Response Center: Stay informed about APA/APASI’s response to recent federal policy changes affecting psychology
Mental and Behavioral Health
Translating Council policy into advocacy action
Members of APA’s Council of Representatives took to Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to support legislation to invest in youth mental health and funding to combat child labor violations and grow the psychology workforce.
American Psychological Association. (2024, February 23). Translating Council policy into advocacy action. https://www.apaservices.org/advocacy/news/council-policy-advocacy-action
From left to right: Sylvia Canetto, PhD, Dana Charatan, PsyD, David Camhi (Office of Representative Joe Neguse), and Laura Knudtson, PhD
APA 2024 President Cynthia de las Fuentes, PhD, led the effort and emphasized the importance of “bringing our science and policy resolutions to influence federal policy.” She explained that as a former congressional fellow, she “learned firsthand how important constituents and psychologists are in helping to educate and influence congressional members and their staff.” APA CEO Arthur C. Evans, Jr., PhD, thanked the Council members for their participation and highlighted how the event was “a testament to how much we have transformed the association and strengthened the collective voice of psychology.” He added that the Council’s “collective work is ensuring that our science and our profession are engaging in critical policy decisions that impact not just psychologists, but those populations most at risk.”
Advocacy training
From left to right: Laura Faynor-Ciha, PhD, and Mary Cashel, PhD
In preparation for their Hill meetings, participants took part in an advocacy training led by APA Advocacy staff. APA Senior Director for Congressional and Federal Relations and Education Policy Lead Kenneth Polishchuk, MA, MPP, presented the first legislative request, to cosponsor the Youth Mental Health Research Act. This bill would authorize $100 million per year for 5 years for a research initiative led by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), in collaboration with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). The research would focus on community prevention and intervention, mental health disparities, and improved treatment protocols to build resilience and more effectively address mental health problems in youth. He then briefed participants on the second request, to increase funding for DOL’s Wage and Hour Division to combat child labor violations to $341 million in FY25. Since 2018, child labor law violations have increased nearly 70%, so this funding will allow the Wage and Hour Division to better enforce child labor laws and ensure that employers are complying with laws that keep children safe in the workplace.
From left to right: Eleanor Gil-Kashiwabara, PsyD, and Michele Ribeiro, EdD
APA Senior Director for Congressional and Federal Relations and Special Projects Alix Ginsberg, MPH, presented on the third request, to support $30 million in FY25 for GPE. GPE is the nation’s primary federal program dedicated to the interprofessional education and training of doctoral-level health service psychologists. Increasing funding for GPE would allow more psychologists to be trained to work in integrated care settings and expand access to culturally competent care mental and behavioral health services in underserved communities.
Following the legislative issue briefing, Ginsberg and APA Director of Grassroots Engagement Doris Parfaite-Claude, MPP, led a presentation on communicating effectively with Congress. This included how to build rapport, develop and deliver a pitch, navigate difficult discussions, and follow up with congressional offices after their meetings.
This was the first congressional advocacy experience for many Council members. The experience effectively translated APA Council policy to advocacy and demonstrated the impact psychologists can have through sharing their professional experiences to support APA priorities.
