II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1403 

To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to ensure that social 

work students or social work schools are eligible for support under 

certain programs that would assist individuals in pursuing health careers 

or for grants for training projects in geriatrics, and to establish a 

social work training program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 7, 2009 

Mr. INOUYE (for himself and Mr. BEGICH) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to 

ensure that social work students or social work schools 

are eligible for support under certain programs that 

would assist individuals in pursuing health careers or 

for grants for training projects in geriatrics, and to 

establish a social work training program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthen Social 

5 Work Training Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS. 

2 (a) HEALTH PROFESSIONS SCHOOLS.—Section 

3 736(g)(1)(A) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 293(g)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including a grad5 uate program in clinical social work or a program in social 

6 work’’, after ‘‘graduate program in behavioral or mental 

7 health’’. 

8 (b) SCHOLARSHIPS.—Section 737(d)(1)(A) of the 

9 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293a(d)(1)(A)) is 

10 amended by inserting ‘‘(including a graduate program in 

11 clinical psychology, a graduate program in clinical social 

12 work, or a program in social work)’’ after ‘‘mental health 

13 practice’’. 

14 (c) LOAN REPAYMENTS AND FELLOWSHIPS REGARD15 ING FACULTY POSITIONS.—Section 738(a) of the Public 

16 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293b(a)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (A) subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘social 

19 work,’’ after ‘‘nursing,’’; 

20 (B) subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘social 

21 work,’’ after ‘‘nursing,’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, including 

23 graduate programs in clinical psychology, graduate 

24 programs in clinical social work, or programs in so25 cial work’’ after ‘‘offering graduate programs in be26 havioral and mental health’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. GERIATRICS TRAINING PROJECTS. 

2 Section 753(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 294c(b)) is amended— 

4 (a) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘schools offering degrees in so6 cial work,’’ after ‘‘teaching hospitals,’’; 

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘(including social workers)’’ 

8 after ‘‘behavioral and mental health professionals’’; 

9 and 

10 (3) by inserting ‘‘(including geriatric social 

11 work)’’ after ‘‘geriatric behavioral or mental health’’; 

12 (b) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (C)— 

14 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including social work15 ers)’’ after ‘‘mental health professionals’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘(including social work)’’ 

17 after ‘‘geriatric behavioral or mental health’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) in subparagraph (d), by striking ‘‘geriatrics 

20 or behavioral or mental health’’ and inserting ‘‘geri21 atrics, behavioral or mental health, or social work’’; 

22 and 

23 (c) in paragraph (3)(A)(iii)— 

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘(including social workers)’’ 

25 after ‘‘behavioral and mental health professionals’’; 

26 and 


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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘or departments of social 

2 work’’ after ‘‘departments of behavioral or mental 

3 health’’. 

4 SEC. 4. SOCIAL WORK TRAINING PROGRAM. 

5 Subpart 2 of part E of title VII of the Public Health 

6 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295 et seq.) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating section 770 as section 

8 770A; 

9 (2) by inserting after section 769, the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 770. SOCIAL WORK TRAINING PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) TRAINING.—The Secretary may make grants to, 

12 or enter into contracts with, any public or nonprofit pri13 vate hospital, any school offering a program in social 

14 work, or any public or private nonprofit entity that the 

15 Secretary has determined is capable of carrying out such 

16 grant or contract— 

17 ‘‘(1) to plan, develop, and operate, or partici18 pate in, an approved social work training program 

19 (including an approved residency or internship pro20 gram) for students, interns, residents, or practicing 

21 physicians; 

22 ‘‘(2) to provide financial assistance (in the form 

23 of traineeships and fellowships) to students, interns, 

24 residents, practicing physicians, or other individuals, 

25 who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) are in need of such assistance; 

2 ‘‘(B) are participants in any such program; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(C) plan to specialize or work in the prac5 tice of social work; 

6 ‘‘(3) to plan, develop, and operate a program 

7 for the training of individuals who plan to teach in 

8 a social work training program; and 

9 ‘‘(4) to provide financial assistance (in the form 

10 of traineeships and fellowships) to individuals who 

11 are participants in any such traineeship or fellowship 

12 program and who plan to teach in a social work 

13 training program. 

14 ‘‘(b) ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 

16 grants to, or enter into contracts with, schools offer17 ing programs in social work to meet the costs of 

18 projects to establish, maintain, or improve academic 

19 administrative units (which may be departments, di20 visions, or other units) to provide clinical instruction 

21 in social work. 

22 ‘‘(2) PREFERENCE IN MAKING AWARDS.—In 

23 awarding grants and contracts under paragraph (1), 

24 the Secretary shall give preference to any qualified 


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1 applicant for such an award that agrees to expend 

2 the award for the purpose of— 

3 ‘‘(A) establishing an academic administra4 tive unit for a program in social work; or 

5 ‘‘(B) substantially expanding the programs 

6 of such a unit. 

7 ‘‘(c) DURATION OF AWARD.—The period during 

8 which payments are made to an entity from an award of 

9 a grant or contract under subsection (a) may not exceed 

10 5 years. The provision of such payments shall be subject 

11 to annual approval by the Secretary and subject to the 

12 availability of appropriations for the fiscal year involved 

13 to make the payments. 

14 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

17 this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

18 2010, 2011, and 2012. 

19 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts appro20 priated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the 

21 Secretary shall make available not less than 20 per22 cent for awards of grants and contracts under sub23 section (b).’’; and 


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1 (3) in section 770A, as redesignated by para2 graph (1), by inserting ‘‘except for section 770,’’ 

3 after ‘‘carrying out this subpart,’’. 

4 SEC. 5. CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER SERVICES. 

5 Section 1302 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 300e–1) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by inserting 

8 ‘‘clinical social worker,’’ after ‘‘psychologist,’’ each 

9 place the term appears; 

10 (2) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ‘‘and psy11 chologists’’ and inserting ‘‘psychologists, and clinical 

12 social workers’’; and 

13 (3) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘clinical so14 cial work,’’ after ‘‘psychology,’’. 

Æ 


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