SOCIAL WORK CALL TO ACTION
Governor Supports Permanent Exemption from Social Work Licensure for State Workforce
The Governor’s Executive Budget seeks to make permanent the exemption from social work licensure for individuals working in programs that are regulated, operated, funded or approved by the Office of Mental Health, Department of Health, Office for the Aging, Office of Children and Family Services, Department of Corrections, Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Office of People with Developmental Disabilities, and local government units or social services districts.
This proposal would allow broad sections of the workforce to be unlicensed individuals who have not met the minimum qualifying education, experience and examination benchmarks, to diagnose and treat serious and persistent mental illness. The licensure law was implemented to provide a minimum standard of competence for all mental health providers. Allowing unlicensed providers to engage in the LMSW and LCSW scopes of practice puts consumers at risk.
A broad-based permanent exemption creates a bifurcated system of mental health care. One for those who receive publicly funded or provided services and another for those with private health insurance. For example, the Empire Plan is a comprehensive health insurance program for New York’s public employees and their families. The plan covers a range of mental health and substance abuse services but only provides reimbursement to the “highest levels of licensure in NYS,” which includes a licensed psychiatrist, licensed psychologist or licensed clinical social worker with the “R” insurance privilege (LCSW-R). If a NYS employee accesses mental health care using their state insurance plan, they are met with providers who have the highest level of licensure. However, if a consumer accesses services through a program operated, funded or regulated by an exempt state agency, they may be served by unlicensed and under qualified individuals. A permanent exemption would solidify this NYS-sponsored disparity in quality of care.
We strongly urge you to contact members of the Assembly and Senate listed below. Tell them that as a social worker:
We need ALL SOCIAL WORKERS to call the following legislative leaders:
Senator Dean Skelos (SD09) Temporary President & Majority Coalition Leader District Office, Rockville Center (516) 766-8383 Senator Jeffrey Klein (SD34) Temporary President & IDC Coalition Leader District Office, Bronx (718) 822-2049 Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (SD35) Democratic Conference Leader District Office, Yonkers (914) 423-4031 |
Assemblyman Sheldon Silver (AD65) Speaker District Office, NYC (212) 312-1420 |
We need CONSTITUENTS ONLY to contact the following members ASAP:
Please send us feedback about your calls! Email us at Info@naswnys.org
(Not sure who your Assemblymember or Senator is? You can look it up at: www.votesmart.org)
Assembly Mental Health Committee Aileen M. Gunther (Assembly District 100) Didi Barrett (Assembly District 106) Karim Camara (Assembly District 43) Michael Cusick (Assembly District 63) Phillip Goldfeder (Assembly District 23) Ellen Jaffee (Assembly District 97) Barbara Lifton (Assembly District 125) John T. McDonald III (Assembly District 108) Robert J. Rodriguez (Assembly District 68) Harvey Weisenberg (Assembly District 20) Assembly Higher Education Committee Inez D. Barron (Assembly District 60) Kevin A. Cahill (Assembly District 103) Nelson L. Castro (Assembly District 86) Michael Cusick (Assembly District 63) Steve Englebright (Assembly District 4) Patricia Fahy (Assembly District 109) Richard N. Gottfried (Assembly District 75) Ellen Jaffee (Assembly District 97) Charles D. Lavine (Assembly District 13) Barbara Lifton (Assembly District 125) Donna A. Lupardo (Assembly District 123) William Magee (Assembly District 121) Amy Paulin (Assembly District 88) Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes (Assembly District 141) Michael Simanowitz (Assembly District 27) Al Stirpe (Assembly District 127) |
Senate Mental Health Committee David Carlucci (38th Senate District) Eric Adams (20th Senate District) Greg Ball (40th Senate District) John J. Bonacic (42nd Senate District) Simcha Felder (17th Senate District) Kemp Hannon (6th Senate District) Liz Krueger (28th Senate District) James L. Seward (51st Senate District) Cecilia Tkaczyk (46th Senate District) Lee M. Zeldin (3rd Senate District) Senate Higher Education Committee John J. Flanagan (2nd Senate District) Patrick M. Gallivan (59th Senate District) Joseph A. Griffo (47th Senate District) Mark Grisanti (60th Senate District) Timothy M. Kennedy (63rd Senate District) Liz Krueger (28th Senate District) George D. Maziarz (62nd Senate District) Kevin S. Parker (21st Senate District) Patty Ritchie (48th Senate District) Gustavo Rivera (33rd Senate District) Joseph E. Robach (56th Senate District) Diane J. Savino (23rd Senate District) José M. Serrano (29th Senate District) James L. Seward (51st Senate District) Toby Ann Stavisky (16th Senate District) David J. Valesky (53rd Senate District) Lee M. Zeldin (3rd Senate District) |