A 5570: Authorizes the commissioner of mental health to establish up to three, three-year pilot programs in community behavioral health organizations for the purposes of creating social worker pilot programs to support the ongoing retention and recruitment of licensed clinical social workers.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5570 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMON, SHIMSKY, SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental Health AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to establishing a social worker pilot program; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 2 7.49 to read as follows: 3 § 7.49 Social worker pilot program. 4 (a) Subject to appropriation, the commissioner shall establish up to 5 three, three-year pilot programs in community behavioral health organ- 6 izations, as defined in article thirty-one of this chapter, for the 7 purposes of providing supervised post-graduate clinical social work 8 experience as required for licensure as a licensed clinical social work- 9 er under section seventy-seven hundred four of the education law at no 10 cost to participants. 11 (b) The commissioner shall establish and develop standards applicable 12 to the program. 13 (c) The commissioner shall develop evaluation criteria for the pilot 14 programs, which shall include, but not be limited to: 15 (1) any improved ability for the community behavioral health organiza- 16 tion to recruit newly licensed clinical social workers as part of the 17 pilot program; 18 (2) the utilization of evidence based models with track records of 19 clinical success; 20 (3) the provision of continuing education opportunities, at least one 21 day per week, for participating licensed master social workers and 22 licensed clinical social workers; 23 (4) the percentage of the pilot program participants who become 24 licensed as a licensed clinical social worker; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03589-01-5 
 A. 5570 2 1 (5) the average length of employment for licensed clinical social 2 workers employed with the community behavioral health organization. 3 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 4 deemed repealed six years after such date.