• Background Bureau of Health Professions: The Bureau of Health Professions (of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration) focuses on meeting the health workforce needs of our nation. Issues that are addressed include diversity, public health, and the supply of specific types of health professionals including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, dentists, allied health providers, pharmacists, podiatrists, chiropractors, and mental and behavioral health professionals. Especially important to psychology, the Bureau also administers the Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program.


• Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program: The GPE program provides funds to train psychologists to work with underserved populations (e.g., children, elderly, rural persons, chronically ill, and victims of abuse and trauma). Funding is provided through a competitive grant process to APA accredited doctoral and internship programs (and eventually postdoctoral residencies) for basic or advanced training. Funds may be used for student stipends, faculty, adjunct supervisors, curriculum development, model demonstration programs and technical assistance.


• What Psychology Gained in 1998 Reauthorization: The last reauthorization of the Bureau of Health Professions legislation took six years and was completed in 1998. The Education Directorate and Education Advocacy staff worked with three congresses on every bill that was proposed and was successful in gaining statutory language in each one that expanded the role of mental and behavioral health professions. The 1998 reauthorization not only included psychologists and other mental and behavioral professionals in all the programs for disadvantaged health students and health professionals inservice training programs, but also specifically allowed for training of mental and behavioral health professions through the “Allied Health and Other Disciplines” section. It is with this authority that we were able to gain funding for the Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) program.


• What We Want to Gain in 2003 Reauthorization: It is important to request a clearer and stronger statutory authority for GPE (i.e., GPE is distinctly for psychology and that it is completely separate from the Allied Health training provision). We are, therefore, recommending adding a new section that clearly states GPE is for the purpose of planning and implementing projects to develop, operate or maintain graduate programs for the training of psychologists).

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