Testimony on HB 5372: AN ACT PERMITTING CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS TO CONDUCT PERIODIC BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS OF POLICE OFFICERS AND PROMOTING THE INCREASED USE OF CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT UNITS WHEN ISSUING EMERGENCY CERTIFICATES.

Judiciary Committee

March 9, 2022

Submitted by: Stephen Wanczyk-Karp, LMSW

The National Association of Social Workers, Connecticut Chapter representing nearly 2,400 members strongly supports HB 5372. This bill recognizes the clinical assessment skills of Licensed Clinical Social Workers and offers police departments a valuable option in selecting a clinician to provide the behavioral health assessment of police officers.

Clinical social workers in Connecticut were first certified by the Department of Public Health (DPH) in 1985 and since 1995 DPH has licensed clinical social workers. The LCSW scope of practice reads as follows:  “Clinical social work” means the application, by persons trained in social work, of established principles of psychosocial development, behavior, psychopathology, unconscious motivation, interpersonal relationships and environmental stress to the evaluation, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of biopsychosocial dysfunction, disability and impairment, including mental, emotional, behavioral, developmental and addictive disorders, of individuals, couples, families or groups. Clinical social work includes, but is not limited to, counseling, psychotherapy, behavior modification and mental health consultation; (emphasis added).

Here are the key reasons for the addition of LCSWs as authorized mental health providers under PA 20-1:

1. LCSWs are trained in and licensed for diagnosis and treatment. LCSWs are recognized as behavioral health providers by all major private insurers, Medicare, Tri-Care, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration Health Care System.
2. As of 2/23/22, according to the CT DPH, there were 8,244 LCSWs with a CT license. Compare this to 2,361 licensed psychologist and approximately 900 practicing psychiatrists based on statistic from Telepsychiatry CT, which includes Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist (DPH statistics do not break out Psychiatrists from other Physicians). Adding in the requirement to be experienced in trauma and PTSD, the availability of currently recognized providers is insufficient for the task of evaluating each police officer at least every 5 years.
3. From a cost perspective, police departments will find it less costly to contract with a LCSW. This is particularly important for large departments or those financially stretched.
4. The Governor’s Task Force on Police Accountability and Transparency has recommended the inclusion of Licensed Clinical Social Workers for the behavioral health assessments (recommendation #5).
5. Social workers are trained in a person-in-environment perspective. This training allows the social worker to assess both the individual and the individual’s environment, making LCSWs particularly well suited for the required assessment.
6. Practically every police department works with clinical social workers, whether it is an embedded employee, a contractual arrangement with community service providers or through the Mobile Crisis Response Team. Given this collaborative work, many social workers are familiar with police work and the environment within which police function. Such an understanding will be to the benefit police departments when procuring a mental health provider to perform behavioral health assessments.

NASW/CT urges the Judiciary Committee to assist police departments in meeting the critically important Section 16 of the Police Accountability Act (PA 20-1) by voting yes on HB 5372.