Florida Senate - 2008 (Reformatted) SB 226
By Senator Rich
34-00245-08 2008226__
1
A bill to be entitled
2
An act relating to social worker identification; amending
4
creating s. 491.016, F.S.; prohibiting a social worker
5
from conducting clinical social work unless licensed or
6
certified by the Department of Health; providing a penalty
7
for improper use of the title "social worker"; providing
8
exceptions; requiring the Department of Health to adopt
9
rules; providing an effective date.
10
11
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13
Section 1. Present subsections (70), (71), (72), (73), and
14
(74) of section 39.01, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as
15
subsections (71), (72), (73), (74), and (75), respectively, and a
16
new subsection (70) is added to that section, to read:
17
39.01 Definitions.--When used in this chapter, unless the
18
context otherwise requires:
19
(70) "Social worker" means any person who has a bachelor's,
20
master's, or doctoral degree in social work.
21
Section 2. Subsection (17) is added to section 491.003,
22
Florida Statutes, to read:
23
491.003 Definitions.--As used in this chapter:
24
(17) "Social worker" means a person who has a bachelor's,
25
master's, or doctoral degree in social work.
26
Section 3. Section 491.016, Florida Statutes, is created to
27
read:
28
491.016 Professional social worker identification.--
29
(1) A social worker may not conduct clinical social work
30
unless he or she possesses a license or certification issued
31
under this chapter.
32
(2) A person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree,
34
she, for or without compensation, holds himself or herself out to
35
the public as a social worker directly or through a governmental
36
or private organization, entity, or agency unless that person:
37
(a) Possesses at least a bachelor's or master's degree in
38
social work from a social work program accredited by or from an
39
institution that is an active candidate for accreditation as a
40
social work program by the Council of Social Work Education; or
41
(b) Completes, at a university or college outside the
42
United States or Canada, a social work program determined by the
43
Foreign Equivalency Determination Service of the Council on
44
Social Work Education to be equivalent to a bachelor's or
45
master's degree in social work.
46
(3) This section does not apply to:
47
(a) A person who, as of July 1, 2008, used the title
48
"social worker" in his or her employment; or
49
(b) An employee who provides social work services under
50
administrative supervision in a long-term care facility licensed
51
by the Agency for Health Care Administration.
52
(4) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to ss.
54
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.