Michigan Project for Informed
Public Policy
A National Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, &
Transgender Research & Public Policy
Funded by the Arcus Foundation with a $75,000 grant, this one-year project will organize social scientists, mental health experts, and medical professionals in Michigan to convey accurate information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues to the media, legislators, courts, and other policymakers. These educational efforts will focus on the mental health consequences of workplace discrimination, hate crimes, harassment of LGBT youth in school, inequality for same-sex couples, and lack of equal protections for lesbian/gay parents and their children. The state of Michigan currently provides no rights or protections for LGBT persons in any of these areas.
Rockway Institute is the grantee for this project and is working closely with the American Psychological Association's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns Office and the Michigan Psychological Association in program delivery. These organizations also will collaborate with existing LGBT social service and equality groups in Michigan. Our goal is to increase the likelihood that future LGBT public policies in Michigan are based on accurate scientific information rather than on competing political ideologies.
Brief Description of the Primary Organizations Involved
Founded in 2006, the Rockway Institute is part of the California School of Professional Psychology (started in 1969) at Alliant International University, the largest nonprofit training institution for doctoral-level clinical psychologists in the U.S. Directed by Robert-Jay Green, PhD, the Rockway Institute brings together scientific research and professional expertise to counter antigay prejudice and inform public policies affecting LGBT people. In the past year, with the assistance of The Gay & Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD), Rockway has provided media training to over 100 social scientists, mental health professionals, and physicians in the U.S. and has established a significant presence in the national media as a source of accurate information about LGBT issues.
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional group for psychologists in the U.S. With approximately 148,000 members, APA has a strong Public Interest division, including a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns Office (LGBTCO) directed by Clinton W. Anderson, PhD, as well as the Society for the Psychological Study of LGBT Issues (Division 44) with over 1,500 members nationwide. APA has supported LGBT policy development for many years by submitting amicus briefs in major state and national court cases, taking official policy stands in favor of equality, and publishing an enormous volume of research that documents the negative effects of discrimination against LGBT people. As an example of APA's impact, its amicus brief for the recent California Supreme Court marriage case was the only brief cited and quoted (187 words) by the justices to support the majority opinion in favor of same-sex marriage.
The Michigan Psychological Association has existed since 1935, and in 1956 was incorporated as a non-profit organization. The Association has more than 1,000 psychologist members, working to advance psychology as a science and a profession and to promote the public welfare by encouraging the highest professional standards, offering public education, providing public service, and participating in the public policy process on behalf of the profession and health care consumers. It is the Michigan affiliate of the American Psychological Association. MPA's sister organization, the MPA Foundation (MPAF) is also a non-profit whose mission is to support educational and other charitable programs to promote the public mental health welfare and to advance the science and profession of psychology for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes.
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The Challenge and Significance of the Issue
Passage in 2004 of a state constitutional amendment in Michigan that declared "the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose" has set in motion a series of consequences that are eroding the rights of LGBT people in Michigan. Most ominous is that the Michigan Supreme Court ruling on May 8, 2008, took the broadest view of the amendment, interpreting it to mean that all governmental entities in Michigan (such as state-sponsored universities) are prohibited from granting any benefits to same-sex partners of employees. In order to counteract the negative effects of the 2004 amendment and prepare the public for reconsidering this amendment in the future, Michigan is seeking to dramatically increase its organized LGBT advocacy efforts in a sustained battle for equality. To meet this challenge, the proposed project will draw together and thereby leverage two already existing resources in Michigan—professionals with LGBT expertise and LGBT advocacy groups.
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Brief Description of the Project
The project will enlist Michigan's community of psychologists, other social scientists, and health professionals to inform LGBT public policy in Michigan. The project's goals are to initiate collaboration between these professionals and the state's LGBT equality groups, and to familiarize both groups with how such collaboration can advance LGBT public policy through the following sets of activities:
Media Activities:
Participation in interviews with print, radio, and television broadcast reporters in Michigan Writing and distributing press releases and op-ed pieces to Michigan news media
Legislative Activities:
Organizing individual and group informational meetings with state representatives Preparing background research summaries for legislative proposals Giving expert testimony as requested at legislative hearings in the state capital
Community-Based Activities:
Organizing individual and group informational meetings with opinion leaders in Michigan communities (for example, religious leaders, members of school boards, mayors and their staffs) Conducting workshops at local LGBT community organizations about how LGBT individuals can communicate with friends, family members, and coworkers about LGBT equality issues in Michigan.
Court-Related Activities
Giving expert witness testimony in court cases concerning same-sex couples, LGBT parenting rights,hate crimes, employment discrimination, and protection of youth in schools Helping to write amicus briefs in court cases of major statewide significance Organizing informational sessions with judges in Michigan
In all of the above efforts, we will seek full collaboration with Michigan's LGBT equality groups; national advocacy groups that have operations in Michigan (such as the ACLU); and colleges and universities in Michigan.
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Sequence of Planned Activities:
The project's sequence of interventions will include: (1) identifying/recruiting suitable experts, (2) training them for media, legislative, community, and courtroom involvement, (3) organizing regional teams of experts, (4) connecting regional teams with existing advocacy groups, (5) facilitating deployment of the experts for the activities listed above, (6) setting up permanent organizational structures (for example, within MPA and the advocacy groups) to sustain the effort after the project ends, and (7) data-based evaluation of the project's impact.
After the project ends, we will disseminate "lessons learned" at national conferences (such as the annual "Creating Change" conference and APA's annual convention) and in psychology and public policy journal articles. Assuming this project is successful in Michigan, it can serve as a model for use in other states.
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Core Project Personnel:
Robert-Jay Green, PhD: MPIPP Project Director; Executive Director of Rockway Institute, California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, San Francisco
Clinton W. Anderson, PhD: Project Consultant; Director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns Office, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC
Personnel Affiliated with Michigan Psychological Association (Total % full time employment, to be hired)
Rick Moore, M.A.: Director of Communications, Rockway Institute
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