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Final Report on Social Worker Shortage Released June 20, 2003
During the 2001-2002 legislative session, the Assembly Human Services Committee held a series of hearings on the issue of the shortage of social workers here in California. These hearings were a joint effort of the committee and all of the schools of social work in the state, as well as the National Association of Social Workers and organized labor. The individuals who testified covered a broad range of social work perspectives and practices. Topics included: 1. What is the size of the shortage? 2. Where is the shortage? 3. What are the effects of the shortage on systems and clients? 4. Are there models out there for increasing the number of social workers? 5. What are the skills sets that might be required of future social workers and where should they be taught? The enclosed report documents the hearings. It was prepared by Kirsten Deichert, then staff to the committee. We think it is time to circulate it to all the stakeholders, individuals and organizations who participated in the hearings. The report contains a number of suggestions to increase the production of new social work staff for both the public and private sectors. Following the hearings, the Legislature passed a resolution calling for the development of a Master Plan for Social Work Education to be submitted to the Legislature by January, 2004. It also called upon the schools of social welfare to increase their enrollments. We are now moving forward in response to those requests. We appreciate your interest in this subject matter and will continue to update you on future findings and progress. If you should have any questions, please contact Sara Brooks, Graduate Student Researcher, at s_brooks@uclink.berkeley.edus_brooks@uclink.berkeley.edu. *If you have any difficulty reading the letter or report, please contact Ann Gilbert at swdean@uclink.berkeley.edu. swdean@uclink.berkeley.edu James Midgley
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