Protecting Social Workers and Health Professionals from Workplace Violence Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2880 To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States to provide safety measures to social workers, health workers, and human services professionals performing services placing such indi- viduals in high-risk and potentially dangerous situations, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 18, 2019 Ms. SINEMA (for herself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States to provide safety measures to social workers, health workers, and human services professionals performing services placing such individuals in high-risk and potentially dangerous situations, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2880 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Social 2 Workers and Health Professionals from Workplace Vio- 3 lence Act of 2019’’. 4 SEC. 2. WORKPLACE SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM. 5 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 7 grants to States, Indian Tribes, Tribal organiza- 8 tions, and urban Indian organizations to provide 9 safety measures to social workers, health workers, 10 and human services professionals (as designated by 11 the Secretary), performing services placing such in- 12 dividuals in high-risk and potentially dangerous situ- 13 ations. 14 (2) CONSULTATION.—In awarding grants under 15 this subsection, the Secretary may consult with the 16 Secretary of Labor and the heads of other relevant 17 Federal agencies. 18 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant awarded under sub- 19 section (a) may be used to provide or support the following 20 safety measures: 21 (1)(A) The procurement and installation of 22 safety equipment, including communications or re- 23 cording systems, such as cell phones, wearable track- 24 ing devices with GPS/Bluetooth locator, or panic 25 buttons, such as the equipment used for supervised 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2880 IS foster care visits and other client visits, to assist 1 agencies in ensuring staff safety. 2 (B) Technical assistance and training for safety 3 communications. 4 (2) Training sessions and exercises for self-de- 5 fense and crisis management, provided together with 6 such organizations as local law enforcement. 7 (3) Facility safety improvements, such as bar- 8 rier protection and security cameras. 9 (4) Training in cultural competency, including 10 linguistic training, and training on strategies for de- 11 escalating conflict situations. 12 (5) Training to help social workers, health 13 workers, and human services professionals, work 14 with clients who— 15 (A) have serious mental and substance use 16 disorders; or 17 (B) have behavioral problems and need 18 help coping. 19 (6) Resources and materials to inform and edu- 20 cate staff on safety and awareness measures. 21 (7) Support services, counseling, and additional 22 resources for social workers, health workers, and 23 human services professionals, who have experienced 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2880 IS safety issues or trauma-related incidents in the 1 workplace. 2 (8) Installation of a local data incident tracking 3 system to monitor, prevent, and mitigate violence 4 against social workers, health workers, and human 5 services professionals. 6 (9) Other prevention and mitigation measures 7 determined appropriate by the Secretary for safety 8 training, resources, and support for social workers, 9 health workers, and human services professionals. 10 (c) APPLICATION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State seeking a grant 12 under subsection (a) shall submit an application to 13 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and ac- 14 companied by such additional information as the 15 Secretary may require. 16 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 17 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— 18 (A) describe the type of agencies that will 19 receive funding through the grant and type of 20 work to be done by such agencies; 21 (B) describe the specific activities for 22 which the grant is sought and include a pro- 23 gram budget; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2880 IS (C) contain an assurance that the appli- 1 cant will evaluate the effectiveness of the safety 2 measures provided through the grant. 3 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under subsection 4 (a), the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that— 5 (1)(A) demonstrate the greatest need based on 6 documented incidents of violence against social 7 workers, health workers, and human services profes- 8 sionals; and 9 (B) seek to provide assistance to multiple agen- 10 cies employing social workers, health workers, and 11 human services professionals performing services 12 placing such individuals in high-risk and potentially 13 dangerous situations; or 14 (2) seek to enhance existing efforts by the ap- 15 plicant (existing on the date on which the applicant 16 submits the application) to improve the safety of so- 17 cial workers, health workers, and human services 18 professionals. 19 (e) QUALITY ASSURANCE AND COST EFFECTIVE- 20 NESS.—The Secretary shall establish guidelines for ensur- 21 ing the quality and cost effectiveness of the safety meas- 22 ures funded under this section. 23 (f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 24 provide technical assistance to recipients of a grant under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2880 IS this section with respect to planning, developing, imple- 1 menting, reporting, and sustaining safety measures 2 through the grant. 3 (g) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—Each State receiving a 4 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary, not 5 later than 2 years after receiving such grant, a report that 6 includes— 7 (1) an assessment of the effectiveness of the ac- 8 tivities funded in whole or in part with funds award- 9 ed through the grant; 10 (2) the range and scope of training opportuni- 11 ties provided through training programs funded in 12 whole or in part with such funds, including the num- 13 bers and percentages of social workers, health work- 14 ers, and human services professionals, engaged in 15 such training programs; and 16 (3) the incidence of threats to social workers, 17 health workers, and human services professionals, if 18 any, and the strategies used to address their safety. 19 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 (1) The term ‘‘health worker’’ includes— 21 (A) a Community Health Representative 22 that has completed training under the Commu- 23 nity Health Representative Program of the In- 24 dian Health Service under section 107 of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2880 IS Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 1 U.S.C. 1616); 2 (B) a health aide or community health 3 practitioner certified under the Community 4 Health Aide Program of the Indian Health 5 Service under section 119 of that Act (25 6 U.S.C. 1616l); and 7 (C) other behavioral health aides and men- 8 tal health aides. 9 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 10 of Health and Human Services. 11 (3) The term ‘‘social work’’ means— 12 (A) the applied science of helping individ- 13 uals, groups, or communities to enhance or re- 14 store capacity for social and psychosocial func- 15 tioning, and effecting societal changes favorable 16 to such enhancement or restoration for all peo- 17 ple; and 18 (B) the professional application of social 19 work values, principles, and techniques related 20 to the activities described in subparagraph (A), 21 including— 22 (i) diagnosing mental and emotional 23 disorders and providing counseling and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2880 IS psychotherapy services to individuals, fami- 1 lies, or groups for such disorders; and 2 (ii) helping individuals, families, or 3 groups to obtain tangible services, includ- 4 ing personal, protective, informational, ad- 5 visory, community, housing, education, 6 health, and mental health services in order 7 to improve the overall well-being of individ- 8 uals. 9 (4) The term ‘‘social worker’’ means an indi- 10 vidual, with a baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral 11 degree in social work from an institution of higher 12 education, who uses knowledge and skills to provide 13 social work services for individuals, families, groups, 14 communities, organizations, or society in general. 15 (5) The term ‘‘urban Indian organization’’ has 16 the meaning given such term in section 4 of the In- 17 dian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 18 1603). 19 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 20 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 21 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS