| R 348 |
| 2024 -- H 7627 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 06/06/2024 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF UTILIZING FEDERAL TITLE IV DOLLARS TO SUPPORT AND ENHANCE ENROLLMENT IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION AT RIC |
Introduced By: Representatives Casimiro, Noret, Serpa, Solomon, and Cruz |
| Date Introduced: February 15, 2024 |
| WHEREAS, In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Reform Act of 1980 |
| (Public Law 96-272) was passed; and |
| WHEREAS, This Act created Title IV-E that allows state child welfare agencies to claim |
| and utilize federal financial participation (FFP) funds to augment training and educating of state |
| public child welfare workers; and |
| WHEREAS, The Act encouraged state/college partnerships to educate and elevate the |
| professional skills of social case workers, casework supervisors, child protective investigators, |
| child protective investigator supervisors and those interested in working in public child welfares; |
| and |
| WHEREAS, BSW/MSW education funded by Title IV-E of Social Security Act ("Title |
| IV-E Child Welfare Education") is an important incentive to encourage social workers to fill |
| critical vacancies serving Rhode Island's most vulnerable children and families; and |
| WHEREAS, Title IV-E Child Welfare Education aims to demonstrate a robust training |
| partnership between public college social work programs and public child welfare agencies to |
| recruit, develop and retain an educated, professional, stable, and committed workforce; now, |
| therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created |
| consisting of thirteen (13) members: three (3) of whom shall be members of the House of |
| Representatives, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the |
| Speaker of the House; two (2) of whom shall be members of SEIU Local 580, be appointed by |
| the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be the Director of Admissions at Rhode Island |
| College, or designee; one of whom shall be the Dean of the School of Social Work at Rhode |
| Island College, or designee; one of whom shall be a member of the RIC School of Social Work, |
| to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be a Senior Advisor to the |
| Governor, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be the Director of the |
| Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), or designee; one of whom shall be a |
| member of staff at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), to be appointed by |
| the Director of DCYF; one of whom shall be the Director of Workforce Development at the |
| Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), or designee; and one of whom shall |
| be the Director Adult Programs for the Office of Post-Secondary Education, or designee. |
| In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a legislative study |
| commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly resolution, the appointing |
| authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator, provided that |
| the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader of the political party which is entitled to the |
| appointment, consents to the member of the general public. |
| The purpose of said commission shall be to study the feasibility of utilizing Federal Title |
| IV-E dollars to leverage and help enroll and graduate students in the field of social work in a state |
| college (Rhode Island College) in order to ultimately serve a Rhode Island state agency (DCYF). |
| The goal of providing this funding is to attract and retain front line staff for the Department of |
| Children Youth and Families. |
| Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at |
| the call of the Speaker of the House and organize and shall select a chairperson. |
| Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. |
| The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. |
| All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, |
| documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or |
| desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. |
| The Speaker of the House is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters |
| for said commission; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the |
| Office of the Governor and the House of Representative no later than February 11, 2025, and said |
| commission shall expire on April 9, 2025. |
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| LC005109/SUB A |
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