II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 114 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment 

of a National Center for Social Work Research. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

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 Center for Social Work 

Research. 

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 ‘‘National Center for 

5 Social Work Research Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) social workers focus on the improvement of 

9 individual and family functioning and the creation of 

10 effective health and mental health prevention and 


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1 treatment interventions in order for individuals to 

2 become more productive members of society; 

3 (2) social workers provide front line prevention 

4 and treatment services in the areas of school vio5 lence, aging, teen pregnancy, child abuse, domestic 

6 violence, juvenile crime, and substance abuse, par7 ticularly in rural and underserved communities; and 

8 (3) social workers are in a unique position to 

9 provide valuable research information on these com10 plex social concerns, taking into account a wide 

11 range of social, medical, economic and community 

12 influences from an interdisciplinary, family-centered 

13 and community-based approach. 

14 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER FOR SO15 CIAL WORK RESEARCH. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 401(a) of the Public 

17 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281(a)) is amended by add18 ing at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(26) The National Center for Social Work Re20 search.’’. 

21 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Part E of title IV of the Pub22 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287 et seq.) is amended 

23 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘Subpart 7—National Center for Social Work 

2 Research 

3 ‘‘SEC. 485I. PURPOSE OF CENTER. 

4 ‘‘The general purpose of the National Center for So5 cial Work Research (referred to in this subpart as the 

6 ‘Center’) is the conduct and support of, and dissemination 

7 of targeted research concerning social work methods and 

8 outcomes related to problems of significant social concern. 

9 The Center shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) promote research and training that is de11 signed to inform social work practices, thus increas12 ing the knowledge base which promotes a healthier 

13 America; and 

14 ‘‘(2) provide policymakers with empirically15 based research information to enable such policy16 makers to better understand complex social issues 

17 and make informed funding decisions about service 

18 effectiveness and cost efficiency. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 485J. SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purpose de21 scribed in section 485I, the Director of the Center may 

22 provide research training and instruction and establish, in 

23 the Center and in other nonprofit institutions, research 

24 traineeships and fellowships in the study and investigation 

25 of the prevention of disease, health promotion, the associa26 tion of socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, age and 


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1 geographical location and health, the social work care of 

2 individuals with, and families of individuals with, acute 

3 and chronic illnesses, child abuse, neglect, and youth vio4 lence, and child and family care to address problems of 

5 significant social concern especially in underserved popu6 lations and underserved geographical areas. 

7 ‘‘(b) STIPENDS AND ALLOWANCES.—The Director of 

8 the Center may provide individuals receiving training and 

9 instruction or traineeships or fellowships under subsection 

10 (a) with such stipends and allowances (including amounts 

11 for travel and subsistence and dependency allowances) as 

12 the Director determines necessary. 

13 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.—The Director of the Center may make 

14 grants to nonprofit institutions to provide training and in15 struction and traineeships and fellowships under sub16 section (a). 

17 ‘‘SEC. 485K. ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

18 ‘‘(a) DUTIES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab20 lish an advisory council for the Center that shall ad21 vise, assist, consult with, and make recommenda22 tions to the Secretary and the Director of the Center 

23 on matters related to the activities carried out by 

24 and through the Center and the policies with respect 

25 to such activities. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GIFTS.—The advisory council for the Cen2 ter may recommend to the Secretary the acceptance, 

3 in accordance with section 231, of conditional gifts 

4 for study, investigations, and research and for the 

5 acquisition of grounds or construction, equipment, or 

6 maintenance of facilities for the Center. 

7 ‘‘(3) OTHER DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS.—The 

8 advisory council for the Center— 

9 ‘‘(A)(i) may make recommendations to the 

10 Director of the Center with respect to research 

11 to be conducted by the Center; 

12 ‘‘(ii) may review applications for grants 

13 and cooperative agreements for research or 

14 training and recommend for approval applica15 tions for projects that demonstrate the prob16 ability of making valuable contributions to 

17 human knowledge; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) may review any grant, contract, or 

19 cooperative agreement proposed to be made or 

20 entered into by the Center; 

21 ‘‘(B) may collect, by correspondence or by 

22 personal investigation, information relating to 

23 studies that are being carried out in the United 

24 States or any other country and, with the ap25 proval of the Director of the Center, make such 


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1 information available through appropriate publi2 cations; and 

3 ‘‘(C) may appoint subcommittees and con4 vene workshops and conferences. 

5 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The advisory council shall 

7 be composed of the ex officio members described in 

8 paragraph (2) and not more than 18 individuals to 

9 be appointed by the Secretary under paragraph (3). 

10 ‘‘(2) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The ex officio 

11 members of the advisory council shall include— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Health and Human 

13 Services, the Director of NIH, the Director of 

14 the Center, the Chief Social Work Officer of the 

15 Veterans’ Administration, the Assistant Sec16 retary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Asso17 ciate Director of Prevention Research at the 

18 National Institute of Mental Health, the Direc19 tor of the Division of Epidemiology and Serv20 ices Research, the Assistant Secretary of 

21 Health and Human Services for the Adminis22 tration for Children and Families, the Assistant 

23 Secretary of Education for the Office of Edu24 cational Research and Improvement, the Assist25 ant Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:46 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S114.IS S114

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1 ment for Community Planning and Develop2 ment, and the Assistant Attorney General for 

3 Office of Justice Programs (or the designees of 

4 such officers); and 

5 ‘‘(B) such additional officers or employees 

6 of the United States as the Secretary deter7 mines necessary for the advisory council to ef8 fectively carry out its functions. 

9 ‘‘(3) APPOINTED MEMBERS.—The Secretary 

10 shall appoint not to exceed 18 individuals to the ad11 visory council, of which— 

12 ‘‘(A) not more than two-thirds of such in13 dividual shall be appointed from among the 

14 leading representatives of the health and sci15 entific disciplines (including public health and 

16 the behavioral or social sciences) relevant to the 

17 activities of the Center, and at least 7 such in18 dividuals shall be professional social workers 

19 who are recognized experts in the area of clin20 ical practice, education, or research; and 

21 ‘‘(B) not more than one-third of such indi22 viduals shall be appointed from the general 

23 public and shall include leaders in fields of pub24 lic policy, law, health policy, economics, and 

25 management. 


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1 The Secretary shall make appointments to the advi2 sory council in such a manner as to ensure that the 

3 terms of the members do not all expire in the same 

4 year. 

5 ‘‘(4) COMPENSATION.—Members of the advi6 sory council who are officers or employees of the 

7 United States shall not receive any compensation for 

8 service on the advisory council. The remaining mem9 bers shall receive, for each day (including travel 

10 time) they are engaged in the performance of the 

11 functions of the advisory council, compensation at 

12 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the max13 imum rate payable for a position at grade GS–15 of 

14 the General Schedule. 

15 ‘‘(c) TERMS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term of office of an in17 dividual appointed to the advisory council under sub18 section (b)(3) shall be 4 years, except that any indi19 vidual appointed to fill a vacancy on the advisory 

20 council shall serve for the remainder of the unex21 pired term. A member may serve after the expiration 

22 of the member’s term until a successor has been ap23 pointed. 

24 ‘‘(2) REAPPOINTMENTS.—A member of the ad25 visory council who has been appointed under subVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:46 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S114.IS S114

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1 section (b)(3) for a term of 4 years may not be re2 appointed to the advisory council prior to the expira3 tion of the 2-year period beginning on the date on 

4 which the prior term expired. 

5 ‘‘(3) VACANCY.—If a vacancy occurs on the ad6 visory council among the members under subsection 

7 (b)(3), the Secretary shall make an appointment to 

8 fill that vacancy not later than 90 days after the 

9 date on which the vacancy occurs. 

10 ‘‘(d) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson of the advi11 sory council shall be selected by the Secretary from among 

12 the members appointed under subsection (b)(3), except 

13 that the Secretary may select the Director of the Center 

14 to be the chairperson of the advisory council. The term 

15 of office of the chairperson shall be 2 years. 

16 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS.—The advisory council shall meet at 

17 the call of the chairperson or upon the request of the Di18 rector of the Center, but not less than 3 times each fiscal 

19 year. The location of the meetings of the advisory council 

20 shall be subject to the approval of the Director of the Cen21 ter. 

22 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—The Director of 

23 the Center shall designate a member of the staff of the 

24 Center to serve as the executive secretary of the advisory 

25 council. The Director of the Center shall make available 


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1 to the advisory council such staff, information, and other 

2 assistance as the council may require to carry out its func3 tions. The Director of the Center shall provide orientation 

4 and training for new members of the advisory council to 

5 provide such members with such information and training 

6 as may be appropriate for their effective participation in 

7 the functions of the advisory council. 

8 ‘‘(g) COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The ad9 visory council may prepare, for inclusion in the biennial 

10 report under section 485L— 

11 ‘‘(1) comments with respect to the activities of 

12 the advisory council in the fiscal years for which the 

13 report is prepared; 

14 ‘‘(2) comments on the progress of the Center in 

15 meeting its objectives; and 

16 ‘‘(3) recommendations with respect to the fu17 ture direction and program and policy emphasis of 

18 the center. 

19 The advisory council may prepare such additional reports 

20 as it may determine appropriate. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 485L. BIENNIAL REPORT. 

22 ‘‘The Director of the Center, after consultation with 

23 the advisory council for the Center, shall prepare for inclu24 sion in the biennial report under section 403, a biennial 

25 report that shall consist of a description of the activities 


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1 of the Center and program policies of the Director of the 

2 Center in the fiscal years for which the report is prepared. 

3 The Director of the Center may prepare such additional 

4 reports as the Director determines appropriate. The Di5 rector of the Center shall provide the advisory council of 

6 the Center an opportunity for the submission of the writ7 ten comments described in section 485K(g). 

8 ‘‘SEC. 485M. QUARTERLY REPORT. 

9 ‘‘The Director of the Center shall prepare and submit 

10 to Congress a quarterly report that contains a summary 

11 of findings and policy implications derived from research 

12 conducted or supported through the Center.’’. 

Æ 


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