A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of a National Center for Social Work Research.

Summary: National Center for Social Work Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Social Work Research as an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct, support, and disseminate targeted research on social work methods and outcomes related to problems of significant social concern.

Authorizes the Director of the Center to: (1) provide research training and instruction; (2) establish research traineeships and fellowships; (3) provide stipends and allowances; and (4) make grants to nonprofit institutions to provide such training, instruction, traineeships, and fellowships.

Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an advisory council for the Center.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Center for Social Work 
Research Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) 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;
            (2) 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; and
            (3) 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.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER FOR SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--Section 401(a) of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 281(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(26) The National Center for Social Work Research.''.
    (b) Establishment.--Part E of title IV of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 287 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

         ``Subpart 7--National Center for Social Work Research

``SEC. 485I. PURPOSE OF CENTER.

    ``The general purpose of the National Center for Social Work 
Research (referred to in this subpart as the `Center') 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 Center shall--
            ``(1) promote research and training that is designed to 
        inform social work practices, thus increasing 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.

``SEC. 485J. SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.

    ``(a) In General.--To carry out the purpose described in section 
485I, the Director of the Center may provide research training and 
instruction and establish, in the Center and in other nonprofit 
institutions, research traineeships and fellowships in the study and 
investigation of the prevention of disease, health promotion, the 
association of socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, age and 
geographical location and health, the social work care of individuals 
with, and families of individuals with, acute and chronic illnesses, 
child abuse, neglect, and youth violence, and child and family care to 
address problems of significant social concern especially in 
underserved populations and underserved geographical areas.
    ``(b) Stipends and Allowances.--The Director of the Center may 
provide individuals receiving training and instruction or traineeships 
or fellowships under subsection (a) with such stipends and allowances 
(including amounts for travel and subsistence and dependency 
allowances) as the Director determines necessary.
    ``(c) Grants.--The Director of the Center may make grants to 
nonprofit institutions to provide training and instruction and 
traineeships and fellowships under subsection (a).

``SEC. 485K. ADVISORY COUNCIL.

    ``(a) Duties.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish an 
        advisory council for the Center that shall advise, assist, 
        consult with, and make recommendations to the Secretary and the 
        Director of the Center on matters related to the activities 
        carried out by and through the Center and the policies with 
        respect to such activities.
            ``(2) Gifts.--The advisory council for the Center may 
        recommend to the Secretary the acceptance, in accordance with 
        section 231, of conditional gifts for study, investigations, 
        and research and for the acquisition of grounds or 
        construction, equipment, or maintenance of facilities for the 
        Center.
            ``(3) Other duties and functions.--The advisory council for 
        the Center--
                    ``(A)(i) may make recommendations to the Director 
                of the Center with respect to research to be conducted 
                by the Center;
                    ``(ii) may review applications for grants and 
                cooperative agreements for research or training and 
                recommend for approval applications for projects that 
                demonstrate the probability of making valuable 
                contributions to human knowledge; and
                    ``(iii) may review any grant, contract, or 
                cooperative agreement proposed to be made or entered 
                into by the Center;
                    ``(B) may collect, by correspondence or by personal 
                investigation, information relating to studies that are 
                being carried out in the United States or any other 
                country and, with the approval of the Director of the 
                Center, make such information available through 
                appropriate publications; and
                    ``(C) may appoint subcommittees and convene 
                workshops and conferences.
    ``(b) Membership.--
            ``(1) In general.--The advisory council shall be composed 
        of the ex officio members described in paragraph (2) and not 
        more than 18 individuals to be appointed by the Secretary under 
        paragraph (3).
            ``(2) Ex officio members.--The ex officio members of the 
        advisory council shall include--
                    ``(A) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
                the Director of NIH, the Director of the Center, the 
                Chief Social Work Officer of the Veterans' 
                Administration, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for 
                Health Affairs, the Associate Director of Prevention 
                Research at the National Institute of Mental Health, 
                the Director of the Division of Epidemiology and 
                Services Research, the Assistant Secretary of Health 
                and Human Services for the Administration for Children 
                and Families, the Assistant Secretary of Education for 
                the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, the 
                Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
                for Community Planning and Development, and the 
                Assistant Attorney General for Office of Justice 
                Programs (or the designees of such officers); and
                    ``(B) such additional officers or employees of the 
                United States as the Secretary determines necessary for 
                the advisory council to effectively carry out its 
                functions.
            ``(3) Appointed members.--The Secretary shall appoint not 
        to exceed 18 individuals to the advisory council, of which--
                    ``(A) not more than two-thirds of such individual 
                shall be appointed from among the leading 
                representatives of the health and scientific 
                disciplines (including public health and the behavioral 
                or social sciences) relevant to the activities of the 
                Center, and at least 7 such individuals shall be 
                professional social workers who are recognized experts 
                in the area of clinical practice, education, or 
                research; and
                    ``(B) not more than one-third of such individuals 
                shall be appointed from the general public and shall 
                include leaders in fields of public policy, law, health 
                policy, economics, and management.
        The Secretary shall make appointments to the advisory council 
        in such a manner as to ensure that the terms of the members do 
        not all expire in the same year.
            ``(4) Compensation.--Members of the advisory council who 
        are officers or employees of the United States shall not 
        receive any compensation for service on the advisory council. 
        The remaining members shall receive, for each day (including 
        travel time) they are engaged in the performance of the 
        functions of the advisory council, compensation at rates not to 
        exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum rate payable for a 
        position at grade GS-15 of the General Schedule.
    ``(c) Terms.--
            ``(1) In general.--The term of office of an individual 
        appointed to the advisory council under subsection (b)(3) shall 
        be 4 years, except that any individual appointed to fill a 
        vacancy on the advisory council shall serve for the remainder 
        of the unexpired term. A member may serve after the expiration 
        of the member's term until a successor has been appointed.
            ``(2) Reappointments.--A member of the advisory council who 
        has been appointed under subsection (b)(3) for a term of 4 
        years may not be reappointed to the advisory council prior to 
        the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the date on 
        which the prior term expired.
            ``(3) Vacancy.--If a vacancy occurs on the advisory council 
        among the members under subsection (b)(3), the Secretary shall 
        make an appointment to fill that vacancy not later than 90 days 
        after the date on which the vacancy occurs.
    ``(d) Chairperson.--The chairperson of the advisory council shall 
be selected by the Secretary from among the members appointed under 
subsection (b)(3), except that the Secretary may select the Director of 
the Center to be the chairperson of the advisory council. The term of 
office of the chairperson shall be 2 years.
    ``(e) Meetings.--The advisory council shall meet at the call of the 
chairperson or upon the request of the Director of the Center, but not 
less than 3 times each fiscal year. The location of the meetings of the 
advisory council shall be subject to the approval of the Director of 
the Center.
    ``(f) Administrative Provisions.--The Director of the Center shall 
designate a member of the staff of the Center to serve as the executive 
secretary of the advisory council. The Director of the Center shall 
make available to the advisory council such staff, information, and 
other assistance as the council may require to carry out its functions. 
The Director of the Center shall provide orientation and training for 
new members of the advisory council to provide such members with such 
information and training as may be appropriate for their effective 
participation in the functions of the advisory council.
    ``(g) Comments and Recommendations.--The advisory council may 
prepare, for inclusion in the biennial report under section 485L--
            ``(1) comments with respect to the activities of the 
        advisory council in the fiscal years for which the report is 
        prepared;
            ``(2) comments on the progress of the Center in meeting its 
        objectives; and
            ``(3) recommendations with respect to the future direction 
        and program and policy emphasis of the center.
The advisory council may prepare such additional reports as it may 
determine appropriate.

``SEC. 485L. BIENNIAL REPORT.

    ``The Director of the Center, after consultation with the advisory 
council for the Center, shall prepare for inclusion in the biennial 
report under section 403, a biennial report that shall consist of a 
description of the activities of the Center and program policies of the 
Director of the Center in the fiscal years for which the report is 
prepared. The Director of the Center may prepare such additional 
reports as the Director determines appropriate. The Director of the 
Center shall provide the advisory council of the Center an opportunity 
for the submission of the written comments described in section 
485K(g).

``SEC. 485M. QUARTERLY REPORT.

    ``The Director of the Center shall prepare and submit to Congress a 
quarterly report that contains a summary of findings and policy 
implications derived from research conducted or supported through the 
Center.''.