I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1490 
To establish a grant program to assist in the provision of safety measures 
to protect social workers and other professionals who work with at- 
risk populations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 12, 2009 
Mr. MOORE of Kansas (for himself, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of 
Florida, Mr. HOLT, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. CHANDLER, Ms. BALDWIN, 
Mr. OLVER, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. 
SCHWARTZ, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. KILPATRICK 
of Michigan, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. CONYERS, 
Mr. SABLAN, Mr. PAYNE, and Mr. CARNAHAN) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program to assist in the provision of 
safety measures to protect social workers and other pro-
fessionals who work with at-risk populations. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teri Zenner Social 
Worker Safety Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) According to the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration, some 2 million American 
workers are victims of job-related violence each year. 
(2) On August 17, 2004, Teri Zenner, a social 
worker and case manager with Johnson County 
Mental Health Center, was stabbed and killed dur-
ing a routine, in-home visit with a client. 
(3) Based on OSHA’s most recently published 
‘‘Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for 
Health Care & Social Service Workers’’, 48 percent 
of all non-fatal injuries from occupational assaults 
and violent acts occurred in the fields of health care 
and social services. 
(4) A major study by the American Federation 
of State, County, and Municipal Employees, found 
that 70 percent of front-line child welfare workers 
had been victims of violence or threats in the line of 
duty. A review of the 585 exit interviews found that 
90 percent of former child welfare workers experi-
enced verbal threats, 30 percent experienced physical 
attacks, and 13 percent had been threatened with 
weapons. 
(5) Based on 2000 Bureau of Labor Statistics 
findings, social service workers in the public sector, 
including social workers and case workers, are ap-
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proximately 7 times more likely to be the victims of 
violent assaults while at work than are workers in 
the private sector. 
(6) States such as California, New Jersey, and 
Washington, and the National Association of Social 
Workers, have all developed various safety programs 
with safety guidelines for social workers and case 
workers to follow while in the course of their employ-
ment. 
(7) Social workers and case workers elevate 
service to others above self-interest, and draw on 
their knowledge, values and skills to help people in 
need and to address social problems. Job-related vio-
lence against social workers and case workers affects 
these hard-working and dedicated individuals, their 
families, their clients, and their communities 
throughout the United States. 
(8) There is a need to increase public awareness 
and understanding of job-related violence in the field 
of social services and to meet the needs of social 
workers and case workers in preventing such vio-
lence. Although not every incident of job-related vio-
lence can be prevented, many can, and the severity 
of injuries sustained by social workers and case 
workers can be reduced. 
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SEC. 3. SOCIAL WORKER SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services (the ‘‘Secretary’’), through the Sub-
stance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 
is authorized to award grants to States to provide safety 
measures to social workers and other professionals work-
ing with violent, drug-using, or other at-risk populations. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded pursuant to 
subsection (a) may be used to provide or support the fol-
lowing safety measures: 
(1) The procurement and installation of safety 
equipment, including communications systems, such 
as GPS tracking devices and GPS cell telephones to 
assist agencies in locating staff, and any technical 
assistance and training for safety communications. 
(2) Training exercises for self-defense and crisis 
management. 
(3) Facility safety improvements. 
(4) The provision of pepper spray for self-de-
fense. 
(5) Training in cultural competency, including 
linguistic training, and training on strategies for de- 
escalating a situation that could turn volatile. 
(6) Training to help workers who work with 
mentally ill community or that have behavioral prob-
lems and need help coping. 
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(1) demonstrate the greatest need based on 
documented incidents; and 
(2) seek to provide assistance to multiple agen-
cies. 
(e) QUALITY ASSURANCE
AND COST-EFFECTIVE-
NESS.—The Secretary shall establish guidelines for assur-
ing the cost-effectiveness and quality of the safety meas-
ures funded under this section. 
(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 
provide technical assistance to grant recipients with re-
spect to planning, developing, and implementing safety 
measures under the grant. 
(g) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—States receiving grants 
shall file with the Secretary, not later than 2 years after 
the receipt of the grant, information that includes— 
(1) an assessment of the activities funded in 
whole or in part with such grant; 
(2) the range and scope of training opportuni-
ties, including numbers and percentage of social 
workers engaged in the training programs funded in 
whole or in part by such grant; and 
(3) the incidence of threats to social workers, if 
any, and the strategies used to address their safety. 
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(h) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—For any State receiving 
a grant under this section, the non-Federal share of any 
program to provide safety measures shall be 50 percent. 
(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2010 through 2014 to carry out this Act. 
Æ 
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