Since the program's founding in 1974, 119 psychologists have worked on both sides of the aisle, in both chambers of Congress and in 77 different Capitol Hill offices as APA congressional fellows.
These psychologists have a dual role: They learn about policymaking and educate congressional staff and members about psychology's contribution to policy.
"The APA Congressional Fellowship is an important investment in psychology that ensures that psychologists understand government and policymaking," says program director and former fellow Judith Glassgold, PsyD. "Fellows gain critical knowledge about a fundamental force in psychology and society — government — and then use this knowledge to advance the field."
APA's congressional fellows have contributed to several significant policy and legislative successes. They include:
- Drafting major legislation to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 1997. The law provides core protections for young people in juvenile justice systems.
- Overseeing the 1990 passage of the Patient Self-Determination Act, which required many health-care entities to provide adult patients with information on advance health-care directives.
- Participating in passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.
- Leading efforts to write the teacher training title of the successful 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which guides the federal role in postsecondary education.
APA fellows have gone on to top positions at the Edward Zigler Center at Yale University, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the offices of Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.).
— Micah Haskell-Hoehl