Starting a new year often fills us with optimism and a renewed commitment to make a difference. One way to make a difference on a large scale is through advocacy. Whether working in schools, research labs, universities, community health centers, independently or elsewhere, I believe psychologists share a common desire to improve the lives of people in their communities.
My hope is that 2015, the APA Education Directorate's 25th anniversary, sees our members resolving to learn more about APA's advocacy efforts and choosing to join them to increase their impact.
As I arrive in Washington, D.C., this month to begin my new job here at APA, the 114th Congress is outlining its agenda for the coming year. Just as the new Congress begins with hopes of accomplishing a significant agenda, so, too, does APA's Education Directorate. This is done through our Education Government Relations Office (GRO). The Education GRO's mission includes advocating on behalf of the discipline of psychology to expand opportunities and support for education and training, and for the integration of psychological science in education and training.
The Education GRO achieves this mission by educating Congress about the relevance of psychological science to education policy and lobbying for programs and federal funding that support psychology education.
This year, our legislative priorities champion psychology's role in education on several levels:
- As Congress drafts new legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act, we will work to educate Congress about the ways psychological research can improve teaching and learning and can create more opportunities for graduate study in psychology.
- In addition, we will garner support for the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act reauthorization to fund much-needed suicide prevention programs and resources.
- The Education GRO will also continue to be the primary advocate for increasing federal investments in the Graduate Psychology Education Program, which has generated $40 million in funding for interprofessional psychology graduate education and training.
Members like you are key to accomplishing our goals. Our strength rests in the critical support of our Federal Education Advocacy grassroots leaders and a nationwide grassroots lobbying network of psychologists and students who respond to our calls to action on these and other priorities. By bringing psychologists to Capitol Hill, we strive to raise Congress's awareness of psychology's contributions and to show how federal investments in psychology training programs are essential to addressing the unmet mental and behavioral health needs of our most vulnerable populations. The Education GRO coordinates nearly 250 meetings between committed colleagues and members of Congress.
We complement these efforts with political advocacy that is only possible through the Education Advocacy Trust, a legal entity within the American Psychological Association Practice Organization funded by members like you. Your contributions allow our staff to attend events for members of Congress who support our psychology education advocacy agenda.
Although the recent mid-term elections saw the lowest voter turnout since 1942, with only 36.4 percent of the voting-eligible population, I know from speaking with many of you that our members remain committed and engaged in important public health and education policy decisions.
We, in the Education Directorate, look forward to working closely with you to translate the science of psychology into informed policymaking that not only improves our federal education policy, but also promotes public health by expanding opportunities for psychology education and training and increasing research in and access to mental and behavioral health services. As we embark on this new year and celebrate our 25th anniversary, let us resolve to get involved with education advocacy efforts for the future of psychology and the public good.
