Kate Brown signs lower caseworker degree requirements into law

SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday signed a bill into law that lowers the degree requirement for child welfare caseworkers.

Under House Bill 2033, Oregon can now hire as caseworkers people who hold associate’s degrees and have completed “additional training or additional certification in human services or a field related to human services.”

State law previously required workers who investigate reports of child abuse and make decisions about whether to remove children from their families to have earned at least a bachelor’s degree.

Brown and leaders at the Department of Human Service originally wanted to eliminate the degree requirement completely. Oregon’s child welfare program has struggled to hire and retain enough caseworkers, and director Marilyn Jones told lawmakers earlier this year that ending the degree requirement could encourage a more diverse pool of job candidates.

Read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2019/05/kate-brown-signs-lower-caseworker-degree-requirements-into-law.html