Mikulski Continues Fight to Support Social Workers and the Invaluable Work They Do

Press Release

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a trained social worker, today announced that she has reintroduced the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act, which addresses the nationwide shortage of social workers. America is facing unprecedented levels of social service and health care needs, while at the same time facing a shortage of social workers to address them. The Social Work Reinvestment Act will facilitate the review of current social workforce shortage challenges to determine how the shortage will affect the communities served by social workers and develop solutions to address these challenges.

Social workers support physical, psychological and social needs. They provide mental health therapy, caregiver and family counseling, health education, program coordination, and case management.

"Social workers are among our best and brightest, our most committed and compassionate. They are on the frontlines of providing care, often putting themselves in dangerous and violent situations. Social workers can play an important role in keeping communities together and helping individuals and families cope with the stresses and strains they are facing," Senator Mikulski said. "As a social worker, I have been on the frontlines of helping people cope with issues in their everyday lives. I started off fighting for abused children, making sure they were placed in safe homes. I will continue to fight every day for our children, seniors, military personnel and families in the United States Senate."

The Social Work Reinvestment Act makes investments in the social work profession by:

Establishing grant programs to address workplace improvements, research on effective interventions across community and service settings, education and training, and community-based programs of excellence;

Creating a commission to study services provided by social workers, recruitment, retention and compensation, workplace safety, and state-level licensing reciprocity;

Opening a National Coordination Center to work with education, advocacy and research institutions, as well as gather and disseminate information on social work research and best practices;

Creating a media campaign promoting social work.

U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) has introduced companion legislation in the House.

Senator Mikulski has also joined with Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Representative Lee to introduce a Congressional Resolution to highlight the positive impact of social workers on their communities and to mark National Social Work Month in March and World Social Work Day, which was on March 17. A copy of the resolution is available here.

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