S 41
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 41
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment
of a National Office for Social Work Research.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011
Mr. INOUYE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment
of a National Office for Social Work Research.
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 `National Office for Social Work Research
Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Social workers help people overcome some of life's most difficult
challenges: poverty, discrimination, abuse, addiction, physical illness,
divorce, loss, unemployment, educational problems, disability, and
mental illness. They help prevent crises and counsel individuals,
families, and communities to cope more effectively with the stresses
of everyday life. Professional social workers are found in every facet
of community life--in schools, hospitals, mental health clinics, senior
centers, elected office, private practices, prisons, the military,
corporations, and in numerous public and private agencies that serve
individuals and families in need.
(2) Social workers focus on the improvement of individual and family
functioning and the creation of effective health and mental health
prevention and treatment interventions in order for individuals to
become more productive members of society.
(3) Social workers provide front line prevention and treatment services
in the areas of school violence, aging, teen pregnancy, child abuse,
domestic violence, juvenile crime, and substance abuse, particularly
in rural and underserved communities.
(4) Social workers are in a unique position to provide valuable research
information on these complex social concerns, taking into account
a wide range of social, medical, economic, and community influences
from an interdisciplinary, family-centered and community-based approach.
(5) Social work research as it relates to the health of individuals
sheds light on the behavioral and social determinants of wellness
and disease and helps to develop effective interventions for improving
health outcomes.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL OFFICE OF SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH.
Part A of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`SEC. 404I. NATIONAL OFFICE OF SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH.
`(a) Establishment- There is established within the Office of the Director
of NIH an office to be known as the Office of Social Work Research (in
this section referred to as the `Office'), which shall be headed by
a Director (in this section referred to as the `Director') to be appointed
by the Director of NIH.
`(b) Purpose of Office- The general purpose of the Office is the conduct
and support of, and dissemination of, targeted research concerning social
work methods and outcomes related to problems of significant social
concern. The Office shall--
`(1) promote research and training that is designed to inform social
work practices, and otherwise increase the knowledge base which promotes
a healthier America; and
`(2) provide policymakers with empirically based research information
to enable such policymakers to better understand complex social issues
and make informed funding decisions about service effectiveness and
cost efficiency.
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Director of the Office shall carry out the following:
`(A) Recommend an agenda for conducting and supporting social work
research through the national research institutes and centers. The
agenda shall provide for a broad range of research, training and
education activities, including scientific workshops and symposia
to identify social work research opportunities.
`(B) With respect to social work, promote coordination and cooperation
among the national research institutes and centers and entities
whose research is supported by such institutes.
`(C) If determined appropriate, and in collaboration with the directors
of the other relevant institutes and centers of the National Institutes
of Health, enter into cooperative agreements with and make grants
for centers of excellence on social work in accordance with section
404G.
`(D) Promote the sufficient allocation of the resources of the National
Institutes of Health for conducting and supporting social work research.
`(E) Promote and encourage the establishment of a centralized clearinghouse
for social work research that will provide understandable information
about this research to the public, social service professionals,
medical professionals, patients and families.
`(F) Biennially prepare a report that describes the social work
research and education activities being conducted or supported through
the national research institutes and centers, and that identifies
particular projects or types of projects that should in the future
be conducted or supported by the national research institutes and
centers or other entities in the field of social work research.
`(G) Prepare the annual report of the Director of NIH to Congress
concerning social work research conducted by or supported through
the national research institutes and centers.
`(2) PRINCIPAL ADVISOR REGARDING SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH- With respect
to social work research, the Director shall serve as the principal
advisor to the Director of NIH and shall provide advice to other relevant
agencies. The Director shall provide liaison with national and international
patient, health and behavioral health and social service organizations
concerned with social work research.
`(d) Definitions- For purposes of this section, the term `social work
research' means the study of preventive interventions, treatment of
acute psychosocial problems, care and rehabilitation of individuals
with severe, chronic difficulties, community development interventions,
organizational administration, and the effects of social policy actions
on the practice of social work (TFSWR, 1991, p.1). Social work research
may cover the entire lifespan, and may be focused at clinical and services
and policy issues, focusing on individual, family, group, community
or organizational levels of intervention and analysis.
`(e) Authorization of Appropriations- For the purpose of carrying out
this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may
have been appropriated for fiscal year 2011 for such purpose, and $4,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015.'.
SEC. 4. SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.
Title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281 et seq.), as
amended by section 3, is further amended by inserting after section
404I the following:
`SEC. 404J. SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.
`(a) Cooperative Agreements and Grants-
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Director of the Office of Social Work Research
(in this section referred to as the `Director'), in collaboration
with the directors of the other relevant institutes and centers of
the National Institutes of Health, may enter into cooperative agreements
with, and make grants to, public or private nonprofit entities to
pay all or part of the cost of planning, establishing, or strengthening,
and providing basic operating support for, centers of excellence for
clinical and psychosocial research, training in, and demonstration
of social work research.
`(2) POLICIES- A cooperative agreement or grant under paragraph (1)
shall be entered into in accordance with policies established by the
Director of NIH.
`(b) Coordination With Other Institutes- The Director shall coordinate
the activities under this section with similar activities conducted
by other national research institutes, centers and agencies of the National
Institutes of Health, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department
of Defense, the Administration for Children and Families, the Department
of Justice, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, to the extent that such institutes, centers and agencies
have responsibilities that are related to social work research.
`(c) Uses for Federal Payments Under Cooperative Agreements or Grants-
Federal payments made under a cooperative agreement or grant under subsection
(a) may be used for--
`(1) staffing, administrative, and other basic operating costs, including
such patient care costs as are required for research;
`(2) interdisciplinary training for health and social service professionals
on research and the use of evidence, with respect to social work research;
and
`(3) social work research and demonstration programs.
`(d) Period of Support; Additional Periods- Support of a center under
subsection (a) may be for a period of not to exceed 5 years. Such period
may be extended by the Director for additional periods of not to exceed
5 years if the operations of such center have been reviewed by an appropriate
technical and scientific peer review group established by the Director
and if such group has recommended to the Director that such period should
be extended.
`(e) Authorization of Appropriations- For the purpose of carrying out
this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may
have been appropriated for fiscal year 2011 for such purpose, and $20,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015.'.
END
