NEWARK
— A social worker who has been charged
with criminal sexual contact and child
endangerment by local authorities today
agreed to voluntarily surrender his license
and cease practice, Attorney General Peter
C. Harvey and Consumer Affairs Director
Kimberly Ricketts announced.
The
New Jersey Board of Social Work Examiners
was scheduled to hold a hearing this morning
on the temporary suspension of Richard
J. Mieliwocki’s license to practice
social work. The hearing was scheduled
after Mieliwocki, a resident of Madison,
was criminally charged with three counts
of endangering the welfare of a child
and three counts of criminal sexual contact.
If
the agreement to voluntarily surrender
Mieliwocki’s license had not been
reached, the Board was prepared to convene
the hearing as scheduled.
"The
criminal allegations raise serious issues
about the safety of clients," Attorney
General Harvey said. "We cannot allow
this social worker to remain in practice
while these allegations are pending."
"Our
licensing boards regulate various professions
on behalf of consumers," Director
Ricketts added. "When the professional
conduct of licensees is called into question,
the boards will act, as in this matter,
to ensure that the public is protected."
Mieliwocki’s
license surrender remains in effect until
further order of the Board.
Deputy
Attorney General Kathy Stroh-Mendoza represented
the State in this matter.