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The National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASWF) Honors Marylou Sudders, ACSW with the 2004 Knee/Wittman Outstanding Achievement Award
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WASHINGTONThe National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASWF) is pleased to announce that Marylou Sudders, ACSW is the recipient of the Knee/Wittman Outstanding Achievement Award for 2004.
The Knee-Wittman Awards are given to recognize individuals who are models of excellence and have made significant contributions in the field of health and mental health. The Knee/Wittman Award Program was established to recognize those who represent the values, ethics and approaches exemplified by two dedicated social work pioneers, Ruth Knee and Milton Wittman. The Outstanding Achievement Award is presented to an individual or group that has made a significant impact on national mental health public policy, professional standards, or program needs.
Ms. Sudders has a long career in mental health beginning as a mental health coordinator for the Beaverbrook and Concord areas where she planned and monitored the area mental health systems to state Commissioner of Mental Health and finally, her current position as President and Chief Executive Officer for the largest non-profit in the state, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) where she oversees a variety of services, including child abuse and intervention programs; mental health treatment; and adoption.
She was instrumental in starting the Connecting Families Campaign at MSPCC. Connecting Families, an outgrowth of the Good Start program, focuses on those who have been reported for child abuse, but whose circumstances do not reach the level of severity for state intervention.
Ms. Sudders was Commissioner of Mental Health in Massachusetts for seven years. In this role, she oversaw the public mental health system in the state, providing services to more than 24,000 adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. During her tenure, there were a number of legislative successes, including passage of mental health parity insurance; civil commitment reform; five fundamental rights for mental health consumers; the development of the children's mental health commission; and the hospital interpreter law. In 1999, she was honored as one of the select invitees to the first White House Conference on mental health.
Ms. Sudders holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from Boston University. She serves on the Governor's Commission on Children's Mental Health and the Governor's Commission on Sexual and Domestic Violence.
It is with great pleasure that the NASW Foundation presents Ms. Sudders with the Knee/Wittman Outstanding Achievement Award for 2004.
For more information about the award, or to interview Ms. Sudders, please contact the NASW Communications Department at 202-336-8228 or media@naswdc.org
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The National Association of Social Workers Foundation (NASWF), in Washington , DC , focuses on enhancing the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through the advancement of social work practice.