Esta ley enmienda la Ley del Colegio de Trabajadores Sociales para establecer el requisito de educación continua como condición para renovar la membresía. Se exige un mínimo de nueve (9) horas crédito anuales de educación continua para los profesionales con licencia permanente o provisional, con algunas excepciones. El Colegio de Trabajadores Sociales, en consulta con la Junta Examinadora, establecerá el programa y la reglamentación correspondiente. El incumplimiento de este requisito, así como el impago de la cuota anual, resultará en la suspensión de la membresía.
(Approved December 28, 2003)
To amend Sections 6, 7 and 17 of Act No. 171 of May 11, 1940, as amended, known as the "College of Social Workers Act," to establish the continuing education requirement in the Social Work Profession as a condition to renew the college membership; to establish the minimum of nine (9) credit hours of continuing education annually; and for other purposes.
Continuing education is the means through which practitioners of professions update their knowledge and skills, which has an effect in the performance of their particular functions and roles.
Continuing education is necessary for the social work profession practitioners in order to maintain the leadership and competence to deal with and manage the changing problems and demands of the present society. On the other hand, it allows the higher education system to broaden its efforts to educate the community, thus contributing with the improvement of the professional leadership and the competence of the practitioner and in turn, it brings back a richness of information on the professional practice.
Common sense is not enough for dealing and intervening with social problems. Therefore, it has been recognized that we should broaden the frontiers of professional knowledge through continuing education.
The Social Work discipline as a profession of assistance, visualizes continuing education as essential to increase the capacity to render services
of the professionally educated personnel for who it is of utmost importance to receive systematic attention from the associations that represent them as well as from the different higher education programs in social work.
The professional knowledge acquired in formal education programs has a duration that ranges between five to eight years. At present, there is a boom of knowledge in new specialties in the practice of social work. On the other hand, there is a growing need for more and new skills in the social welfare system for positions of supervisors, managers and clinical social workers. Finally, the role of a continuing education program is to link social work education programs to the community.
Act No. 171 of May 11, 1940, as amended, and known as the "College of Social Workers Act," statutorily created the College of Social Workers of Puerto Rico and sets forth the powers of such body. This Act was amended by Act No. 50 of June 18, 1965.
Act No. 171, supra, and Act No. 5, supra did not contemplate the continuing education requirement. Upon the examining the legal requirements of all other colleges and associations, which group human services professionals, to wit: the College of Physicians, College of Licensed Practical Nurses, College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Bar Association, College of Expert Electricians, College of Optometrists, the Act that regulates the Real Estate Businesses and the Profession of Real Estate Brokers, Salesperson and Companies, Psychologists Association and Dietitians Association, to name a few, it was seen that the same require continuing education. This is and has to be so in order to keep up with the advances of human science and technology, in which the accumulation of new knowledge and the need for training and development of skills is fundamental for the survival of professions and the rendering of services of
the highest quality. With the social problems faced by Puerto Rico, such as child abuse, crime, drug abuse, and family disintegration, it is necessary that our social workers be capacitated to fight and up to date with the needs of the Puerto Rican families. The abovesaid makes it necessary for professionals of behavior to be aware of the events and new techniques and strategies to handle situations that influence the functioning of families.
For all the above, it is necessary to amend Act No. 171, supra, to include the continuing education requirement in the Social Work Profession. Through this amendment, which implements the continuing education requirement by law, a great tool is provided for Social Workers to contribute to making a reality of the principles of social justice, which constitutes the raison d'être of this profession.
Section 1.- Section 6 of Act No. 171 of May 11, 1940, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 6.- Authorization to issue licenses. The Board of Examiners of Social Workers shall be the sole body authorized to issue licenses for the practice of social work in Puerto Rico to all persons meeting the requirements specified in Sections 8 and 10 of this Act.
Any person, who practices the Social Work Profession in Puerto Rico and holds a permanent or provisional license issued by the Board of Examiners of Social Workers, shall also comply with a minimum of nine (9) credit hours of continuing education annually. In the case of provisional licenses, it shall not be necessary to meet the continuing education requirements provided he/she demonstrates that he/she is taking university courses in Social Work at the time of renewal of membership. The College
of Social Workers of Puerto Rico in consultation and with the approval of the Board of Examiners of Social Workers of Puerto Rico shall establish a continuing education program, under the charge of the Continuing Education Institute attached to the College of Social Workers of Puerto Rico. The College is hereby empowered, in consultation and with the approval of the Board of Examiners of Social Workers, to implement the regulations for the aforementioned program and the Board of Examiners of Social Workers of Puerto Rico is hereby empowered, in consultation and with the approval of the College to establish through regulations any increase or reduction of the continuing education credit hours requirement set forth in this Act, but it may not be less that nine (9) credit hours annually. The institute shall have the responsibility to offer a continuing education program as well as to evaluate and certify those programs offered by other educational and professional institutions. Furthermore, the Continuing Education Institute shall annually certify compliance of the continuing education requirement by Social Workers with permanent and provisional licenses, as well as of those who have met said requirement to the Board of Examiners of Social Workers as well as to the College of Social Workers. Social Workers with permanent license shall present evidence of compliance with the continuing education requirement at the time of renewing their membership.
The Continuing Education requirement may be met through training in or outside the public or private agency or institution in which the social Worker works provided it is certified by the Continuing Education Institute of the College of Social Workers of Puerto Rico. Any licensed person as provided by this Act, who offers services in the Social Work field at public or private level, or is devoted to teaching or social investigation, shall meet the annual nine (9) credit hours of continuing education. In addition, the
Board of Examiners, in consultation with and with the approval of the College of Social Workers. is hereby empowered to establish through regulations any other necessary aspect for compliance with this Act.
This provision shall not be effective for social workers in the public service until the government agency or entity for which they work has certified the existence of a license and a program that shall defray the cost of the continuing education credit hours.
It shall be the duty of every Social Worker to give the College of Social Workers of Puerto Rico the necessary evidence to prove completion of the required continuing education credit hours. However, this requirement shall not apply to retired professionals and to those who are not practicing the Social Work profession and to those who, for a just cause, cannot meet the same and have thus notified it to the College of Social Workers of Puerto Rico. For the purposes of this Section, it shall be understood as "just cause," the fact that the social worker was unemployed at the time of the renewal of membership, or is physically or mentally disabled to practice the profession, or is working in a position not classified as a social worker position, or who is not practicing the profession because he/she is a full-time student or because he/she is working or studying outside the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico."
Section 2. - Section 7 of Act No. 171 of May 11, 1940, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 7.- Only those persons who hold a license issued by the Board of Examiners of Social Workers shall be entitled to practice the profession of Social Work in Puerto Rico and use the corresponding title; provided, that any person who, at the time of the approval of this Act, holds a permanent license to practice the profession of Social Work in Puerto Rico
may continue to practice the same pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 of this Act.
The College of Social Workers of Puerto Rico shall have the responsibility to inform the Board of Examiners the names of those social workers who have failed to meet the continuing education requirement set forth in agreement with this Act, and the regulations adopted thereto by the College, in consultation with and with the approval of the Board of Examiners of Social Workers."
Section 3.- Section 17 of Act No. 171 of May 11, 1940, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 17.- Any member who fails to pay the annual membership and who is classified as a member shall be suspended as such, but may be reinstated upon payment of the membership fee. In addition, any member who fails to comply with the continuing education requirement set forth in this Act at the time of renewal of membership, shall be suspended as member, but may be reinstated by meeting the minimum credit hours required by this Act for renewing the membership."
Section 4.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval, except for Section 3 thereof, which shall take effect after January 1, 2005.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 314 (H.B. 2236) of the $6^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Sections 6, 7 and 17 of Act No. 171 of May 11, 1940, as amended, known as the "College of Social Workers Act," to establish the continuing education requirement in the Social Work Profession as a condition to renew the college membership; to establish the minimum of nine (9) credit hours of continuing education annually; and for other purposes, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $27^{ ext {th }}$ of October of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director