I first would like to thank you for this opportunity secondly I would like to ask a general but simple question. How in the world do you all expect felons to live in this world when they aren't given fair chances? After they complete their time and try to get back into society to become a productive citizen they are met with all types of obstacles. I dated a few felons in the past unknowingly what all they had to endure me thinking "oh they aren't trying hard enough" when in all actuality there is absolutely no real assistance for felons especially women felons. I never knew what all in entailed until I myself found myself on the opposite end of the law NOTHING of my own doing. Literally a person an evil person that hated my guts was allowed to put fraudulent charges on me and because I have no family or friends support, during covid so the courts were shut down which continued to push my court date back. Long story short I wasn't able to hire an attorney so I was given one by the courts not a criminal lawyer but a divorce attorney to handle a criminal case I've expressed my inonncence on countless times had I had money for a paid attorney my outcome wouldn't of been to accept a plea as a felon to get out of jail after sitting for 8 months for a crime I didn't do!! That felony completely ruined my life mind u the person who put these charges on me had pending cases with another lady that was never brought up in court. I honestly can't believe the way I was treated within the commonwealth and I'M THE VICTIM . Please I beg you do something about allowing people to press charges on people with no proof there's so many people with charges just to get out of jail that isn't right !!

The Pyramid Healthcare, Inc. family of companies urges the Committee to favorably adopt SB 239 to have Virginia join the Interstate Social Work Licensure Compact. Pyramid Healthcare is an integrated behavioral healthcare system serving Medicaid and commercial clients in 9 states across a continuum of residential and outpatient substance abuse, mental health, autism, and eating disorder treatment services. We employ 3,600 team members across our 80+ active facilities. In Virginia, we operate two residential and outpatient facilities in Newport News and the New River Valley and plan to continue building out our substance use disorder treatment capacity across the Commonwealth. Virginia has already recognized the value of interstate licensure compacts, having previously adopted compacts for audiology and speech-language pathology, counselors, EMS personnel, nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, and physical therapists. Missouri and South Dakota have already adopted the Compact and legislation is currently pending in 26 other states. In addition, the Compact is supported by the Council of State Governments, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Association of Social Work Boards, as well as numerous other organizations who helped develop the Compact. The Social Work Licensure Compact is an interstate occupational licensure compact that allows social workers with bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and clinical licenses to provide services to clients in all other Compact states instead of having to file duplicate license applications in each state in which they practice. Each Compact state extends licensure reciprocity to the other states in the Compact. In order to be eligible, a social worker must first already be eligible for or hold a social work license in their primary state of residence and meet other criteria. After the social worker’s eligibility is determined, they receive a multistate license and may begin working in any Compact member state. There are over 500,000 licensed social workers across the United States and Pyramid Healthcare employs many social workers across our counseling, operations, clinical, quality, compliance, and utilization review teams, among other functions. The Compact will streamline the licensing process while reducing administrative burden and allowing social workers to quickly resume providing care. It does so while protecting patient and public safety. Joining the Compact will facilitate multistate practice and reduce the barriers to license portability for our current and potential employees by easing mobility across state lines, expanding employment opportunities to address crucial workforce shortages, allowing continuity of care for our patients that move across state lines, allows the use of telehealth to be leveraged, and supports the relocation of military spouses and their families. Given Virginia’s unique geographic location, bordering NC, TN, KY, WV, MD, and DC–as well as the presence of major military installations where members of the military and their families are frequently relocated into and out of the region, the SW Compact will positively impact the state’s ability to attract and retain qualified and desperately needed social workers. Please adopt SB 239 to have Virginia join the Interstate Social Work Licensure Compact.