Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed the social worker safety legislation into law on Feb. 15. Photo courtesy of YourArlington.com.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) has signed into law legislation to improve the safety of social workers, according to YourArlington.com.

The law follows the recommendations of the National Association of Social Workers Massachusetts Chapter.

The legislation was prompted by the 2008 murder of social worker Diruhi Mattian, 53, who was stabbed to death by a client with a history of mental issues.

The law requires that programs that provide direct services to clients that are operated by, licensed, certified, or funded by a department or division of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services have a workplace violence prevention and crisis response plan.

To learn more about the Massachusetts legislation read this press release from the NASW Massachusetts Chapter. The National Association of Social Worker’s Center for Workforce Studies and the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany did a survey that found that four out of 10 social workers face personal safety issues at their work site. You can also read more about what NASW is doing to improve social worker safety.