Social worker; family-services specialists & qualified equivalent workers allowed to perform tasks. (HB890)

Introduced By

Del. Chris Peace (R-Mechanicsville) with support from co-patron Del. David Toscano (D-Charlottesville)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Social worker. Allows family-services specialists and qualified equivalent workers to perform tasks previously limited to social workers. The bill expands the authority of the Adult Protective Services Unit to establish minimum standards of training and educational opportunities for all workers in the field of adult protective services, which minimum standards currently apply to social workers. The bill changes the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) employment requirement for a baccalaureate degree from "social work" positions to "family-services-specialist" positions. The bill adds family-services specialists to the list of individuals required to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect. The bill contains an emergency clause. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Passed

History

DateAction
01/08/2014Committee
01/08/2014Prefiled and ordered printed with emergency clause; offered 01/08/14 14101234D
01/08/2014Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions
01/17/2014Assigned HWI sub: Subcommittee #3
01/21/2014Impact statement from DPB (HB890)
01/22/2014Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (5-Y 0-N)
01/23/2014Impact statement from DPB (HB890)
01/28/2014Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions with amendments (22-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
01/29/2014Read first time
01/30/2014Read second time
01/30/2014Committee amendments agreed to
01/30/2014Engrossed by House as amended HB890E
01/30/2014Printed as engrossed 14101234D-E
01/31/2014Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (96-Y 0-N)
01/31/2014VOTE: BLOCK VOTE PASSAGE (96-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
01/31/2014Impact statement from DPB (HB890E)
02/03/2014Constitutional reading dispensed
02/03/2014Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services
02/21/2014Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services (13-Y 0-N 2-A)
02/24/2014Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
02/25/2014Read third time
02/25/2014Passed Senate (37-Y 0-N)
02/27/2014Enrolled
02/27/2014Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB890ER)
02/27/2014Impact statement from DPB (HB890ER)
02/27/2014Signed by Speaker
03/01/2014Signed by President
03/24/2014G Approved by Governor-Chapter 285 (effective 3/24/14)
03/24/2014G Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0285)

Video

This bill was discussed on the floor of the General Assembly. Below is all of the video that we have of that discussion, 2 clips in all, totaling 2 minutes.

Comments

spotter writes:

Minimum standards for Adult Protective Services workers sound like a great idea, but does this bill strengthen or water down these requirements?

While we're at it, how about some actual standards for social workers with our out of control public guardianship programs?

Currently, under regulations from the Virginia Public Guardian and Conservator Advisory Board, these workers must have a .... drumroll ...

GED!!!

Publicly funded programs like Jewish Family Service of Tidewater and Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia make life and death decisions, control the property and living circumstances of about 800 vulnerable elderly and disabled citizens, under court orders of extremely questionable validity, without any of the oversight or accountability that were supposed to be an important part of these programs.

Instead, the Virginia Public Guardian and Conservator Advisory Board and the Virginia Department for the Aging whiff each and every ball that comes their way, even going so far as to cover up serious complaints of mistreatment, abuse and neglect of public guardianship clients, in their meeting minutes and elsewhere.

These agencies disingenuously contend that so-called "private" guardianship cases, which include many, many publicly funded cases that originate with and are funded by local social services departments, Adult Protective Services units, Community Services Boards, and hospitals are outside their jurisdiction and control. These agencies cannot even bother to stifle a yawn and listen to the problems their abdication of responsibility creates in the real lives of some very vulnerable, totally helpless people.

About 133 JFS and CCEVA cases are subject to Virginia Public Guardian and Conservator Advisory Board oversight. Over 600 (the numbers are not even clear) are subject to NO OVERSIGHT WHATSOEVER. These two programs hand-pick the same guardian ad litem "for" the incapacitated person, over and over in hundreds of cases, who always agrees with them and who illegally blocks any review by the courts.

In Virginia, you cannot cut hair or do manicures without a license and a complaint process, but you can operate a public guardianship program with GED-educated employees and without any oversight or accountability at all. Got a complaint? Too damn bad, you are a victim of a "private" guardianship, and must continue to suffer in enforced silence. For some inkling of the depth of this suffering, please google "Scott Schuett," to learn about the appalling conditions these victims must endure.

Until this problem is fixed, the General Assembly should refuse any further funds to these out of control programs.