Senate committee hears bill to fund paid practicums for social-work students to boost rural and underserved workforce

Senators heard testimony on Senate Bill 429, a proposal to fund scholarships that would pay social-work students while they complete the unpaid field practicums required for licensing. Sponsors and the two state social-work schools said the program is intended to address critical shortages — particularly in rural and frontier counties — by reducing the financial barrier posed by unpaid practicum hours.

"SB 4 29, which provides social work students with compensation during the field practice, practiums when serving in rural or underserved, served areas of the state," Senator Robin Titus told the committee as she introduced the bill. Titus and presenters explained the bill was modeled on Nevada's nurse-apprentice program but was substantially revised after stakeholder meetings; the revised approach provides an appropriation to the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), which would use funds to provide scholarships to students who complete practicums in prioritized locations.

Dr. Eugenia Weiss (University of Nevada, Reno) told senators that social-work students are often non-traditional (working while enrolled) and that practicum requirements — 450 hours for a bachelor's practicum and 900 hours for a master's practicum — create a heavy unpaid burden that limits students' ability to enroll and complete training. "Social workers provide 60% of mental health care in the nation," Weiss said, and expanding paid practicums would increase access in areas that currently lack providers.

The conceptual amendment discussed at the hearing would split a proposed $2,000,000 appropriation roughly 80/20 (based on student population) between UNR and UNLV, require that funds be used to provide scholarships to students completing practicums over two semesters, and prioritize placements in critical access hospitals, rural clinics, census tracts with low-income housing or high non‑English proficiency, tribal health centers, and counties with populations under 100,000. The amendment also proposed that funds be split 80/20 because UNR enrolls approximately 800 social-work students and UNLV about 200.

Several rural-hospital, nonprofit and university leaders spoke in support, citing workforce shortages and successful precedent from the nurse-apprenticeship program. The Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers testified in support of the amended approach and urged the committee to preserve accreditation and regulatory boundaries between field education and licensing.

Some MSW and field-education staff testified in opposition or raised concerns. A student from UNLV said the bill as drafted limited practicum eligibility and worried that the amendment's prioritized sites and the limited $2,000,000 pool could restrict students' educational choices and would not cover living costs; she said $2,000 per student at UNLV would be insufficient. UNLV's director of field education urged the committee to avoid narrowing practicum site options because social work training spans micro, meso and macro practice settings and the Council on Social Work Education requires a variety of learning experiences. Both student speakers asked to work with sponsors to broaden eligibility and ensure funds support students rather than create undue pressure to accept only certain practicum types.

Senators asked technical questions about whether the appropriation would be one-time or recurring and whether a future appropriation could be tied to enrollment rather than a fixed split; sponsors said the intent was a start with the present student counts and that adjustments could be considered in future sessions. The committee did not take a vote during the hearing and sponsors directed staff to continue stakeholder discussions on funding structure, eligibility and implementation details.