APA will join the American Bar Association April 30–May 3 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile Hotel for the conference "Reconceptualizing Child Custody: Past, Present and Future: Lawyers and Psychologists Working Together."

The conference will focus on the status of marriage, separation, divorce, parenting and custody in the United States today; legal and psychological issues relevant to contested custody cases; and effective legal and psychological interventions for families.

For more information and registration details, visit www.apa.org/conf/apaabaconf08.html.

APA president asks students: What's on your mind?

To find out psychology students' top concerns and answer their questions about APA and psychology, APA President Alan E. Kazdin, PhD, hosted a Jan. 25 roundtable with 27 members of the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS).

Kazdin answered such questions as:

• What is the association doing about the internship shortage? (Answer: Lobbying Congress for more funding for internship slots, particularly in underserved areas.)

• How should students identify a specialty? (Answer: You have time to specialize, you do not need to do it now. But find a faculty member who can help you pinpoint your interests.)

• How can students get involved with APA's advocacy activities? (Answer: Identify your top concern and mobilize support from fellow students, professors and APA's directorates. "APA is on Capitol Hill all the time fighting for mental health parity, health-care reform and many other priorities," said Kazdin. "But APA is only a baton—you need to be the force behind it.")

His bottom-line advice: Students have more power than they think when it comes to changing the field. "Ask for more, come up with an agenda, write the paper, involve APA's directorates, bring out the Broadway show," said Kazdin. "We really do care about what you think. We profit from your gains. Let us help you."

Sign up for 5K Race and Walk held in Boston

This year the Running Psychologists—a section of APA Div. 24 (Sport and Exercise)—will hit Boston's roads during APA's 2008 Annual Convention on Saturday, Aug. 16, at 7 a.m.

Ray's 5K Race and Walk is open to all APA members, their families and friends, as well as exhibitors and guests. Runners, joggers and walkers of all ages are welcome.

The race course will be close to the hotels so that runners will be able to get back to the conference for mid-morning meetings. Bill Rodgers, a 1976 Olympian runner and four-time winner of both the Boston and New York marathons, will start the race.

Ray's Race was named after former APA CEO Raymond D. Fowler, PhD, who launched the event 30 years ago with a dozen or so fellow runners and APA members. The cost of registration for Ray's 5K race in Boston will be $25 for regular entry; students or Div. 47 members, $20; and convention site registration, $30.

For more information, contact Lucinda Seares-Monica, PsyD, president of the Running Psychologists at (732) 431-1869 or visit the Div. 47 Web site at www.apa.org/divisions/div47.

APA issues postpartum depression brochure for patients

An APA brochure offers information to help the public better understand postpartum depression and anxiety, and emphasizes that the condition can be successfully treated. Specifically, the brochure answers the questions:

• What is postpartum depression?

• What are the symptoms?

• What are the risk factors?

• Where can women go for help?

To see a copy of the brochure, visit www.apa.org/pi/wpo/Postpartum%20Depression%20brochure_2007.pdf. For additional copies or more information, contact the APA Women's Programs Office at (202) 336-6044.

In addition to producing the brochure, APA has been active on the legislative front to help women with postpartum depression. The association has strongly advocated for passage of the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act (HR 20) and its Senate companion legislation, which seek to ensure that women at risk for or with the condition are provided adequate and timely prevention and mental health services. The legislation has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and is awaiting a Senate vote.

Comment on programs up for accreditation review

APA's Committee on Accreditation welcomes third-party testimony from students and faculty involved with programs scheduled for site visits and periodic reviews during 2008 and 2009.

Listings of the programs scheduled for review, programs applying for initial accreditation, instructions for provision of third-party comment and deadlines for filing comments can be found at www.apa.org/ed/accreditation.

For details on providing third-party testimony, refer to section 7 of the Accreditation Operating Procedures, located at www.apa.org/ed/oprtgprcd.pdf. This information is also available by contacting APA's Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, at the APA address, or by calling (202) 336-5979.

APAGS comments on internship supply and demand

A recent special issue of the journal Training and Education in Professional Psychology, spotlights perspectives from groups such as American Psychological Association of Graduate Students on the internship supply-and-demand issue. This special issue is called "The Internship Match: Changing the Paradigm to Move Beyond the Status Quo."

Advance convention registration opens this month. As of April 15, you can register online for APA's 2008 Annual Convention in Boston, Aug. 14, 2008, at www.apa.org/convention08.

Registering early allows you to take advantage of lower registration fees and reserve hotel rooms at the special APA rates. Be sure to have your APA membership number and password available when you access the online registration site.

New version of 'Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth' now available

APA has posted on the updated version of "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators, and School Personnel" on its Web site (www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/justthefacts.html).

The 20-page pamphlet, developed by APA and 12 other education, health, mental health and religious organizations, gives secondary school administrators information on ways to provide safe school environments for their gay, lesbian and bisexual students. The coalition mailed the brochure to 16,000 public school superintendents in February.

First issued in 1999, the pamphlet has been updated to include the most recent scientific data on sexual orientation in adolescence as well as the latest information on school officials' legal responsibility to protect students from anti-gay harassment.

In addition to APA, members of the coalition are the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of School Administrators, American Counseling Association, American Federation of Teachers, American School Counselor Association, American School Health Association, Interfaith Alliance Foundation, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of Social Workers, National Education Association and School Social Work Association of America.

BEA-sponsored task force seeks aid of teachers

The Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) Application of Psychological Science to Teaching and Learning Task Force has developed and identified 10 teaching strategies based on its expertise, the available psychological literature, and findings from the APA Teacher Needs Survey.

The group plans to complete its work by fall of 2008. Currently, the task force is revising its Web site before obtaining wider review. However, you can play an important role in helping the task force review the Web site's content and design before it is officially launched. If you are interested in helping the task force obtain the help of teachers for review of the teaching strategies, contact Maya Bassford at e-mail.

LGBT students: Need a mentor?

In February, the APAGS Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Concerns kicked off its new 12-month mentoring program for graduate students in psychology. The program is designed to provide an opportunity for LGBT graduate students in psychology to be mentored by colleagues who share similar interests, experiences and goals. For more information, visit www.apa.org/apags/.

APA adds 'gender identity and expression' to its employment statement

Consistent with the laws of the District of Columbia, where APA is headquartered, APA's Executive Management Group has added "gender identity and expression" to the association's Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

APA policy now states: "APA provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, number of dependent children or the ages of the children, physical or mental disability (visible or non-visible), disabled veterans, Vietnam-era veteran and other qualified veterans, or any other basis on which discrimination is prohibited by federal, or local law."

"This change does not alter APA's obligations," notes APA CEO Norman B. Anderson, PhD. "D.C. law, which is incorporated by reference in APA's policy, already prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. Nonetheless, APA decided to expressly identify gender identity and expression in our Central Office EEO statement, because we wanted to take a visible stand in opposition to discrimination. This is consistent with the bylaws change adopted last year that added gender identity to the Member's Bill of Rights."

—D. Schwartz