WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASWF) is pleased to announce that Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), a social worker
and NASW Social Work Pioneer®, is the recipient of the 2024 Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award for her work on initiatives that have helped improve mental health care and protect the nation's environment.
The Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a professional social worker who has made laudable contributions to the field. Millions of people owe their health care in part to the actions of Sen. Stabenow. The senator has also been pivotal in protecting the environment and furthering the causes of the social work profession.
Sen. Stabenow’s advocacy work also extends to various key areas including children’s health and nutrition, agriculture, natural resources conservation, clean energy, improved services for veterans, and job creation. The first woman from Michigan elected to the U.S. Senate, Sen. Stabenow’s impact has earned praise from social workers, mental health proponents, environmentalists and others.
Sen. Stabenow helped write and pass the
Affordable Care Act and helped create laws to lower the cost of prescription drugs. The
Affordable Care Act has been overwhelmingly successful, with a record 45 million Americans getting health care coverage this year.
Sen. Stabenow also secured bipartisan support to gain passage of her
Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Act, which enhanced community-based behavioral health services around the nation.
Sen. Stabenow introduced the bipartisan
Improving Access to Mental Health Act of 2023 (IATMHA) in the Senate. This significant piece of legislation, once it passes, would provide a long overdue increase in the reimbursement rate for clinical social workers practicing in Medicare and better align beneficiaries' access to clinical social worker services with what is permitted under state law.
More recently, she secured two major NASW-backed provisions of the IATMHA in the
Better Mental Healthcare, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act, which was passed by the Senate Finance Committee last November.
Sen. Stabenow continues to work diligently to get these provisions passed by both chambers of Congress. Passage of the IATMHA would be a tremendous legacy achievement for the Senator and her continued advocacy is paramount.
The senator has been a champion for mental health care throughout her distinguished career.
Because of the passage of Sen. Stabenow’s bipartisan
Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Act, millions of dollars have been given to certified community behavioral health clinics.
According to the Department of Health and Human services, as of July 2023 people receiving services at these clinics had a 74 percent reduction in hospitalization, 68 percent reduction in emergency room visits, and a 33 percent decrease in homelessness. They also spend 60 percent less time in jails. And 84 percent of these clinics either already provide direct services on site at elementary, middle, and high schools or plan to in the future.
Sen. Stabenow’s exceptional dedication to advocating for the mentally ill, the environment, veterans, and advancing the social work profession epitomizes the true essence of public service. In honoring her with this award, NASW recognizes that her astounding efforts have not only changed lives, but also transformed the landscape of mental health advocacy. NASW is pleased to applaud her for her years of service and leadership in Congress.