Hospitals & Asylums

Social Work Act of 2008 HA-17-6-08

To change the name of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to the Social Work Administration (SWA) for the price of an institutional subscription to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), hire 8,100 new Social Security Administration (SSA) employees to offset retirement and attrition and meet increased workload, at an estimated FY 2008 cost of $350 million and the option to eliminate the social security disability backlog by dismissing all petitions with $500 and a notice that if the petitioner is still in need to re-apply using a form provided, to the local office or Federal Appeals Council, at an estimated one time cost of $750 million.

Be it enacted in the House and Senate assembled, Referred to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).

Title I Social Work Government Reform Agenda

Sec. 1 Amendments to the US Code

a. Amend Subchapter III-A of the Public Health Service to read Social Work Administration

b. Amend Part A 42USC(6A)IIIA§290aa so that the introductory section reads Social Work Administration and part (a) replaces reference to the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with Social Work Administration (SWA).

Sec. 2 History

a. Title II of the Social Security Act was created in 1935 when Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Economic Security Act (ESA) on August 14, 1935 H. R. 7260 to administrate the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds.

b. Title XIV of the Social Security Act providing Federal grants to States for aid to the permanently and totally disabled was defined by the 1954 Amendments to insure people against the, "inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or to be of long-continued and indefinite duration."

c. Title XVI of the Social Security Act establishing the federally administrated program of Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled was enacted in the Amendments of 1972.

d. The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) was officially established on May 4, 1974 when President Nixon signed Public Law 93-282.

e. Title XX of the Social Security Act was created in 1975 when President Ford signed Public Law 93-647; however, it was OBRA 1981 that amended title XX to establish a ``block grant to States for social services' when President Carter signed Public Law 97-35

f. The ADAMHA Reorganization Act abolished ADAMHA in 1993, creating the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration SAMHSA, to administrate Mental Health and Substance Abuse Block Grants, when President Bush signed Public Law 102-321.

g. The Social Security Administration (SSA) became an independent agency in the Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994 when President Clinton signed Public Law-103-296

h. In 2005 Substance abuse was allocated $2.5 billion and mental health was allocated $912.5 million for a total of $3.4 billion for all federal substance abuse and mental health programs. After falling from a $2.8 billion entitlement ceiling in 1996 for fiscal year 2000, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 106-113) set title XX funding at $1.775 billion.

i. In 2007 the Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund made $95.5 billion in payroll taxes and $10.8 billion in interest on investments for a total of $109.8 billion in revenues and paid $99.1 billion in benefits to 9 million disabled workers and their dependents (Annual Report 2008). The $900 million saved from a perfect $100 billion could have been used to hire 8,000 new Claim Representatives and pay nearly everyone in the disability backlog $500 on time.

j. The SSA administration budget has been $720.0 million dollars, and about 8,000 work years short for the last five years (Warskinski 2007). Overall agency employment dropped from 63,569 in 2003 to 60,206 at the end of 2007 (Astrue 2008). By May 2008 the backlog of disability cases had grown to more than 1.4 million (Waitsman 2008).

k. To clear the disability backlog this Act provides Congress with the option to dismiss all 1.4 million disability petitions with a $500 check and a form they can mail to the local office if they are still in need, at a one time cost of only $750 million, $500 per capita.

l. This Act provides for $350 million above current appropriations to hire new SSA social workers in FY 2008 and $673 million above the President’s request in FY 2009 to hire 10,000 new social workers.

m. This Act may be alternatively cited as the “Now Hiring Social Workers Act of 2008”

Sec. 3 Justification

a. This is an act of social justice. The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. Social workers pursue social change focused primarily on issue of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice (NASW Code of Ethics 1999). Social security provides the most comprehensive social protection that exists on the planet.

b. There are other social welfare strategies. On February 7, 2008, the Congress passed the “Economic Stimulus Act of 2008,” which was signed into law by the President on February 13, 2008 (P.L. 110-185). This law provides lower-income and middle-income working families, and certain seniors and disabled veterans, with an economic stimulus payment (commonly referred to as a “rebate check”). The rebate check generally is equal to the lesser of a taxpayer’s net income tax liability or $600 ($1,200 in the case of married couples filing a joint return). In the case of taxpayers with qualifying income (defined as earned income, Social Security benefits, disabled veteran benefits, and benefits for widows of disabled veterans) of at least $3,000 and taxpayers with positive income tax liability, the rebate check will not be less than $300 ($600 in the case of married couples filing a joint return). The amount of the rebate check is increased by $300 for each child under the age of 17. The rebate check phases out for high-income taxpayers. The effect of these rebates shall be judged by Committee on Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Joint Hearing on Economic Stimulus Payments OV-9 on June 19, 2008.

c. Because Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are intended to provide basic income, the Social Security Act contains special provisions to protect these benefits from creditors in order to ensure that funds are available for food, clothing and shelter. Social Security Act section 207 (42 U.S.C. 407) states that the right of an individual to any future benefit payment “shall not be transferable or assignable,” and that none of the benefits “shall be subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law” (There are limited exceptions for alimony, child support, and federal debts.) that shall be discussed at the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security Hearing on Protecting Social Security Beneficiaries from Predatory Lending and Other Harmful Financial Institution Practices SS-7 on June 24, 2008.

d. The government’s ability to gain and hold a high proportion of citizen’s trust is essential to the functioning of an efficient and successful administration. A democracy cannot survive long without the support of the majority of its citizens. To enhance trust the government must enact non-controversial public policies, social policies, such as minimum wage, family and medical leave. In a properly functioning democracy the government has no power without the support of its constituents (Porter 2008). If research is to fulfill its promise to society it will need to engage insights from agency-structure theory that have hitherto been neglected. New ways of integrating past and future perspective must be developed to execute a line of action to ameliorate present problems. Status passage is defined as the movement into a different part of the social structure that may be desirable or undesirable because it may entail a loss or gain of privilege, influence or power (Berger 2008). Public perception of organization wrongdoing are important (Gailey & Matthew 2008). Organizations are generally interpreted as complex unities of individuals and coalitions who try to influence the functioning of that organization with a view to their values and interests. Democratization, the opening up and maintaining of permanent possibilities of intervening and contesting conditions of life for human beings by these human beings themselves, is a social or common good (Diest 2008).

e. Social work is a mental health profession. Social workers are versed in psychotherapy. Traditionally the mission of social work has been defined as the social integration of marginalized persons through social casework, social group work and community organization. Social workers have always attempted to work with other professionals (Chaterjee & Fauble 2008). Only a small fraction of mental health or substance abuse cases should ever be referred to a psychiatrist, but every case needs a social worker. Social workers need to settle more cases themselves to reduce the burden on psychiatrists who need to devote more time to counseling the seriously mentally ill and to ensure that federal funds are socially and environmentally responsible (Heal 2008). To accomplish this work, treating as many as 40 million people who become mentally ill annually, there are 600,000 licensed social workers, compared to 150,000 licensed psychologists, 100,000 substance abuse counselors, 40,000 psychiatrists, 75,000 probation officers, 350,000 lawyers, 450,000 corrections officers and an estimated 75,000 psychiatric nurses.

f. Social workers need to organize politically in order to advocate for human rights under the Title XX Social Services Block Grants that provide for (1) child and foster care, (2) home-based services; (3) low income energy assistance programs, (4) temporary assistance for needy families and (5) mental health, without reprisal. Bureaucratic based social capital is built through the maintenance of legitimacy. The concept of social capital explains how certain individuals are better able than others to access resources due to social positioning. People may be inhibited and excluded if they have insufficient knowledge about networks or institutions. Opportunity travels along these social networks (Reimer et al 2008). As the only employee working in the mental health and substance abuse systems who might be sane, it must be given to the licensed social worker to govern the Center for Mental Health Services, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and expand the nondiscriminatory services for the homeless, halfway houses for probationers and parolees and poor under the Social Services Block Grant and other programs financing social services the Social Work Administration (SWA) might wish to study.

g. This reform may be emulated at the state and particularly at the local level of the Boards of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services that might apply themselves to freedom more clinically if their governance was left to a Social Work Agency (SWA). Social workers are not drudges for the anti-social professions of law, psychiatry and nursing but are the people who lead us from inanity to freedom. As the leader of this pack of drug addicted psychopaths, the social worker is not only entitled to a government of their own, but a government that rules the psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, mental health professionals, corrections officers and substance abuse counselors who abuse their clients.

h. The National Conference on Social Work for Social Justice of June 3-6 2007 at St. Thomas School of Social Work promises that social workers will democratically provide for common ground as we work together to build a program and a profession, which more strongly articulates a commitment to social justice. We will recognize that no single viewpoint has a monopoly on the truth. We will remind ourselves that the solutions to our challenges will emerge from dialogue that embraces diverse perspectives. We will embrace the realities of our institutional cultures, not by simple defiance or by naïve acquiescence, but acknowledging both their valid achievements and real dangers. As Peter Hennot said,

“Social justice means loving people so much that I work to change structures that violate their dignity”.

i. Social workers have proven themselves capable at governing with the success of Social Security Administration (SSA) that has accumulated the largest asset under single ownership of any State party and administrates nearly 50 million people a living wage (Annual Report 2008). The combined OASDI Trust Fund was valued at $2.34 trillion at the end of 2007. This is however a hollow achievement because it reflects money that was not administrated to the poor. The benign functionalism which characterizes much history of the welfare state is taken also as the basis for the relationship whereby decision making and research operate together to make social change (Smith 1983). Income inequality has been rising steadily since the 1970s when ADAMHA and SAMHSA were founded. Social workers need to assert themselves by changing the name of SAMHSA to the Social Work Administration (SWA) to deal with the human condition on the economic and rational basis of poverty.

j. Since 2000 there has been a breakdown in funding for the Social Security Administration (SSA) and despite a productivity increase of more than 15 percent since 2001, the administrative funding SSA has received has been well below the level needed to keep up with this growing workload. From Fiscal Year (FY) 1998 through FY 2007, SSA received a cumulative total of $1.3 billion less than was requested by the President, and $4.6 billion less than the Commissioner’s own budget for the agency. As a result, by the end of calendar year 2007, SSA staffing had dropped to almost the level in 1972 - before the start of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program - even though SSA’s beneficiary population has nearly doubled since that time (Rangel 2008).

k. The number of disabled workers drawing Social Security Disability Insurance has more than doubled since 1990 from 3 million to 6 ½ million, an increase of 117% and the number of disabled SSI beneficiaries has increased during this same time period by 66% (Warsinsky 2007). 1.4 million people were awaiting a decision on their initial claim or appeal for Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits as of early 2008. Initial applications for disability benefits have grown over 20% in the last decade. As of March 2008 the backlog of appealed cases is over 750,000. These people wait, on average, nearly 500 days from the beginning of their claim to receiving a final determination. Almost 300,000 of these cases are over a year old. If SSA continues the current process of excessively denying eligible claimants initially, the administrative costs will naturally escalate as more cases continue to be appealed and waiting times increase. Obviously, wrongful initial denials cause great hardship to citizens who have paid their Social Security taxes to obtain insured status and do not receive the benefits to which they are entitled (Waitsman 2008).

l. The dramatic increase in the disability claims backlog coincides with this period of under-funding the agency, leaving people with severe disabilities to wait years to receive the benefits to which they are entitled. The average processing time for cases at the hearing level has increased dramatically since 2000, when the average time was 274 days. In the current fiscal year, SSA estimates that the average processing time for disability claims at the hearing level will be 535 days, nearly twice as long as in 2000. The primary reason for the continued and growing disability claims backlogs is that SSA has not received adequate funds for its management costs. Although Commissioner Astrue has made reduction and elimination of the disability claims backlog one of his top priorities, without adequate appropriations, the situation will deteriorate even more (Ford 2008).

(000)	FY 2005	FY 2006	FY 2007	FY 2008	FY 2009	FY 2009	FY 2010
Budget Proposed	9,379,324	9,403,000	9,496,000	9,677,000	10,327,000	11,000,000	11,250,000
Budget Enacted	9,178,556	9,286,000	9,294,000	9,745,000 +350,000
SSA Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs)	62,937	63,131	58,885	60,064	60,293	65,000	70,000
Overtime/Lump Sum Leave	4,559	2,398	1,307	2,231	2,245	1,000
Total SSA Work years (including OIG)	68,764	65,529 (-3,235)	61,292 (-4,237)	62,295 (+1,003)	62,538 (+243)	66,000 (+3,462)	70,000 (+4,000)

m. We urge approval of no less than $10.1 billion for SSA in Fiscal Year 2008. Additional resources above the President’s Budget Request of $9.597 billion are absolutely essential to begin the restoration of the service levels that the public deserves from SSA (Warsinsky 2007). The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other groups interested in the SSA administrative cost crisis recommended that SSA be allocated $11 billion in administrative cost or $673 million over the President’s budget in FY 2009. This amount would restore some lost staff and allow the Agency the opportunity to significantly reduce backlogs (Skwierczynski 2008). Congress shall therefore make another $350 million available over their enacted SSA budget to begin hiring 8,100 social workers, at an estimated $40,000 a year, for a total of $10.1 billion in FY 2008, and another $673 million above the President’s request for a total of $11 billion in FY 2009 to ensure adequate staffing of the social security administration that requires at least $11 billion in FY 2009 and $11.5 billion in FY 2010.

Sec. 4 Social Security Administration

a. The annual cost of Social Security benefits represented 4.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2007 and is projected to increase to 6.1 percent of GDP in 2035, and then decline to 5.8 percent of GDP by 2048 and remain at that level. Although the combined OASDI program passes our short-range test of financial adequacy, the Disability Insurance Trust Fund does not; in addition, OASDI continues to fail our long-range test of close actuarial balance by a wide margin. Projected OASDI tax income will begin to fall short of outlays in 2017, and will be sufficient to finance only 78 percent of scheduled annual benefits in 2041, after the combined OASDI Trust Fund is projected to be exhausted This year Medicare's Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund is expected to pay out more in hospital benefits and other expenditures than it receives in taxes and other dedicated revenues. (Annual reports 2008). In December 2007, 40.9 million people received OASI benefits, 8.9 million received DI benefits, and 44.1 million were covered under Medicare. All four trust funds showed net increases in assets in 2007 (Annual Reports 2008). Together these trust funds are the largest assets of any State party.

	OASI	DI	HI	SMI
Assets (end of 2006)	$1,844.3	$203.8	$305.4	$33.1
Income during 2007	675.0	109.9	223.7	238.2
Outgo during 2007	495.7	98.8	203.1	228.5
Net increase in assets	179.3	11.1	20.7	9.7
Assets (end of2007)	2,023.6	214.9	326.0	42.9

b. To manage these trust funds are six Social Security Trustees, four of whom serve by virtue of their positions in the Federal Government: the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Commissioner of Social Security. The other two Trustees are public representatives appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The two Public Trustee positions are currently vacant. Section 201(g) of the Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994 (PL-103-296), that established SSA as an independent agency, provides that after the close of each fiscal year (FY), the Commissioner will determine the portion of costs which should have been borne by the OASI, DI, HI, and SMI Trust Funds. The Secretary will determine the portion of the costs for administration of title XVIII which should have been borne by the general fund and the HI and SMI Trust Funds. After these determinations are made, the Commissioner and Secretary shall each certify to the Treasury the amounts, if any, which should be transferred between the Trust Funds and the general fund of the Treasury to ensure that each of the Trust Funds and the general fund have borne their proper share of costs in the administration of title II, XVI, and XVIII programs (HCFA 1994). Although the combined OASDI trust funds do not reach exhaustion until 2041, the disability trust fund will be exhausted in 2025 under current assumptions (Astrue 2008).

ESTIMATED OPERATIONS OF TRUST FUNDS (In billions—totals may not add due to rounding)
	Income					Expenditures					Change in fund
				SMI					SMI
Year	OASI	DI	HI	B	D	OASI	DI	HI	B	D	OASI	DI	HI
2008	$708	$112	$221	$213	$52	$516	$108	$230	$187	$52	$192	$4	$-8
2009	755	118	247	220	62	545	115	246	194	62	210	3	1
2010	801	124	259	192	68	578	122	260	205	68	223	2	-2
2011	848	129	271	218	75	615	129	276	216	75	233	1	-5
2012	897	135	283	232	84	657	137	295	229	84	240	-2	-11

2013	947	141	296	255	92	704	145	316	251	92	243	-4	-19
2014	998	147	309	264	102	755	153	338	261	102	242	-6	-28
2015	1,050	152	322	307	114	810	161	361	278	114	239	-9	-40
2016	1,103	158	335	277	127	869	170	387	298	127	235	-12	-52
2017	1,159	164	348	330	142	931	179	415	325	142	228	-15	-67

c. About one-in-six Americans receives a Social Security benefit. Social Security is virtually the only income for about one third of senior citizens. Younger workers and their families receive important disability and survivors’ insurance protection. Initially, under the Social Security Act of 1935, Social Security covered less than 50 percent of the nation’s workers. Over time, Congress has extended coverage so that Social Security coverage is nearly universal, with 96 percent of the nation’s workforce now covered under Social Security (Rust 2008). Social Security is at the core of economic security for nearly all Americans, insuring workers and their families against the loss of income due to retirement, disability or death. Social Security plays a critical, and widely recognized, role in reducing poverty among the elderly and disabled. Social Security has many of the features of an ideal pension system. It’s virtually universal; fully portable between jobs; covers low-paid, part-time and temporary workers and the self-employed; provides secure, life-long retirement benefits not subject to the ups and downs of the market or the risk of depletion prior to reaching retirement; keeps up with increases in the cost of living; provides benefits to spouses, surviving spouses and divorced spouses; includes disability and life insurance benefits as well as retirement benefits; imposes few responsibilities on employers; and is highly efficient, spending less than 1% of the funds collected each year on administrative costs. Building on this strong foundation can continue the progress Social Security has made in reducing poverty for millions of Americans (Entmacher 2008).

d. Nationally, about 29 percent of public employees, 6.8 million federal, state and local government employees, are not covered by Social Security and are subject to the GPO. In 11 states, over 50 percent of the public employees are not covered by Social Security, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Texas and Ohio. Further, the percentage of employees ineligible for Social Security in Ohio, Maine, and Louisiana exceeds 75 percent. In Ohio, 97 percent of state and local employees are ineligible for Social Security. Public employers in these states operate their own pension plans for their employees. The workers who are not covered by Social Security vary from state to state and some number are found in all 50 states. They may include city, county, state and/or federal employees (Rugola 2008).

e. Without family income from Social Security, half of all women and nearly four out of ten men 65 and older would be poor. Social Security is the largest source of retirement income for most Americans, but it is especially important to women. Social Security provides 53% of the income of single women 65 and older (widowed, divorced and never-married), compared with 38% for comparable men. And, for many single women 65 and older, Social Security is virtually their only source of income. Social Security provides 90% or more of the retirement income for nearly half (46%) of all single women 65 and older who receive Social Security, over half (55%) of Black single women 65 and older, and six out of ten single Hispanic women 65 and older. Yet, despite Social Security, 2.4 million women and 1 million men 65 and older are still living in poverty (Entmacher 2008).

f. In 2007 SSA had 1,374 Field Offices and Tele-service Centers throughout the country. For Fiscal Year 2008, the President has proposed an increase for SSA of approximately $304.0 million over the final level of funding for Fiscal Year 2007. And yet, staffing levels in SSA offices across the country are being cut. In fact, SSA will lose about 4,000 positions from the beginning of Fiscal Year 2006 to Fiscal Year 2008. SSA will be at its lowest staffing level since the early 1970s - before it took over the administration of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program from the states. The most significant staffing losses in SSA have occurred in the agency’s Field Offices. Field Offices have lost about 2,400 positions in the past 19 months and about 1,300 positions in the past 7 months. The vast majority of these losses have been in the most critical positions in the Field: Claims Representatives and Service Representatives – Now Hiring Social Workers.

Sec. 5 Adequate Social Security Administration Staffing of 70,000 FY 2009

a. The Social Security Administration’s operating budget has been insufficient to sustain current levels of staffing. Between FY 2000 and 2007, Congress appropriated less than both the Commissioner of Social Security and the President requested, resulting in a total administrative budget shortfall of more than $4 billion (Ford 2008). The SSA administration budget has been $720.0 million dollars, and about 8,000 work years reduction short for the last five years. It is interesting to note that while total Executive Branch employment is expected to increase 2.1% from FY 2006 to FY 2008, SSA’s employment is expected to decrease by 6.2%. Overall agency employment dropped from 63,569 in 2003 to 60,206 at the end of 2007 (Astrue 2008). Based on the President’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, SSA will have lost more than 9% of its staff in just four years (Skwierczynski 2008). As the result Social Security offices around the United States are being closed at an alarming rate. Since FY 2006, at least 18 offices have been closed or merged in an effort to do more with less (Waitsman 2008).

b. SSA has experienced a dramatic increase in workloads as members of the Baby Boom Generation reach their peak years for becoming disabled and start filing for retirement benefits in 2008. From 2001 to 2007, productivity climbed an average of 2.5% per year, for a total gain of 13.1% since 2001. SSA expects the increase in productivity for FY 2008 to be 2% (Skwierczynski 2008). Despite dramatically increased workloads, staffing levels throughout the agency are at the lowest level since 1972. SSA estimates that in FY 2009 it will have a staffing deficit of essentially 8,100 full-time staff. The FY 2008 shortfall is 3,300 work-years, and the FY 2009 shortfall is projected to be 4,800 work-years. These figures must be added together to see the cumulative shortfall of 8,100 staff (Ford 2008). Human services occupations, in general, are prone to high rates of burnout and turnover. Emotional exhaustion is often associated with occupations characterized by a high level and intensity of “caring” and “helping. Counselor turnover in the public sector ranges from 25-50% surpassing the 19.2% annual turnover rate across all professions and 17.7% annual quit rate among health and social service employees (Ducharme et al 2008).

c. It is estimated that to keep up with attrition and retirement of the past five years $10.4 billion is needed, $843.0 million above the level of funding that the President requested for Fiscal Year 2008. We urge approval of no less than $10.1 billion for SSA in Fiscal Year 2008. Additional resources above the President’s Budget Request of $9.597 billion are absolutely essential to begin the restoration of the service levels that the public deserves from SSA (Warsinsky 2007). The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other groups interested in the SSA administrative cost crisis recommended that SSA be allocated $11 billion in administrative cost or $673 million over the President’s budget for Fiscal Year 2009. This amount would restore some lost staff and allow the Agency the opportunity to significantly reduce backlogs (Skwierczynski 2008).

d. The President’s budget request for SSA in FY 09 is $10.327 billion. This budget would result in an increase in staff of only 229 Full Time Employees. After years of cuts, a modest increase is better than nothing but hardly enough to allow the Agency to reduce its backlogs while continuing to process its day-to-day work. Both the House and the Senate Budget Committees have recommended that the President’s budget be increased by $240 million. American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other groups interested in the SSA administrative cost crisis recommended that SSA be allocated $11 billion in administrative cost or $673 million over the President’s budget. This amount would restore some lost staff and allow the Agency the opportunity to significantly reduce backlogs (Skwierczynski 2008). Congress shall therefore make another $350 million available to begin hiring 8,100 social workers, at an estimated $40,000 a year, in FY 2008, and another $673 million in FY 2009 to ensure adequate staffing of the social security administration that requires at least $11 billion in FY 2009 and $11.5 billion in FY 2010.

(000)	FY 2005	FY 2006	FY 2007	FY 2008	FY 2009	FY 2009	FY 2010
Budget Proposed	9,379,324	9,403,000	9,496,000	9,677,000	10,327,000	11,000,000	11,250,000
Budget Enacted	9,178,556	9,286,000	9,294,000	9,745,000 +350,000
SSA Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs)	62,937	63,131	58,885	60,064	60,293	65,000	70,000
Overtime/Lump Sum Leave	4,559	2,398	1,307	2,231	2,245	1,000
Total SSA Work years (including OIG)	68,764	65,529 (-3,235)	61,292 (-4,237)	62,295 (+1003)	62,538 (+243)	66,000 (+3,462)	70,000 (+4,000)

e. Recent Congressional efforts to provide SSA with adequate funding for its administrative budget are encouraging. The Fiscal Year 2008 appropriation for SSA’s Limitation on Administrative Expenses (LAE) was $9,746,953,000. This amount was $148 million above the President’s request and was the first time in years that the agency has received at least the President’s request. While the FY 2008 appropriation allows the agency to hire some new staff and to reduce processing times, it will not be adequate to fully restore the agency’s ability to carry out its mandated services Between FY 2000 and 2007, Congress appropriated less than both the Commissioner of Social Security and the President requested, resulting in a total administrative budget shortfall of more than $4 billion (Ford 2008). The 2008 appropriations was the first time that Congress has appropriated at or above the President’s Budget request since 1993. Extra funding will be used to strengthen direct service operation with the hiring of 3,900 employees, 1,300 employees more than the expected losses for this year (Astrue 2008). Congress is requested by this Act to make another $350 million available to begin hiring 8,100 social workers, at an estimated $40,000 a year, in FY 2008, and another $673 million in FY 2009 to ensure adequate staffing of the social security administration that requires at least $11 billion in FY 2009 and $11.5 billion in FY 2010 to cover the retirement and attrition of staff and expand the mission of federal social work and social security into the community.

Sec. 6 Eliminating the Disability Backlog

a. Our top priority is to reduce the backlog of disability cases. This is America, and it is simply not acceptable for Americans to wait years for a final decision on a claim. To achieve this goal, we have taken, or will take soon, a number of steps to better manage our workloads. The program includes four components: one, accelerating reviews of cases likely or certain to be approved a compassionate allowance; two, improving hearing procedures; three, increasing adjudicatory capacity; and, four, increasing efficiency through automation and improved business processes (Astrue 2007) – email correspondence.

b. The number of disabled workers drawing Social Security Disability Insurance has more than doubled since 1990 from 3 million to 6 ½ million, an increase of 117% and the number of disabled SSI beneficiaries has increased during this same time period by 66% (Warsinsky 2007). Eleven years ago, GAO testified to the House Social Security Subcommittee that “Despite SSA attempts to reduce the backlog through its STDP initiatives, the agency did not reach its goal of reducing this backlog to 375,000 by December, 1996. The backlog at that time was defined as cases pending for more than 270 days, and the goal was to reduce pending cases to the 375,000-mark. The hearing level backlog was “almost eliminated” from FY 1997 to FY 1999, but then grew “unabated” by FY 2006. The number of pending cases at the hearing level reached a low in FY 1999 at 311,958 cases. The numbers have increased dramatically since 1999, reaching 752,000 in FY 2008 (Waitsman 2008). SSA estimates that the average processing time for disability claims at the hearing level will be 524 days and will increase to 541 days in FY 2008, nearly twice as long as in 2000. Of the 142 hearing offices, 57 are above the 16-month average (Shor 2007)

c. In 1998 there were only 1.2 million new claims filed every year, and the backlog in the hearings process was under 400,000 claims. In February 2007, applications for disability benefits were averaging 2.5 million per year. The Disability Determinations Services (DDS) had a little less than 550,000 initial claims pending. By the end of 2007, there were 746,000 cases in the hearings queue waiting for an ALJ judgment. Today, in April 2008, there are over 560,000 initial claims and 107,000 requests for reconsideration pending in the DDS and another 756,000 claims at the appellate level. The baby boomers are entering their disability prone years and the number of initial disability claims is projected to rise steadily from 2.5 million to close to 2.7 million by 2013. Unless there is a fundamental rethinking of the definition of disability and how this vital safety net fits into the 21^st century, the Trustees tell us that the number of disabled workers receiving benefits is projected to grow from 7.1 million at the end of 2007, to 8.7 million in 2010 (Schieber 2008).

d. 1.4 million people were awaiting a decision on their initial claim or appeal for Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits as of early 2008. Initial applications for disability benefits have grown over 20% in the last decade. As of March 2008 the backlog of appealed cases is over 750,000. These people wait, on average, nearly 500 days from the beginning of their claim to receiving a final determination. Almost 300,000 of these cases are over a year old (Waitsman 2008). The average processing time for cases at the hearing level has increased dramatically since 2000, when the average time was 274 days. In the current fiscal year, SSA estimates that the average processing time for disability claims at the hearing level will be 535 days, nearly twice as long as in 2000. It is important to keep in mind that this is an “average” and that many claimants will wait longer. Petitioners frequently face delays of over 2 years when they file for either SSA or SSI disability benefits. Only 30 % of initial claims for disability are allowed due to an archaic system in which state employees make decisions on whether claimants are eligible for a federal disability program. If their initial claim is denied, the applicant is faced with a nightmare scenario of delays of one to three years before their appeal is decided by the Agency. Claimants find it difficult to interact with a Social Security employee when they need assistance. 25 % of the calls to the 800 number are unanswered. If a claimant calls their local office they can’t get through 51% of the time (Skwierczynski 2008).

e. The primary reason for the continued and growing disability claims backlogs is that SSA has not received adequate funds for its management costs. Although Commissioner Astrue has made reduction and elimination of the disability claims backlog one of his top priorities, without adequate appropriations, the situation will deteriorate even more (Ford 2008). If SSA continues the current process of excessively denying eligible claimants initially, the administrative costs will naturally escalate as more cases continue to be appealed and waiting times increase. Obviously, wrongful initial denials cause great hardship to citizens who have paid their Social Security taxes to obtain insured status and do not receive the benefits to which they are entitled (Waitsman 2008).

f. The dramatic increase in the disability claims backlog coincides with this period of under-funding the agency, leaving people with severe disabilities to wait years to receive the benefits to which they are entitled. SSA must be given enough funding to make disability decisions in a timely manner and to carry out other critical workloads. Due to the serious consequences of continued funding of SSA’s administrative expenses at inadequate levels, we strongly recommend that SSA receive $11 billion for its FY 2009 LAE (Waitsman 2008). We support the Commissioner’s budget request of $10.44 billion. But, at a minimum, we urge that SSA be provided with no less than $10.1 billion, the amount recommended in the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Resolution conference agreement (Shor 2007).

g. There is indeed great disparity among the various state agencies that make the initial and reconsidered determinations on disability claims. In fiscal year 2006, the national average of initial claims allowed was 35%. Yet, Georgia allowed 25%, Tennessee allowed 23%, Kansas allowed 28%, Ohio allowed 27% and South Carolina allowed 23%, while New Hampshire allowed 59%, District of Columbia allowed 54%, Hawaii allowed 53% and Virginia allowed 44%. Congress has held hearings on this issue and there is still no compelling explanation of the disparity (Waitsman 2008).

h. In the 1990s, as an initiative to reduce the backlog of cases at hearing offices, senior staff attorneys were given the authority to issue fully favorable decisions in cases that could be decided without a hearing (i.e. “on the record”). This program was well received by claimants’ representatives because it presented an opportunity to present a case and obtain a favorable result efficiently and promptly. And, of most importance, thousands of claimants benefited. While the Senior Attorney Program existed, it helped to reduce the backlog by issuing approximately 200,000 decisions. The initiative was phased out in 2000, just about the same time that the backlog began to increase. Commissioner Astrue has decided to reinstate the program for at least the next two years (Ford 2008).

g. SSA estimates that it takes approximately 4 to 4 ¾ hours to fully prepare a folder. ePulling will dramatically reduce the time necessary for the file assembly portion of electronic folder preparation. The Appeals Council (AC) will assist in reducing hearing level receipts by making technical corrections to decisions whenever possible instead of remanding them to the hearing level. We have undertaken a decision writer productivity improvement initiative in FY 2007. The intent of the initiative is to improve the timeliness of the draft decisions the ALJs receive from the attorneys and paralegals who draft the decisions. The initiative has three components: (1) advising the attorneys and paralegals of the amount of time it should take on average to draft decisions; (2) encouraging supervisors to assign work in smaller units on a more frequent basis; and, (3) publishing a monthly Decision Writer Performance (DWP) Report by hearing office and region. Based on historical data, we advised the decision writers that, absent special circumstances, to draft legally sufficient decisions it should take on average 4 hours for fully favorable decisions and 8 hours for unfavorable and partially favorable decisions (Shor 2007).

Sec. 8 National Association of Social Workers

a. Social workers held about 595,000 jobs in 2006. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has 150,000 members and is the largest professional organization of social workers in the world. The Social Work Administration (SWA) established in this Act shall pay for at least one institutional subscription to every periodical sponsored by the National Association of Social Workers, as its only pre-condition. The preamble to the NASW professional code of ethics states,

“The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty”.

b. Employment of social workers is expected to increase by 22 percent during the 2006-16 decade, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. Employment of child, family and school social workers is expected to grow by 19 percent. Mental health and substance abuse social workers will grow by 30 percent. Growth of medical and public health social workers is expected to be 24 percent. Median annual earnings of child, family, and school social workers were $37,480 in May 2006. Median annual earnings of child, family, and school social workers were $37,480 in May 2006. Median annual earnings of mental health and substance abuse social workers were $35,410 in May 2006. Median annual earnings of social workers, all other were $43,580 in May 2006. About 5 out of 10 social work jobs were in health care and social assistance industries and 3 out of 10 are employed by State and local government agencies, primarily in departments of health and human services. Although most social workers are employed in cities or suburbs, some work in rural areas (DoL 2008). Employment by type of social worker in 2006, follows:

Child, family, and school social workers	282,000
Medical and public health social workers	124,000
Mental health and substance abuse social workers	122,000
Social workers, all other	66,000

c. A bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) is the most common minimum requirement to qualify for a job as a social worker; however, majors in psychology, sociology, and related fields may qualify for some entry-level jobs, especially in small community agencies. Although a bachelor’s degree is sufficient for entry into the field, an advanced degree has become the standard for many positions. A master’s degree in social work (MSW) is typically required for positions in health settings and is required for clinical work as well. Some jobs in public and private agencies also may require an advanced degree, such as a master’s degree in social services policy or administration. Supervisory, administrative, and staff training positions usually require an advanced degree. College and university teaching positions and most research appointments normally require a doctorate in social work (DSW or Ph.D.).

d. As of 2006, the Council on Social Work Education accredited 458 bachelor’s programs and 181 master’s programs. The Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education listed 74 doctoral programs in social work (DSW or Ph. D.) in the United States. Bachelor’s degree programs prepare graduates for direct service positions, such as caseworker, and include courses in social work values and ethics, dealing with a culturally diverse clientele and at-risk populations, promotion of social and economic justice, human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy and services, social work practice, social research methods, and field education. Accredited programs require a minimum of 400 hours of supervised field experience. Master’s degree programs prepare graduates for work in their chosen field of concentration and continue to develop the skills required to perform clinical assessments, manage large caseloads, take on supervisory roles, and explore new ways of drawing upon social services to meet the needs of clients. Master’s programs last 2 years and include a minimum of 900 hours of supervised field instruction or internship. A part-time program may take 4 years. Entry into a master’s program does not require a bachelor’s degree in social work, but courses in psychology, biology, sociology, economics, political science, and social work are recommended. In addition, a second language can be very helpful. Most master’s programs offer advanced standing for those with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited social work program.

e. Licensure. All States and the District of Columbia have licensing, certification, or registration requirements regarding social work practice and the use of professional titles. Although standards for licensing vary by State, a growing number of States are placing greater emphasis on communications skills, professional ethics, and sensitivity to cultural diversity issues. Most States require 2 years (3,000 hours) of supervised clinical experience for licensure of clinical social workers before a license is issued by an affiliate of the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB).

Sec. 9 March is National Professional Social Work Month

Each year social workers across the country celebrate the profession during March – National Professional Social Work Month.

Title II Principles of the National Conference on Social Work for Social Justice

Sec. 10 Human Dignity

Dignity of the human person is the ethical foundation of a moral society. The measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of all individuals. Social workers treat each person in a caring, respectful manner mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers seek to promote the responsiveness of organizations, communities and social institutions to individuals’ needs and social problems. Social workers act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person or group on any basis.

Sec. 20 Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

In a marketplace where profit often takes precedence over the dignity and rights of workers, it is important to recognize that the economy must serve the people, not the other way around. If the dignity of work is to be protected, the basic rights of workers must be respected – the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to private property and to economic initiative. Social workers challenge injustice related to unemployment, workers’ rights and inhumane labor practices. Social workers engage in organized action, including the formation of and participation in labor unions, to improve services to clients and working conditions.

Sec. 30 Community and the Common Good

All individuals by virtue of their human nature have social needs. Human relationships enable people to meet their needs and provide an important vehicle for change. The family, in all its diverse forms, is the central social institution that must be supported and strengthened. The way in which society is organized – in education, economics, politics, and government – directly affects human dignity and the common good. Social workers promote the general welfare and development of individuals, families and communities. Social workers seek to strengthen relationships among people at all levels to promote the well being of all.

Sec. 40 Solidarity

We are our brother’s and sister’s keep. We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. An ethic of care acknowledging our interdependence belongs in every aspect of human experience including the family, community, society and global dimensions. Social workers understand that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change. Social workers engage people as partners in the helping process and seek to strengthen relationships among people to promote well being at all levels.

Sec. 50 Rights and Responsibilities

People have a right and a responsibility to participate in society and to work together toward the common good. Human dignity is protected and health community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Accordingly, every person has a fundamental right to things necessary for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are responsibilities to family, community and society. Social workers, mindful of individual differences and diversity, respect and promote the right of all individuals to self determination and personal growth and development. Social workers provide education and advocacy to protect human rights and end oppression. Social workers empower individuals/groups to function as effectively as possible.

Sec. 60 Stewardship

It is incumbent upon us to recognize and protect the value of all people and all resources on our planet. While rights to personal property are recognized, these rights are not unconditional and are secondary to the best interest of the common good especially in relation to the right of all individuals to meet their basic needs. Stewardship of resources is important at all levels and settings: family, community, agency and society. Social workers strive to ensure access to needed information, services and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation for all people. Social workers promote the general welfare of people and their environments.

Sec. 70 Priority for the Poor and Vulnerable

A basic moral test of any community or society is the way in which the most vulnerable members are faring. In a society characterized by deepening divisions between rich and poor, the needs of those most at risk should be considered a priority. Social workers advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and to promote social, economic, political and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice. Social workers pursue change with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups to: address poverty, unemployment, discrimination and other forms of social injustice; expand choice and opportunity; and promote social justice.

Sec. 80 Governance and the Principle of Subsidiary

Governance structures in all levels/settings have an imperative to promote human dignity, protect human rights and build the common good. While the principle of subsidiarity calls for the functions of government to be performed at the lowest level possible in order to insure for self-determination and empowerment, higher levels of government have the responsibility to provide leadership and set policy in the best interest of the common good. Social workers engage in social and political action in order to promote equality, challenge injustice, expand opportunity and empower individuals, families and groups to participate in governance structures at all levels.

Sec. 90 Participation

All people have a right to participate in the economic, political and cultural life of society. Social justice and human dignity require that all people be assured a minimum level of participation in the community. It is the ultimate injustice for a person or a group to be excluded unfairly. Social workers strive to ensure access to equal opportunity and meaningful participation for all. Social workers empower individuals and groups to influence social policies and institutions and promote social justice. Social workers advocate for change to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources and opportunities required to meet basic needs and develop fully.

Sec. 100 Promotion of Peace

In light of the human dignity and worth of all and the ethical imperatives of solidarity and stewardship, we are called to promote peace and non-violence at all levels – within families, communities, society and globally. Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon the respect and cooperation between people and nations. Social workers promote peace and the general welfare of society from local to global levels.

Title III American Society

Sec. 101 Literacy, Education and Democracy

Social work is a scholarly profession of board certified and licensed practitioners. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 defines literacy as "an individual's ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society." While 98% of Americans can read and write less than 30%, down from 40% a decade ago, of college graduates are capable of writing a prose document. For close to a century now, access to higher education has been a principal means of achieving social mobility. Much of our nation’s inventiveness has been centered in colleges and universities, as has our commitment to a kind of democracy that only an educated and informed citizenry makes possible (Spellings 2006). Public examination results and grade point averages are however a poor indicator of a persons final degree level or quality of research and tends to result in an academic society that under-represents blacks, women, working class groups and particularly people whose agenda is bettering the quality of life of oppressed people (Smith 1983). While education as an institution is definitely important for social development a social worker should defer to evidence of literacy rather than professional or academic credentials, to achieve the goal of funding to social research

The ultimate goal of education, literacy and social research is to create an informed society based upon equal rights and self determination where everyone can enjoy advances in sciences and the arts. The Great Society was a program of action during the 1960s to establish an agenda of social reform to provide greater educational opportunities for all American children, to offer medical care to the elderly, to conserve our water and air and natural resources, and to tackle the country’s long standing housing shortage. The civil rights act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in public places and helps ensure fair employment and desegregated schools. The voting rights act of 1965 eliminates literacy tests and poll taxes as a condition for voting. The civil rights act of 1968 outlaws discrimination in the sale or rental of housing and interference with voting, work, schooling, jury duty, or participation in federally assisted programs (Foster 1991). The Internet has opened up a vast amount of information to the public, reduced dependency on institutions of higher education, increased opportunities for entrepreneurs and eliminated discriminatory obstacles to the publication of public interest research (OECD 2008). Social workers should forgo profit motivated secrecy and strive to make their research public.

Sec. 200 Income Inequality

Modern social work was founded in the policies of the New Deal (1933-1941) and enactment of the Social Security Act of 1935 that created

a federal system to insure workers against unemployment, old age and disability.  Responsibility for individual socio-economic well-being was

shifted from states and localities to the national government. During the Golden Years (1942-1970) minimum wage earning power peaked in the

1960s when a minimum wage worker could afford to raise a family.  Since the 1970s the rich have steadily gotten richer while the middle class

became poorer. In the Post Golden Era (1975-present) real incomes of middle class family wage earners declined, there is an international trade

deficit and the federal debt is nearing $10 trillion (Hansan & Morris 1997). Since 1980 median family income has risen only about 0.7 percent a

year.  Even during the best of times the Reagan era “morning in America” expansion from 1982 to 1989, Clinton era boom from 1993 to 2000

that balanced the federal budget or Bush’s deficit financed boom 2004-2006, family income grew more slowly than it did for a full generation

after WWII (Krugman 2007).

From 2003 to 2004, the average after-tax income for the richest 1 percent of U.S. households went up almost 20 percent, while after-tax incomes for the middle fifth of the nation went up only 3.6 percent. In 2005, the top 10 percent of Americans collected almost half of all reported income in this country, their biggest share since 1928 (Krugman 2007). In real terms, the value of the new federal minimum wage, $5.85 per hour, is 13% below its value a decade ago and shall rise to $7.25. In 2006, the average American worker earned $29,544 (Waxman 2007). Income inequality, as measured by the Gini co-efficient, has steadily increased since 1970, before which time it flucuated between 0.35 and 0.38. Between 2000 and 2005 the Gini inequality coefficient increased from 0.433 to 0.440. Using the Gini co-efficient for 2005 the per capita GDP was $23,132 and the per capita income was $19,480 (US Census 1967-2006). The first step for believers in responsibility for any form of a social welfare system is to secure and enhance the economy and well-being of the poorest members of any group. By redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor, the middle class will be set free.

Sec. 300 Employment

Employment and unemployment are major concerns for social workers. Work is a major anchor of people’s lives even for the 50% of the population that are either domestic caregivers or beneficiaries of domestic care giving. A person’s work is a major part of their identity. Unemployment is therefore obviously very stressful. Full employment is a major social goal for the half of the population that is not too young, too old or disabled. Roughly 5% of unemployed workers are however actively seeking employment at any given time. Initiatives promoting full employment should be guided by two principles: (1) “do no harm,” and (2) ensure access to effective supports for those who demonstrate a capacity to increase their employment outcomes (Moakley 2008). In the United States it is important to stress that employment be derived from both the labor market and a person’s freely chosen career. A great deal of the income inequality would be overcome if the government and social welfare agencies would respect the work that individuals do for society with legal fees, project budgets and the purchase of arts, crafts and research. Too often is intellectual property stolen to create work for uninspired college graduates and random strangers skilled only at marketing themselves.

To improve working conditions the worker is encouraged to seek a higher minimum wage, unionize, reduce hours of work, advocate for health and pension benefits, paid vacation and sick leave, earned income tax credits, increase tax progressivism to finance social programs and pensions for the working class, middle class and the poor. Other things that should be done to improve employment conditions include fighting discrimination, reducing credentialism, free education and job training and frequent promotions (Miller 1997). With the majority of families earning their living exclusively from employment, that is subject to the whims of the labor market, it has been thought to insure people against periods of unemployment. When a person who has been gainfully employed for a period of at least 6 months is laid off they become eligible for Unemployment Insurance (UI) under Title III of the Social Security Act for a period not to exceed 36 months. In certain situations, where there a national shortage of employment the time limit for benefits may be extended by a supplemental passed by Congress (Sanders 2008).

Sec. 400 Children and Families

The social worker is well aware that the family is the nucleus of society and a great deal of their work is directed to sustaining and supporting families for child well-being and better economic performance. Plagued by the highest level of divorce in the world, half of all marriages end in divorce, the number of single parent families grew 2.5 times between 1960 and 1986 and now 1 in 4 children lives with only one parent. Labor force participation of mothers of young children has increased dramatically from about one-third in 1975 to one-half in 1988 (Bronfenbrenner & Neville 1994). In 2006 there were 4,265,996 births out of nearly 6.6 million pregnancies, a 3 percent increase from the year before, the largest single-year increase since 1989 and the highest total number of births since 1961, near the end of the baby boom. For the first time in 35 years, the U.S. fertility rate has climbed high enough to sustain a stable population, solidifying the nation's unique status among industrialized countries as a growth state (Stobbe 2008). Despite substantial reductions in U.S. infant mortality during the past several decades, the black-white and rich-poor infant survival gap has widened (Save the Children 2008).

The Adoption and Safe Families of 1997 set the national goals for children in the child welfare system as safety, permanence and well-being. Evidence collected by child welfare workers pertains to child maltreatment, foster care and child well-being. A commitment to child well-being could transform the child welfare system, leading it away from the residual system to one that engages children and their families in a more proactive way that does not require a child maltreatment report for entry. Title IV of the Social Security Act disassembles parental duties and defines the boundaries of the state action in the event parents do not or are not able to fulfill their role as “providers” consistent with family privacy. Title IV-A deals with the issue of what happens when parents cannot provide adequate financial supports. Title IV-B sets the boundaries of how the federal government supports families when the parents are unable to provide the non-financial resources needed to protect their children. Title IV-D deals with what happens when non-custodial parents do not meet their legal obligations to support a child financially. Title IV-E defines the federal role when parents do not meet their basic role requirements protecting the safety of their children (Wulczyn, Barth, Yuan, Harden & Landsverk 2005).

Sec. 500 Retirement

Social workers care for and respect the elderly. As the result of medical and technological advances longevity has dramatically increased over the past century and is expected to continue to do so. Elder care is therefore a growth industry for all caring professions and family caregivers. In the United States those aged 65 and older make up about 13 percent of the population, in the next 25 years this proportion is expected to exceed 20 percent. The number of people older than 85 is expected to increase from 4.3 million to 7.3 million in 2020, and then double again to 15 million by 2040 as members of the Baby Boomer generation reach an advanced age (Waite 2005). There is however a growing divide in the health outcomes of the rich and poor and where the wealthy were living one year longer in 1980 they are now living 5 years longer (Waldron 2007). The Divided We Fail campaign is asking our nation's leaders to commit to working in a bipartisan way to provide Americans with actions and answers on health and long-term financial security (AARP 2008).

The 1988-89 debate regarding “What should the federal government do to enhance the quality of life for United States citizens over age 65?” resolved: First, that the federal government should implement a comprehensive program to guarantee retirement security in the United States. Second, that the federal government should guarantee adequate custodial care for United States citizens over age 65. Third, that the federal government should guarantee long-term health care for United States citizens over age 65. The affirmative argument resides in defending a governmental approach to quality of life as opposed to a private sector, or state or local approach for citizens over the age of 65 (Goodnight & Palczewski 1988). People become eligible for retirement insurance under Title II of the Social Security Act at 62 and full benefits at 65 with a right of survivorship for their dependants.

Sec. 600 Health Insurance

Nearly a third of all social workers are employed either in public health or mental health and receive the vast majority of their income from proceeds of public and private health insurance, as do many child and family social workers. The American health care financing system is in something of a crisis because it consumes 16% of the GDP, the most of any nation, but national health outcomes are at the bottom of industrialized nations. Improving the performance of our health-care system is without a doubt one of the most important challenges that our nation faces. In recent decades, improvements in medical knowledge and standards of care have allowed people to live healthier, longer, and more productive lives. Access to health care is the first major challenge that health-care reform must address. In 2006, a total of 47 million Americans, or almost 16 percent of the population, lacked health insurance. Although the federal and state governments spent more than $35 billion to finance uncompensated care in 2004, the evidence nonetheless indicates that uninsured persons receive less health care than those who are insured and that their health suffers as a consequence. On the other hand, in 2000, at least 98,000 Americans died each year in hospitals as a result of medical errors (Bernanke 2008). The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not have universal health insurance (Sanders 2008).

The challenge for health-care reform is primarily found in controlling costs. Per capita health-care spending in the United States has increased at a faster rate than per capita income since the 1970s. Evidence suggests that the cost of health care in the United States is greater than necessary to allow us to achieve optimal levels of health and longevity. The medical establishment preys on our deepest fears and its costly treatments range from marginally effective to completely unnecessary, while the real sources of illness and practical cures, are jealously covered up to reap a profit from the pain and suffering (Deyo & Patrick 2005). To achieve social goals of adequate health care the medical establishment must be socialized from a private for-profit to a non-profit mentality while health insurance rises from a social employer based insurance with subsidies for high risk and the poor to a national health insurance service that is free for everybody. The major room for reform in the United States health care system is to lay off 2.5 million health insurance salesmen and medical billers as a more efficient single payer system is instituted. The social worker has a duty to prevent health care fraud when treatment is unnecessary, involuntary, is accidentally detrimental to a person’s health or a person is unable to afford their health care treatment the independent social worker shall terminate the billing (Sanders 2008).

Sec. 700 Mental Health

Social workers are mental health professionals and a third are employed exclusively in the treatment of the mentally ill. In 2003 the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reported that 21.1%, 44.3 million, of the US population suffer from diagnosable mental disorders every year, 12% of all absences from work were due to mental disorders. Mental illness is no joke. In 1997 30,535 people died from suicide in the U.S. Suicide was the 11^th leading cause of death in 2000 for all age groups. Suicide is 3^rd leading cause of death among 15 – 24 year olds. The highest suicide rates are found in white men over the age of 85. Mental illness is the leading cause of disability, accounting for 15% of the overall burden of disease. 28% of disability awards were made to claimants with mental impairments. . During 1999 there were 1.7 million admissions to inpatient psychiatric treatment. 424,450 were involuntary commitments. Although the number of resident patients has gone down the overall number of admissions has increased. Stigma, discrimination and bio-terrorism have also increased and people with serious mental illness die twenty five years younger, on average, compared with 15 years younger a decade ago (Parks 2007). There are nearly a million mental health professionals, treating twenty million and intensively hospitalizing 1.7 million any given year, one must be a very clever physician to survive the medical bills (Sanders 2007).

In the United States classification of mental illness is generally conducted with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition (DSM-IV), that notably omits reference to sado-masochism. Although the diagnoses are universally accepted in the International Classification of Disease social workers and many private psychiatrists prefer psychotherapy to clinical psychiatry. The difference is remarkable. Psychotherapists believe in regular counseling whereas clinical psychiatrists monitor medications and frequently hospitalize their patients. The government however only seems to finance clinical psychiatry, probably because clinical psychiatry is so free with personally identifying health information, while psychotherapists have too much respect for the dignity of their patients to divulge so much as their name. By creating the SWA psychotherapy, human relations, mental health and dignity will thrive on salaries and the government will take responsibility for providing treatment for mental disorders by ensuring that psychotropic drugs are available only to those who want them; replacing large custodial mental hospitals with community care facilities, home care support, and salaried confidential counseling, psychotherapy and welfare for the poor.

Sec. 800 Substance Abuse

Substance abuse counselors are licensed social workers.  Substance abuse counselors providing access to a continuum of treatment and

rehabilitation services to people who either wish to detoxify or have been identified for treatment by the Court.  In 1997 3,000 people

were reported to have died from drug overdoses.  Although the authorities sometimes claim as many as 30,000 people die from illicit drug

overdoes, it is alarming that methadone has come to kill more consumer than heroin since 1999, at 3,500 possibly more than all the illicit

drugs combines. Substance abuse is however far more complex than the law is enforced.  Over 100,000 people annually from adverse drug

reactions to prescription drugs.  Psychiatric drug abuse and exploitation is sometimes judicially enforced and has become rampant in schools

and in foster care.  In 2005, 23,618 (72%) of the 32,691 poisoning deaths in the United States were unintentional, and 3,240 (10%) were

of undetermined intent, of the 5,833 (18%) deaths that were intentional; 5,744 were suicides and 89 were homicides (CDC 2008).

Although it is not known how many people die from bio-terrorism annually there is conjecture that biomedical poisonings are the absolute

leading cause of death and this practical knowledge, of war-drobes and death beds, is so simple that it can be imparted by a social worker,

can cure everything from heart disease to respiratory disease to cancer.  The SAMHSA block grants provides $1,8 billion for state substance

abuse treatment just enough money to afford 75% of the effort to release 365,000 drug offenders from correctional facilities to substance

abuse treatment programs under 42USC(46)XII-G§3796 ff.

The substance abuse treatment alternative to incarceration was first legislated in the 1966 Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act. Certain therapeutic principles need to be restored to the Narcotic Rehabilitation Act of 1966 at 42USC(42)§3401 that were corruptly repealed by the Children’s Health Act Pub. L. 106-310, Div. B, Title Xxxiv, Sec. 3405(B) of Oct. 17, 2000 and is improved upon without force of law, by appending the following: There is a 30 day limit for court ordered substance abuse hospitalization which is intended for the elimination of high levels of toxicity from the body of the patient, and so that the patient can endure psychosis and intolerance to withdrawal in a controlled environment monitored by professionals. A recovering addict is entitled to 42 month of aftercare, such as Alcoholic’s Anonymous meetings, counseling or drug free housing assistance, while the person overcomes chemical dependency. The National Office of Drug Control Policy estimates that in 2000, U.S. citizens spent an estimated total of $64.8 billion - $36 billion on cocaine, $10 billion on heroin, $5.4 billion on methamphetamine, $11 billion on marijuana, and $2.4 billion on other substances. 15.9 million Americans ages 12 and older (7.1%) reported using an illicit drug in the month before the survey was conducted 1% were reported as being dependent by the National Household Survey of Drug Abuse (1999).

Sec. 900 Halfway Houses

Social workers are responsible for the establishment and maintenance of halfway houses in co-operation with the Probation Office. In 2005, 7 million people, one in every 32 American adults, were behind bars, on probation or on parole. 2.2 million were in prison or jail, more than 4.1 million people were on probation and 784,208 were on parole. Prison population has quadrupled from 503,586 prisoners (220 per 100,000) in 1980 to 2,085,620 (707 per 100,000) in 2004. During the 12 months that ended June 2007, the nation’s prison and jail custody populations increased by 46,887 inmates (up 2.1 percent) to reach 2,299,116 inmates. Two-thirds of the nation’s custody population was in a state or federal prison (1,518,535), and the other one-third was held in local jails (780,581). At midyear 2007, there were an estimated 762 persons per 100,000 U.S. residents in prison or jail, up from 684 at year end 2000 (Office of Justice Programs 2008). The US has both the densest and largest prison population in the world, the next most populous were Russia with 808,500 prisoners (566 per 100,000) and China with 1.5 million prisoners (118 per 100,000) (International Centre for Prison Studies 2004). To set an international norm for prison population one can estimate that 250 prisoners per 100,000 citizens and no death penalty is the legal limit.

The number of people released from prison increased by 2.1 percent, down from an average annual rate of 2.8 percent. The only way to safely and nonviolently commute the sentences of 1.5 million detainees is to reinvest the department of corrections and judiciary in halfway houses that costs around $5,000 a year, per capita, while incarceration costs $25,000. "Halfway house organization" means a private, nonprofit organization or a governmental agency that provides programs or activities in areas directly concerned with housing and monitoring offenders who are under the community supervision of the department of rehabilitation and correction or whom a court places in a halfway house. Social workers are an important component of the halfway house staff that also includes corrections officers, clergy, probation and parole officers. It would be reasonable to expect the government to purchase more than 25,000 halfway houses a year towards a ten year goal of 2.5 million beds, and 24 hour staff to resident ratio of 3-8 per resident, 500,000 employees. It is hoped to dramatically expand the half way house system in the next few years to make significant reductions in the jail and prison population towards international norms of 250 prisoners per 100,000 citizens and reduce recidivism (Sanders 2008). It is not enough for the prison population growth rate to go down to 2 percent. Either the prison population must decline or the nation will.

Sec. 1000 Achieving Social Norms

In a democratic society, particularly in the United States where individualism is most highly esteemed, the task of achieving social norms is delegated to the state and federal governments under the Constitution. While individuals are allowed high degrees of latitude in their lifestyle the government must ensure that society meets or exceeds international and interstate standards. The United States has however been suffering from a capitalist bias in public policy beginning in the 1970s that betrayed this trust in individual rights and public responsibility. Although once a leader the United States now consistently lags behind other industrialized nations in achieving many social objectives of federal policy such as universal health insurance, paid parental leave, affordable higher education and the elimination of global poverty. Some social statistics have become alarming - half of all marriages ending in divorce, huge economic inequalities and health disparities between people of color and whites, and between the rich and the poor and the prison population is the largest and most concentrated in the world. While there is much to be proud of there is considerable room for change.

In their daily routine of helping people to normalize their relations in the community the social worker must frequently advocate for government reform. The social worker cannot tolerate an unjust policy and strives to secure a fair interpretation of the law that best represents the interests of their clients, who if poor and disadvantaged, are synonymous with the public interest. Where there was once health, education and welfare there is now ignorance and strife. As the proverbial nice guy amongst health and legal professionals the social work profession has become particularly disillusioned with the policy objectives of a government that represents every other profession but theirs, the only one that is firmly ethical. The social worker is besieged by a class struggle that disregards the Geneva Conventions and wears out the lives of their clients and when confronted either corrupts the social worker or terminates their career as a client advocate. Social workers themselves needs better protection against oppression to adequately represent the interest of their clients. As the most charitable representative of the people it is only fair that the federal government represent the social work profession. In turn SWA will lead American society to achieve best practices, social norms, and freedom as no other profession could with such dedication and precision.

It is resolved that the Social Security Administration (SSA) be told to “get a job”– to create a Social Work Administration (SWA) to rule what was once the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) with enough dignity and respect for human rights to graduate with a Public Health Department (PHD). To be paid $350 million FY 2008 to stimulate the employment of at least 10,000 new SSA employees by the end of FY 2009 when the budget will be no less than $11 billion. To be given a $1 billion annual budget to dismiss petitions for a one time payment of $500-$1,000 per capita with which to purchase medical tort claims, small business claims, and claims against the federal government. The social work profession is the absolutely best investment for the federal government to stimulate economic growth, social research, social responsibility and public health amongst the unemployed, underemployed, disabled and retired petitioners who have the time to represent the public interest of the poor.

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