LEAD Booklet 2020

202 0

HOUSE BILLS 1307, 1980, 2320 S E N AT E B I L L 7 0 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

Agenda

4

NASW-PA PACE & Legislative Committee

5

Loan Forgiveness FAQ

6

Bill Summaries

7

Talking Points

8

Sponsors

10

Committtees

12

NASW-PA 2020 Conference Thank you for joining us for Legislative Education and Advocacy Day! If you’ve joined us in past years, welcome back! If this is your first year attending LEAD, you’re in for an exciting day of education and advocacy.

We understand that attending legislative meetings and advocating for legislation can be intimidating, especially if this is all new to you. However, there is no reason to worry. Legislators want to hear what their constituents have to say. Your voice matters, and we hope that Legislative Education and Advocacy Day will help you better understand how social workers elevate society!

We encourage you to look through the materials in the following pages to familiarize yourself with the bill we are advocating for. If you still have questions, please feel free to contact a staff member or volunteer, we are here to help you have a successful day.

SPONSORED BY Share your posts from the day and let the world know how

Students, join our student Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/pasws

02

LEAD 2020

AGENDA March 24, 2020

9:30am – 11:00am | Webinar welcoming attendees and hearing from a collection of panelists on student loan forgiveness, effectively lobbying your elected officials, and more.

11:00am – 1:00am | Attendees have open time to complete a series of advocacy tasks that will cover a range of activities. Tasks include writing an email to your representative and senator, registering to vote/verifying voter status, and checking out links and resources regarding loan forgiveness for social workers.

1:00pm – 1:30pm | Closing remarks from legislators and NASW-PA leaders Upon completion of the day’s activities, a certificate will be issued to all attendees.

03

NASW-PA PACE Committee The Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE) Committee is the political action committee of NASW, dedicated to advancing social workers’ values and public policy goals in campaigns, elections and building political relationships with elected officials. NASW-PA PACE evaluates Pennsylvania legislative candidates as well as the gubernatorial candidates in respect to social work values and professional issues through several means. NASW-PA PACE uses your contributions to help elect candidates who will advance the profession and advocate for social justice.

Interested in becoming involved? Contact Johanna Byrd at jbyrd.naswpa@socialworkers.org Learn more about NASW-PA PACE Committee online at www.nasw-pa.org/pace

NASW-PA Legislative Committee The NASW-PA Legislative Committee is a new committee that examines NASW-PA’s legislative agenda and evaluates proposed legislation in relation to the interests of professional social work and the clients we serve. The committee recommends to the Board and others to take a position on certain bills of interest, whether it be to support, oppose, or remain neutral.

This information is then used by our staff and lobbying team to inform our actions in the legislative arena.

If you have an interest in becoming involved with the Legislative Committee, contact Johanna Byrd at jbyrd.naswpa@socialworkers.org

04

Loan Forgivness FAQ · Who pays for the loan forgiveness programs? o Funds for each of the programs proposed here would be appropriated by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in each year’s budget and would be available to as many qualified applicants as can be supported by the allocated funds. · What happens if a recipient leaves before the commitment to work a certain number of years is complete? o For each bill proposed, if the recipient fails to meet the obligations of the agreement or is convicted of/pleads guilty to a felony the loan repayment must be repaid. · As a legislator, why should I give loan forgiveness to social workers specifically when there are many who have high educational debt? o Social workers are essential to the public health of the Commonwealth, and yet we face a significant shortage in qualified professionals that will just get larger with rising demand. With educational costs increases and wages for social workers staying stagnant, we face losing many skilled individuals to other professions. We need to attract and retain social workers, and relief of educational debt encourages people to go into the social work profession. o Unlike other professions requiring advanced degrees, social work is uniquely faced with low salaries, in part because they work with vulnerable populations and for non-profit agencies that may not be able to afford higher salaries and maintain the level of services. Social workers make sacrifices for the greater good, and deserve the support of the Commonwealth.

05

HB1307 & SB706 Summary Rep. Murt

Prime Sponsor, HB 1307

Rep. Murt

Prime Sponsor, HB

Sen. Scavello

Sen. Scavello Prime Sponsor, SB 706

Prime Sponsor, SB 706

· The bill creates two loan forgiveness programs: the Mental Health and Intellectual Disability Staff Member Loan Forgiveness Program and the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselor Loan Forgiveness Program. · The Mental Health and Intellectual Disability Staff Member program requires a two- or four-year academic degree and 6 months employment as a full-time staff member by a county mental health or intellectual disability service agency or a private provider under contract with the county or DHS to provide behavioral health rehabilitation services. · The Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselor program requires completion of a two- or four-year degree and employment for at least 6 months as a counselor at a licensed alcohol and drug addiction treatment facility. · Both programs require a commitment of at least four years, and provide for up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness (no more than $5,000 per year). · Awards are made to the extent that funds are appropriated by the General Assembly, and if insufficient funding is provided to cover all qualified applicants, priority will be given to renewals and then a lottery system for determining award recipients.

HB1980 Summary

Rep. Toohil

Prime Sponsor, HB 1980

The purpose of the bill is to provide an incentive to pursue higher education and training in child welfare social work to enhance quality services at county child welfare agencies. · The bill would require the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency to establish and administer the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Worker Education Loan Forgiveness Program. · The program would apply to child welfare workers employed by county child welfare agencies in the Commonwealth to provide financial assistance to acquire the required degree. · Up to 50% of the loan, not to exceed $50,000, would be forgiven if the recipient enters into a contract to be employed as a child welfare worker in the Commonwealth for not less than three consecutive years. They must apply as early as possible after graduation and must be employed within 6 months as a full-time child welfare worker. · Payments will be made only to the extent that funds are appropriated and cover administration.

HB2320 Summary

Rep. Kosierowski Prime Sponsor, HB 2320

06

· The bill creates the School Counselor Loan Forgiveness Program under the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency · School social workers, school counselors, and school psychologists would be eligible to apply if they are a resident of the Commonwealth, have successfully completed a two-year or four-year academic program, have been hired as a full-time counselor at a Pennsylvania school, and has successfully completed the first 6 months of employment in good standing. · In exchange for an agreement to remain employed as a school counselor in the Commonwealth for a minimum of four years, the agency will forgive up to $10,000 per year and up to $40,000 total. · Awards will be made to the extent that money is appropriated by the General Assembly. If funding is insufficient to fully fund all qualified applicants, priority shall be given to renewals, and then a lottery system among qualified applicants.

Talking Points • As many as 37% of public four-year-school graduates have too much debt to manage on a social worker’s salary.

• According to a report of the Council on Social Work Education, 81% of baccalaureate graduates, 80.5% of master’s graduates, and 65.5% of doctoral graduates have loan debt. The mean amount of debt ranged from $31,880 to $42,149.

• According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2018 median pay for social workers was $49,470. That’s significantly lower than the median pay for nurses ($71,730) or K-12 teachers ($57,980-$60,320), despite the fact that the typical entry-level education is higher than either of those fields.

• The job outlook for social work projects an 11% increase in the demand for social workers within the next 10 years (BLS, 2018), and yet there are already nationwide shortages, and especially shortages in certain underserved areas. Something needs to be done to attract and retain social workers.

• In addition, social workers are public servants who devote their careers to improving the lives of others, and yet their own lives are burdened by crushing educational debt. We owe our social workers more.

• Support for bills that provide loan forgiveness for social workers will help to alleviate this problem. NASW-PA is currently supporting a package of three bills that, together, would begin to alleviate this issue, each in an underserved area. o HB1307/SB706 would allow loan forgiveness for both mental health and intellectual disability employees and alcohol and drug addiction counselors. o HB1980 provides loan forgiveness for child welfare workers employed at county agencies. o HB2320 would create a loan forgiveness program for mental health school professionals, including school social workers, school counselors, and school psychologists.

07

HB1307 Sponsors

Prime Sponsor

Murt

Schlossberg

Hohenstein

Caltagirone

Markosek

Isaacson

Rozzi

Freeman

DeLuca

McClinton

SB706 Sponsors

Prime Sponsor

Scavello

Browne

Costa

Yudichak

Langeholc

Brewster

HB1980 Sponsors

Prime Sponsor

Toohil

McClinton

Kaufer

Burgos

Murt

Schlossberg

Kenyatta

Caltagirone

HB1980 Sponsors

Kinsey

Sims

Isaacson

A. Davis

Hohenstein

Readshaw

Daley

DeLuca

T. Davis

Mullins

Prime Sponsor

Kosierowski

Hanbidge

Kenyatta

Malagari

Deasy

McClinton

Roebuck

Conklin

08

Schlossberg

Shusterman

Isaacson

Hill-Evans

Freeman

Murt

Howard

Kim

Hohenstein

Webster

Kortz

Rozzi

Readshaw

HB1307 - Committee on Human Services

Chair

Democratic Chair

Murt

Cruz

Gregory

Heffley

Gleim

Hershey

Jones

Mihalek

Nelson

Polinchock

Simmons

Struzzi

Toohil

Wentling

Schlossberg

Kinsey

Fitzgerald

Hohestein

Howard

Madden

Miller

Mizgorski

Sims

Mustello

Burgos

SB706 - Senate Committee on Education

Chair

Minority Chair

Langerholc

Dinniman

DiSanto

Scarnati

Arnold

Aument

Browne

Tomlinson

Brewster

Leach

Williams

09

HB1980 - Committee on Children & Youth

Chair

Democratic Chair

Boback

Petrarca

Polinchock

Toohil

Gleim

Hershey

Mihalek

Miller

Rigby

Rowe

Schroeder

Struzzi

Thomas

Howard

Rozzi

Burgos

Otten

Sanchez

Ullman

Williams

Murt

Kirkland

Rader

Lee

HB1980 - House Committee on Education

Chair

Democratic Chair

Sonney

Roebuck

Hickernell

Jones

Miller

Mullery

10

Gleim

Brown

Kail

Knowles

Puskaric

Hill-Evans

Madden

Gainey

Ortitay

Tobash

Topper

Tobash

Gaydos

Gillen

Schroeder

Staats

Isaacson

Kim

McCarter

Solomon

WHE N:

2020 Conference Theme & Rationale: As the social work profession looks toward the future, we gain clarity about what lies ahead. Advances in technology, increases in demand, and social changes will require the profession to adapt and adjust. At the 2020 conference, “20/20 Vision: Focus on the Future,” we will focus on preparing social workers for the next level of social work practice – taking a look back at our past, examining our present, and keeping an eye toward the future. Join us to clarify your vision and focus on the next steps to building a better future for our profession and our clients!

Sept. 13 –16, 2020

WHER E : Kalahari Resort Pocono Manor, PA

2020 Conference Student Opportunities: • Volunteer opportunities for student members • Student-focused workshop track on September 13th • Present a poster at our BSW / MSW / DSW student poster presentations • Network with other students and professionals from around Pennsylvania • Learn about job opportunities and graduate programs at our exhibit hall

LE ARN MORE: www.nasw-pa.org/conference 12