Advocacy Corner
The 1st session of the 118th Congress is winding down. With this comes another APA opportunity for federal advocacy, with a focus on asking Congress to fund programs that are crucial to mental health and the profession and future of psychology.
From APA Advocacy:
We invite you to join us December 3-4, 2023, for a virtual fly-in to press Congress to fund the government and key psychology programs at the highest possible level to strengthen the psychology workforce, protect access to mental and behavioral health services, and promote research.
As Congress works to finalize Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations, psychologists’ voices are needed to secure funding for key programs impacting the psychology workforce, school and campus-based mental health, science and research, and suicide prevention. This includes the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Graduate Psychology Education and Minority Fellowship Programs, the Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program, and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
If enacted, funding levels proposed by the House of Representatives would result in severe cuts to programs serving already vulnerable communities, including rural and low-income populations, people of color, children with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. This could severely set back efforts to conduct meaningful behavioral and psychological research, grow the mental health care and research workforce, equitably address various social determinants of health, combat the youth mental health crisis, and provide a quality education for all students.
Your advocacy is needed to avert such drastic cuts and secure federal funding for programs critical to psychology and mental health. Please consider joining us and meeting with your congressional leaders in early December.
WHAT TO EXPECT
You will spend Sunday, December 3:
- Meeting the APA Advocacy team and your fellow advocates.
- Learning how you can be an effective advocate for federal funding for programs important to psychology and mental health.
- Preparing for your congressional meetings.
You will have opportunities to meet with fellow advocates from your state and learn more about the issues you will be advocating for prior to the beginning of the summit on December 3.
The summit will culminate in virtual meetings with your congressional delegation on Monday, December 4. You are required to be available for at least 3 meetings throughout that day, as they will be scheduled by APA Advocacy with your assumed participation.
If you have questions and/or are interested in this excellent opportunity, please reach out to me, Amy Beck, PhD, at drbeckadvocates@gmail.com. RSVPs are due to APA by Friday, November 3, meaning if you want to participate, I have to submit your name prior to that. It is open to all members, including learners, and is a great way to get top-notch advocacy training, connections, and guided experience at the highest level!