Social workers: essential workers.

Existing law governs the duties of social workers in a variety of areas, including foster care, health care, mental health, and substance abuse treatment. Other existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist. This bill would require social workers, if they are deemed essential workers during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, to be included in the group of essential workers who are eligible to receive the first distribution of emergency materials, as determined by the state or a local governmental entity, including, but not limited to, all materials and protective gear deemed necessary to protect their health and safety. The bill, with regard to social workers, would authorize the state or a local governmental entity to establish within the first group of essential workers eligible to receive the emergency materials, further levels of distribution for specified classifications of social workers. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.