COR Corner
Michele D. Ribeiro, EdD, ABPP, CGP, AGPA-F
I write this column today two days after the terrorist attacks caused horrific violence on Israel and Palestine. There is only more fear and sorrow that enters into all of our lives as we witness the destruction of countries, people and our world. We know too well that our communities blend into each other, and immigration and global access to media causes all of us to be related in intimate ways with each other. We are smaller, and larger groups, that interface and interact, that create pain in each others lives, as well as offer healing and assistance. Our only hope can be in the power of group, of coming together to dismantle systems that oppress, and rebuild societies that practice dignity and kindness. Right now, it feels so challenging to do though. Dr. Bryant’s presidential theme is on Healing Racial Trauma. With this as a light, I hope many of us are finding ways to keep our heart and mind whole and recommit to doing our part in the healing of divisiveness in any way we can, within our own capacities. One example of this is sharing resources. A colleague from Div 45 just sent out a list of resources for families to support children that I thought to share here as well:
Resources
- Helping Children Cope with Frightening News (Child Mind Institute)
- Talking to Children about Violence (National Association of School Psychologists)
- Explaining the News to Your Kids (Common Sense Media)
- Talking to Kids about Tragedy and Other News Events (the American Academy of Pediatrics)
- Children and the News (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry)
- Handle with Care: Supporting Young People During Crises: Learning for Justice offers recommendations and resources to help guide conversations with young people and to manage potential subsequent actions and reactions.
As of right this moment, Dr. Evans and Dr. Bryant are working with others to come out with a statement from APA addressing this horrific violence and attacks. In connection and prior to this, as your representative to CoR and part of the leadership team as Past Co-Chair to the Caucus for Promoting Global and Global Human Rights Perspectives, I am working with others to come up with either an NBI or a Resolution that focuses on APA’s Response to Armed Conflict, Human Rights Education, and some movement that addresses thoughtful responses and actions from APA to global and national Hatred and Violence. Other things our caucus, particularly Dr. Almas, has contributed is attempting to get Clinical Psychology and Counseling Psychology to be recognized under STEM to assist our international students who later become our colleagues more ease in the visa bearing process. The strong sentiment is if there is such a huge need for mental health services, why do we have so many roadblocks for our colleagues who come here to study and then continue to contribute in the workforce.
I also continue to serve on the RED (Racial Ethnic Diversity) Task Force to CoR. This collaboration is as a way to provide support and assistance to divisions and state representatives within CoR, on the importance of inclusivity and equity regarding minoritized BIPOC communities when coming up with new policies and practices. There are other things happening in the wider APA that I hope you are noticing in emails, announcements, within the Monitor, and journals. I will continue to share highlights of these responses and successes as they come my way to keep you informed and our division thoughtful of the many ways to contribute toward the greater good.
Following the closing of my write up will follow the summary (previously posted in an email to our division listserv) of the August CoR meeting, which Dr. Leann Diederich attended in my absence. Sincere appreciation again for serving as my proxy.
To close, thank you for reading and engaging in Division 49! And as always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Michele.Ribeiro@oregonstate.edu if you have comments or questions about CoR and our role as a division within the larger APA. Thank you!
AUGUST 2023 COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
APA’s Council of Representatives held a hybrid meeting Aug. 2-3, with most Council members convening in person in Washington, D.C.
Need for Safe Work Environments for Adolescents
The Council adopted a Resolution on Developmental Risks and Opportunities in Adolescent Employment, urging employers to establish safe working environments and work hours for adolescent employees in the wake of recent reports of youth being injured or killed due to unsafe job conditions. The resolution passed 161-2, with 2 abstentions.
“APA calls on state and federal agency officials to increase enforcement of laws, regulations and penalties for industries and employers engaging in exploitative and detrimental youth labor practices that compromise the health, well-being and economic advancement of adolescents in the labor market,” according to a resolution. “This includes modernizing and expanding hazardous occupation limits to better protect adolescents at work, increasing staffing of the [Department of Labor’s] Wage and Hour Division to investigate child labor violations, and enforcing age verification.”
The resolution also asks the field of psychology and policymakers to support increased research, monitoring, intervention, advocacy and policy to inform and guide safe labor practices for adolescents.
Equity and Inclusion in Student Admissions in Higher Education
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling outlawing the consideration of race as a factor in college and university admissions, the Council adopted a policy statement reaffirming its support for equity and inclusion in higher education. The vote was 142-6 with 8 abstentions.
The resolution called for measures including “adversity scales” where colleges consider the adversity a student has overcome when selecting among qualified applicants, similar to the “socioeconomic disadvantage index” developed by the University of California, Davis, medical school.
The resolution also called for eliminating preferences for the wealthy, such as donors and children of alumni; targeting students at high schools that have a limited history of sending applicants to their school; paying full tuition in geographic areas for students with family incomes of $150,000 or less; establishing early college programs that allow high school students to take courses to earn college credit; and providing academic support and college admissions advice to high school students in low-income communities.
Mental Health Screening and Practice of Law
The Council adopted a policy opposing the use of mental health screening questions on character and fitness exams for licensure to practice law.
“[S]tatistical data reveal that there is no connection between bar application questions about mental health and attorney misconduct and that such questions have not been empirically shown to work as a successful screening tool for who can and cannot practice law in a competent manner,” the resolution states.
The policy pledges that APA will work with the American Bar Association and state bar associations to remove questions regarding mental health diagnoses or treatment history from character and fitness questionnaires.
BEA Racial Disparities Task Force Report on Racism and Bias and Racial Disparities in PreK-12 Education
The Council voted 143-19 with 1 abstention to receive the report of the Board of Educational Affairs Racial Disparities Task Force, with the future addition of a foreword outlining the context and limitations of the report.
The report looks at racism and bias and their role in creating educational disparities; disparities at the intersection between race and disability; discipline disparities and school pathways to the juvenile justice system; and racial/ethnic mismatch between the educator workforce and school-age population. It also updates recommendations for research, practice and advocacy, and contains new recommendations for educator preparation.
BSA Task Force Report on Tenure and Promotion for Faculty of Color
The Council voted unanimously to receive the report of the Board of Scientific Affairs Report on Tenure and Promotion for Faculty of Color.
This report details systemic barriers and inequities that affect the evaluation of faculty of color under review for promotion and tenure in psychology programs. It also provides practical guidance and strategies for college and university administrators and external reviewers who will consider candidates for promotion and tenure in psychology departments with the understanding that dismantling systemic racism in psychological science has been identified as a guiding principle of APA.
Guidelines for Operational Psychology
The Council voted 107-55 with 4 abstentions to adopt the Guidelines for Operational Psychology as APA policy, with an expiration date of Dec. 31, 2028. These guidelines provide recommendations for psychologists engaged in operational support activities within the areas of national security, national defense and public safety.
The purpose of the guidelines is “to maintain and improve the quality of operational psychology services, standardize and enhance the professional delivery of such services, encourage the practice and continued development of operational psychology, and respect the applicable rights of persons affected by such services.”
Amendments to Association Rules
- The Council voted 128-25 with 9 abstentions to add the chair of the Committee on Global Psychology and the chair of the Committee for the Advancement of General Applied Psychology to the Agenda Planning Group.
- It voted unanimously to change the eligibility criteria for serving on the Needs Assessment, Slating and Campaigns Committee (NASCC). Changes included reducing the waiting period after serving on APA’s Board of Directors and Council prior to eligibility for NASCC from two years to one and removal of the restriction on simultaneous service between NASCC and elected positions with state/provincial/territorial associations or any divisions.
- Members voted 138-11 with 2 abstentions in favor of forwarding to membership for a vote an amendment to the APA Bylaws that would change the requirement for the number of candidates to be included on the president-elect ballot from five to up to five.
- Council approved (143-17 with 1 abstention) amendments to Association Rule 110-14 to clarify rules prohibiting simultaneous service on the Board of Directors and other elected or appointed APA positions.
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- Council approved (120-36 with 3 abstentions) forwarding a proposed bylaw change that would require the Policy and Planning Board to formally consult and discuss with Council before proposing any amendments. The measure now goes to the full membership for a vote.
Presidential Citation and Raymond D. Fowler Award
APA President Thema Bryant, PhD, presented a Presidential Citation to the Committee on Women in Psychology on their 50th anniversary in recognition for the contributions to psychology.
Dr. Bryant also presented the Raymond D. Fowler Award to former APA president Sandra L. Shullman, PhD.