grant under subsection
(a) shall submit an application to the Secretary, at such time,
in such manner, and accompanied by such additional information
as the Secretary may require.
(2) Contents.--Each application submitted pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall--
(A) describe the type of agencies that will be
receiving funding from the grant and type of work done
by such agencies;
(B) describe the specific activities for which
assistance under this section is sought and include a
program budget; and
(C) contain an assurance that the applicant will
evaluate the effectiveness of the safety measure
provided with funds received under the grant.
(d) Priority.--In awarding grants under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall give priority to those applicants that--
(1) demonstrate the greatest need based on documented
incidents; and
(2) seek to provide assistance to multiple agencies.
(e) Quality Assurance and Cost-Effectiveness.--The Secretary shall
establish guidelines for assuring the cost-effectiveness and quality of
the safety measures funded under this section.
(f) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may provide technical
assistance to grant recipients with respect to planning, developing,
and implementing safety measures under the grant.
(g) Report Requirement.--States receiving grants shall file with
the Secretary, not later than 2 years after the receipt of the grant,
information that includes--
(1) an assessment of the activities funded in whole or in
part with such grant;
(2) the range and scope of training opportunities,
including numbers and percentage of social workers engaged in
the training programs funded in whole or in part by such grant;
and
(3) the incidence of threats to social workers, if any, and
the strategies used to address their safety.
(h) Non-Federal Share.--For any State receiving a grant under this
section, the non-Federal share of any program to provide safety
measures shall be 50 percent.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services $5,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 to carry out this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.
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