Exciting Investments in the Social Work Workforce!

Exciting Investments in the Social Work Workforce! Your Action Needed!

Next Steps for Paid School Social Work Internships

UPDATE: The Senate Committee on Health Policy passed SB 1012. The House Committee on Health Policy will vote on HB 6020 on Thursday, May 19 at 10:30 am.

On April 5th, SB 1012 was introduced in the Senate Health Policy committee, which will provide payment for graduate-level school social work, psychology, and counseling students during their field placements. It will cover up to $25 per hour for up to 20 hours per week for a school year (30 weeks) or a lump sum of up to $15,000 per school year.  The committee hearing went very well, with NASW-Michigan, MASSW,  MASP, and MSCA present, and all members of the committee showing initial support of the bill. 

This Thursday, the committee will vote at 1 pm to bring it to the full Senate. Watch the session live at https://cloud.castus.tv/vod/misenate?page=HOME. We anticipate SB 1012 will be voted out of committee with large bi-partisan support. 

Also on Thursday, the House Health Policy committee will introduce the counterpart (HB 6020) and will hear testimony at 10:30am.  Watch the committee live at https://www.house.mi.gov/Calendar.

Action:

1. If any school of social work, individual, or social work organization would like to have written testimony submitted, please email your content to Melina Brann (mbrann.naswmi@socialworkers.org) by Thursday at 9am.

2. If you would like to put in a support tickets, please email the: Senate Health Policy and Human Services Committee clerk at ofcscc@senate.michigan.gov (for SB 1012) House Health Policy Committee clerk at msweet@house.mi.gov (for HB 6020)

HUGE Social Work Asks in the 2022 Budget. Write Your Legislators!

Social workers are the heart and soul of the behavioral health workforce. They provide prevention, intervention, and treatment services across mental health and substance use disorder programs throughout the state. Social workers are the primary profession in behavioral health with over 29,000+ licensed social workers in the state, and are the only mental health profession to have at least one licensed individual in every county in the state. However, a shortage that was apparent pre-pandemic has grown critical, forcing many organizations to limit or end services. As the demand for behavioral health services reaches a pinnacle in our endemic society, there is a need to accelerate the number of social workers ready to enter into service and to support those already doing this critical work.  

To do this, NASW-Michigan, along with several community partners (including Wayne State University School of Social Work and the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan) have proposed a multi-tier approach to support and rapidly increase the number of social workers across the state over the next three years. We are working with our legislative partners and the Governor's office to move these proposals through the budget process.

Our primary asks this budget cycle are:

To read our full proposal, click here.

We are thrilled that Rep. Felicia Brabec has requested that several of these priorities be added to the FY22-23 budget. 

The following are the highlights of her budget asks (click here to read her full asks);

• $3,000,000 for sign on bonuses. This ask (Section 1996)  would provide $3,000 per existing licensed social worker who chooses to enter the public sector behavioral workforce
• $30,000,000 for paid internships in behavioral health settings. This ask (Section 1997) would provide $30,000 grants for at least 1,000 individuals (approximately 333 students for 3 years) who are in accelerated/advanced standing master’s of social work programs
• $25,000,000 to expand student loan repayment. This ask (Section 1998) expands the Michigan Essential Health Provider Repayment Program to include loan repayment assistance to eligible behavioral health providers who work in federally designated health professional shortage areas.
• $5,000,000 over 3 years to support social work education and training. This ask (Section 1999) provides funds for evidenced-based social work programming; including: expanding practitioner education, integrated substance use disorder, clinical social work supervision, geriatric workforce, implicit bias, and human trafficking
• $5,000,000 to increase rural services. This ask (Section 2000) would provide funding for research and implementation of a psychiatry residency training program and to identify and assess efforts to increase access to the number of social workers delivering services and supports in rural and underserved communities.

Now we need your help! We want you to be a part of  the legislative process 

While budget negotiations are happening, it is critical for lawmakers to hear from their constituents on what they need. That’s where you come in - reach out to your representative and make sure Representative Brabec’s  language is added into the budget.

Click here to find your legislator’s contact information. 

• Senate - https://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html
• House - https://www.house.mi.gov/

Some language you may use:

“As a social worker and constituent in your district, I ask that you support budget amendments (Sections 1996 - 2000) that would increase and enhance the behavioral health workforce in Michigan. These crucial investments would bring hundreds of new professionals into communities across Michigan over the next three years through investing in students, training, and research.” 

Other Budget Updates

This is the first of many procedures in the budget process, so be on the lookout for more information on budget related updates such as jail diversions funds, school funding, and other issues impacting social work. NASW-Michigan is working with our coalition partners on a sign-on letter that should be out to the social work public within the next two weeks.