The LGBCO is housed within the Public Interest Directorate, Henry Tomes, PhD, Executive Director. The office is staffed by Clinton W. Anderson, Officer, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns, and M. Charlene DeLong, Program Coordinator.

• study and evaluate on an ongoing basis how the issues and concerns of lesbian, gay male, and bisexual psychologists can best be dealt with;

• encourage objective and unbiased research in areas relevant to lesbian, gay male, and bisexual adults and youths, and the social impact of such research;

• examine the consequences of inaccurate information and stereotypes about lesbian, gay male, and bisexual adults and youths in clinical practice;

• develop educational materials for distribution to psychologists and others; and

• make recommendations regarding the integration of these issues into the APA's activities to further the cause of civil and legal rights of lesbian, gay male, and bisexual psychologists within the profession.

CLGBC reports on its activities in its Annual Report published in January of each year.

Nominations. Nominations are due in August for the two Member Positions on CLGBC that become vacant each year. Nominations for the CLGBC Outstanding Achievement Awards, presented at the APA Convention, are due in April. For information on nomination procedures, contact the LGBCO.

The Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues (APA Division 44). Major activities of the Division include the newsletter (thrice yearly), the annual Convention program, the annual publication Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychology, and the annual Malyon-Smith Award to support student research and an Annual Report.

There are a number of other APA Divisions and Affiliated State, Provincial, and Territorial Psychological Associations that have programs focused on lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns. These include the Division of Counseling Psychology (17), the Society for the Psychology of Women (35), the Division of Family Psychology (43), and the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (45), the Arizona Psychological Association, the Georgia Psychological Association, the Illinois Psychological Association, the Maryland Psychological Association, the New Jersey Psychological Association, the New York Psychological Association, and The District of Columbia Psychological Association.

APA Resolutions and Other Policies on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns

• Discrimination Against Homosexuals;
• Child Custody and Placement;
• Employment Rights of Gay Teachers;
• Use of Diagnoses "Homosexuality" and "Ego-dystonic Homosexuality";
• Hate Crimes;
• Sodomy Laws and APA Convention;
• U.S. Department of Defense Policy on Sexual Orientation and Advertising in APA Publications;
• Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youths in the Schools;
• Constitutional Amendments and Statutes Prohibiting Civil Rights Protections for Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexual People;
• Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation;
• Legal Benefits for Same-Sex Couples.

In addition to the policy resolutions on lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns, sexual orientation is included in non-discrimination statements in the APA Bylaws, the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, the Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology, the APA Advertising Policy, and the Equal Employment Opportunity statement. APA provides benefits for the registered domestic partners of its staff and members equivalent to those provided for spouses.

APA has also adopted Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients.

Policy Advocacy on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns

APA advocates policy by participating in coalitions, by preparing testimony, letters, and other educational materials, and by assisting APA members in their advocacy efforts.

Federal Public Policy Advocacy. The APA Public Interest Public Policy Office has the primary responsibility for federal advocacy on lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns; advocacy goals and activities are coordinated with the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns and the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Office. Some Federal agency advocacy is handled directly by the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Office in coordination with the Public Policy Office.

Current federal policy goals and major recent activities include the following:

• PPO staff have been advocating for the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. As an active member of the lobbying task force of the ENDA coalition, PPO staff have been trying to secure original cosponsors for this legislation.

• PPO staff conducted lobby visits to supportive members of the House to inform them of the PI-chaired coalition's consensus document for school personnel, entitled "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth." (See "Just the Facts" Coalition below.)

• PPO staff continue to be involved in the effort to pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. After debate over which groups would be included in the final draft, the Senate passed a version of the bill that included race, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, gender, and disability. This bill was subsumed in the consolidated FY 2000 appropriations bill for the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce. During the conference committee process, the hate crimes legislation was removed and the rest of the appropriations bill sent to President Clinton for approval. In his initial veto of the bill, the President expressed his disappointment that the hate crimes legislation was no longer included. Though funding for these Departments was later authorized without the bill, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act is expected to resurface in Congress.

• LGBCO staff continue to work with NIH to encourage those agencies to take a leadership role in health research and preventive interventions. APA co-sponsored the National Institutes of Health sponsored research workshop New Approaches to Research on Sexual Orientation, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse. Researchers participating in the workshop agreed that there have been important research advances, but much more work is needed. Among the suggestions made by presenters at the workshop were the need to include sexual orientation as a demographic question in national health surveys. The workshop's sponsors aimed to showcase current research and draw attention to the need for NIH to take a visible leadership role and provide expanded support to research on the prevalence and causes of health problems among lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Its sponsorship by the NIH was the realization of a long-standing objective of CLGBC. Among the 15 presentations in the two-day meeting, one theme emerged repeatedly -- that mental health morbidity is correlated with victimization, especially in childhood and adolescence. CLGBC will review the presentations and the suggestions made during the workshop during its upcoming meeting in March. Representatives of NIMH, NIDA, and the other sponsors will be invited to meet with CLGBC in Spring 2000 to discuss how APA might further promote research through collaborative work with the NIH and other federal research agencies.

State and Local Public Policy Advocacy. Advocacy at the state and local level is handled by the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Office in coordination with the Public Policy Office. Advocacy at these levels primarily takes the form of assistance to APA members and to state psychological associations. In 1999, APA assisted psychologists and psychological associations in Arkansas, Indiana, Utah and Texas by providing materials relevant to lesbian and gay parenting issues. In each case state legislation or regulation was under consideration that would have limited parental rights of lesbian, gay, or bisexual parents. The office was also contacted by the Kentucky Psychological Association for assistance in responding to a request from a state legislator for information on sexual orientation.

Amicus briefs. Another form of public policy advocacy is APA intervention in legal cases, which is primarily the responsibility of the Legal Affairs Office in coordination with the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Officer; briefs are written by attorneys under the supervision of Legal Affairs and in consultation with the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Office and experts in the field.

In March 2000, APA filed a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Boy Scouts of America and Monmouth Council, Boy Scouts of America v. James Dale case.

During 1998, the APA filed amicus briefs in two contested child custody cases in state courts, one that involved a lesbian mother (Delong v. Delong; Missouri) and one that involved a gay father (Boswell v. Boswell; Maryland). A brief was written for an Idaho court case on second parent adoption, but not filed because the Idaho Supreme Court did not approve APA's petition to file. APA considered a brief in the Vermont marriage case, but decided against entering the case because APA policy development was underway at the time.

International Policy Advocacy. CLGBC and the Committee on International Relations in Psychology (CIRP) have jointly adopted a statement of purposes, goals, and objectives in the area of international lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns in psychology. The statement focuses on two areas: 1) encouraging mental health professionals to take the lead in eliminating the stigma of mental illness that has long been associated with same-sex sexual orientation and 2) affirming and protecting the human rights -- civil, political, economic, social, cultural -- of sexual orientation minorities around the world. APA and the Association of Lesbian and Gay Psychologists, Europe, are currently planning an invited international conference Sexual Orientation, Human Rights, and Mental Health: Toward a Global Psychology to be held in San Francisco, CA, in 2001. The primary target population for the conference is organized psychologists around the world, especially members of national psychological associations, including practitioners and researchers with expertise related to sexual orientation, human rights, and mental health.

The purposes of the conference are to encourage national, multinational, and international efforts to increase knowledge of the role of human rights in the mental health of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people and others who have sexual relationships with members of their own gender; eliminate the mental disorder conception of homosexuality; increase cross-cultural collaboration among mental health researchers and practitioners; utilize psychological research and mental health practice in health and human rights policy development; and develop an international network of resources for the dissemination of scientific and practical knowledge about sexual orientation, human rights, and mental health. The goals of the conference are to publish a monograph of the conference proceedings; to develop and publish a consensus statement including a research agenda and recommendations for practitioners; and to develop an action plan for ongoing international collaboration. The conference will be co-sponsored by the Conselho Federal de Psicologia (Brazil), Lesbian and Gay Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society, The Colombian National Committee of Psychology, The Foundation for the Advancement of Psychology (Colombia), The Hong Kong Psychological Society, Nederlands Instituut van Psychologen (Netherlands), and the Swiss Psychological Association

A major emphasis of the LGBCO for a number of years has been lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths in schools. Two major activities during 1998-1999 have been focused in this area.

Just the Facts Coalition. On November 23, a national coalition of ten education, health, mental health and religious organizations mailed a joint publication Just the Facts about Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators, and School Personnel to 15,000 public school superintendents across the country. The primer addresses the needs of lesbian, gay, and bisexual students in schools. The coalition included the following organizations: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of School Administrators, American Counseling Association, American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association, American School Health Association, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers, National Education Association, the Interfaith Alliance Foundation.

The "Just the Facts" coalition began meeting in late 1998. Its goal was to help educators and administrators address issues related to student sexual orientation, which have become increasingly visible in schools nationwide. As awareness of the educational, health and safety needs of lesbian, gay, and bisexual students has grown, schools have begun to respond. Prompted by concerns that school personnel were receiving inaccurate information on the issue of sexual orientation and how to address it best with students, the coalition produced the publication. In particular, the coalition was concerned about a national campaign of conferences around the country marketed to schools and school personnel. In the conferences "scientific information" about the unhealthiness of homosexuality and the efficacy and effectiveness of reparative therapy and transformational ministries has been provided. The sponsor of the campaign is Focus on the Family, a large conservative Christian organization.

Just the Facts provides information that will help school administrators and educators to create safe and healthy school environments in which all students can achieve to the best of their ability. The primer addresses the topics of sexual orientation development, reparative therapy, transformational ministry, and relevant legal principles. The publication also includes a substantial resource list for educators who desire to learn more on these topics.

Healthy Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Students Project (HLGBSP). Funded by a five-year cooperative agreement with the CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health, the HLGBSP is a collaboration between the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Office in the Public Interest Directorate and the Center for Psychology in Schools and Education in the Education Directorate. The purpose of the HLGBSP is to build the capacity of schools to prevent health problems of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths including HIV infection, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancy, and other important physical and mental health problems. The program will work with national organizations of key school stakeholders to build the preventive capacity of schools in five specific areas: counseling and psychological services, health services, health education, family and community involvement, and school climate.

An education and training needs assessment is underway for school counseling, psychological, and health services professionals. The needs assessment will be used to plan education and training that will be implemented in cooperation with local and state education agencies.

HIV curricula that have been endorsed by CDC have been obtained and a review is underway. The review will generate guidance to curriculum developers and school health educators on how to adapt curricula that have been shown to be effective so that health problems of LGB youth are prevented.

For more information, contact J. Davidson "Dusty" Porter, PhD, Manager, (202) 312-6473.

Publications. Publications are a major aspect of APA's knowledge dissemination activities. Currently available are the following publications on lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns in psychology:

• APA Resolutions on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns

• Avoiding Heterosexual Bias in Language

• Avoiding Heterosexist Bias in Psychological Research

• Issues in Psychotherapy with Lesbians and Gay Men: A Survey of Psychologists

• Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients

• Lesbian and Gay Parenting: A Resource for Psychologists

• Graduate Faculty in Psychology Interested in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns

• A Selected Bibliography of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns in Psychology: An Affirmative Perspective

• Examining the Employment Non-Discrimination Act From the Scientists' Perspective (ENDA)

• Lesbian Health Research: Testimony of Charlotte Patterson, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, on behalf of the American Psychological Association, before the Committee on Lesbian Health Research Priorities, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences

• Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality

• Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation & Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators & School Personnel

• Anderson, C.W., & Adley, A.R. (1997). Gay & lesbian issues: Abstracts of the psychological and behavioral literature, 1985-1996: Bibliographies in psychology Number 17. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. (Obtain from the APA order department (202) 336-5510.)

Research Support. The American Psychological Foundation administers three award funds that support scientific research on issues of concern to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people:

• The Wayne F. Placek Award

• The Wayne F. Placek Small Grant Award

• The Roy Scrivner Small Grant Award

For information contact the American Psychological Foundation, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242.

The Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues (Division 44) Malyon-Smith Fund provides small research grants to students.

Public Information and Media Relations. The Public Communications Office has the primary responsibility for public information (e.g., public information brochure Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality) and media relations (press releases, media interviews, appearances, and media referrals), as well as publishing the APA's monthly newspaper The APA Monitor on Psychology.

Each year, APA receives a variety of requests from APA members, divisions, affiliated state psychological associations, other professionals, psychology students, other organizations, and members of the public.

Frequent inquiries in 1999 include

• information on sexual orientation for religious leaders;

• information on the research publications of Paul Cameron;

• promotional advertising/media reports on sexual orientation conversion therapy;

• research funding;

• the role of information about sexual orientation in various legal determinations, e.g., a workers' compensation evaluation, malpractice suits, personal injury claims, sex offender registries and licensure.

Liaison and Representation. The LGBCO represents APA in coalitions and organizations related to lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues in which APA participates and at conferences and meetings. APA is a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) Policy Institute, the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC), the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (I-GLASS).

Prepared by Clinton W. Anderson, March 3, 2000.