The National Association of Social Workers Foundation Honors Phyllis Solomon, PhD with the 2005 Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award

WASHINGTON —The National Association of Social Workers Foundation is pleased to announce that Phyllis Solomon, PhD has been awarded the Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award for pioneering contributions in social work mental health, psychosocial rehabilitation and family education for caregivers of persons with serious mental illness.

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 Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a professional social worker who has made exemplary contributions in health and mental health practice.

Spanning her 30-year career in social work research, Dr. Solomon has focused on innovative research of the mentally ill. Early in her career, she studied the serious social, political and economic consequences of de-institutionalization on patients recently discharged from state hospitals.

In recent years, she has focused her research on the contribution of family members and other caregivers in their efforts to sustain person with serious mental illness in their own community. Through this research, Dr. Solomon has innovated the fields of psychiatric rehabilitation and family education practice.

Dr. Solomon’s research also focuses on the needs of “throw away” people with mental illness – prisoners, substance abusers and homeless persons.

Dr. Solomon is a full professor on the faculty of the School of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania , where she holds a secondary appointment with the Department of Psychiatry. She also is the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services Research at Penn, where her team of social work researchers focuses on mental health practice and service delivery issues.

It is with great honor that the NASW Foundation presents Dr. Solomon with this award.

For more information about the award, or to interview Dr. Solomon, please contact the NASW Communications Department at 202-336-8228 or media@naswdc.org

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with 150,000 members. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.