Bringing psychology to Capitol Hill: Briefings on child and family policy.

Although major innovations in child and family policy continue to occur primarily at the state and community level, the framework for child and family policy has been set increasingly in federal law. Given this fact and the enormous social importance of child and family welfare, there is a need to ensure that Congress has easy access to relevant social science research and policy analysis. Since 1989, with sponsorship by several units of the American Psychological Association, a national consortium of centers on children, families, and the law has provided an annual series of briefings for congressional staff. Determination of the impact of specific events and actors in the policy process is difficult, but there is evidence that the briefings have affected several important legislative actions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Association for the Advancement of Psychology: 1983.

This article describes the public policy activities in Congress of the Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP), which is the recognized independent national advocacy arm of American psychology, representing the interests of psychology in the public policy arena. AAP's public policy activities in Congress continued to focus on the elimination of discrimination with regard to the treatment of mental illness and mental health professionals, increased federal funding of behavioral and social science research and research training, and the protection of constitutional rights without exception. AAP activities included working with other mental health advocacy groups to urge Congress to enact fiscal 1984 appropriations measures favorable to psychology, lobbying for various child-related federal programs in 1983, and legislation drafted by the AAP to eliminate current discrimination between physical and mental health benefits for the 10 million federal employees, annuitants, and families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Association for the Advancement of Psychology: 1976.

The Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP), established by the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association in 1974, interacts with the U.S. Congress and federal regulatory agencies on issues of interest to psychology, in the public interest. This article presents information on AAP board members, Operations Committee members, meeting dates, legislative agenda, headquarters staff members, and bylaws revisions for the year 1976. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists, Congress, and public policy.

As professional psychologists become increasingly involved in shaping health care policy in our nation, it is imperative that they understand the various forces that influence congressional members to enact legislation. This article examines two major issues: (a) Congress's cautious and restrained approach to health care policy and (b) preemption and the relationship between Congress and the states. Understanding these issues will enable psychologists to become more effective representatives of both the professional and societal interests of professional psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congress looks at science.

Congress "has been inviting the nation's top scientists… to come to the witness table… . Congress is not trying to crack down on science; rather it is trying… to equip itself for its constitutional role in an area where it has heretofore been rather laggard." The "Federal Government has been extremely generous to science." Science "has become terribly expensive in recent years… . Congress is beginning to demand, in effect, that the scientific community vouch for it productivity… . Congress is aware of its own inadequacy, which is why the scientific community should be pleased, rather than distressed, by the sudden rush of investigations and studies. They present a splendid opportunity for the nation's scientists to help the political process adopt itself to the needs of science." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intelligence tests and the Immigration Act of 1924.

It is often claimed that the racially biased Immigration Act of 1924 was passed with the help of the intelligence-testing community of the period. The claim consists of 2 components: first, that the intelligence testing community saw its test data on social and ethnic differences as favoring a discriminatory immigration policy and, second, that the US Congress relied to some significant extent on the testing community and/or its data. An examination of the historical record failed to uncover any support for either component of the claim. The testing community did not generally view its findings as favoring restrictive immigration policies like those in the 1924 Act, and Congress took virtually no notice of intelligence testing. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention partnerships with external behavioral and social scientists: Roles, extramural funding, and employment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must have strong external partnerships with behavioral and social scientists to refine and carry out its research and programmatic mission. This article examines funding, employment, and other mechanisms used to develop and foster such partnerships. The authors describe in detail funding mechanisms (especially the often-used cooperative agreement and contracting mechanisms) and identify specific sources of information about funding opportunities. Furthermore, they describe several different long- and short-term employment mechanisms that can be used to link CDC staff and external behavioral scientists. Finally, external behavioral and social scientists can serve in important roles as members of CDC advisory committees, peer reviewers of funding applications, and consultants; examples of these opportunities are also provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The federal health scientist-administrator: An opportunity for role integration.

The federal health scientist-administrator is centrally involved in the national health program and serves in the interface between science and public policy. In this middleman role there is a role conflict which derives from the dichotomy between his values as a scientist and as an administrator. He is viewed as an expert in the process of federal grantsmanship as well as in the research area for which he has responsibility. It is suggested that he must be willing to accept this role conflict as an attribute of science administration today and work toward a process of integrating the 2 roles. Psychologists and other behavioral scientists should participate in such an effort at integration. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defining liberty for handicapped Americans.

Indicates that one of the first items on the Reagan administration's budget-cutting agenda was the dismantlement of the federal framework for aiding disabled persons. These proposals were defeated because of community-based advocacy and because enough members of Congress were committed to the protection of handicapped programs. In 1983, Congress produced 2 pieces of legislation to perfect the provisions of the core programs for the handicapped. The American people must be made to see the long-term investments in making society accessible to handicapped persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologist on Capitol Hill: A unique use of the skills of the scientist/practitioner.

Congressional staff participate in a wide range of information-management activities including information acquisition, analysis, and dissemination. Those who serve on Capitol Hill have an opportunity to contribute their substantive knowledge and analytical skills to the debates surrounding issues of national importance. However, it is suggested that for those trained as scientists and/or practitioners, the political process and the fundamental evolutionary nature of social change can be unexpectedly frustrating. The roles and responsibilities of congressional staffers, the relevance of psychological training, and the employment opportunities existing for those psychologists who wish to become personally involved in the legislative process are discussed. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A call for a social network-oriented approach to services for survivors of intimate partner violence.

Despite the many hard-won victories of the antidomestic violence movement, it has had less success in reaching one of its own primary goals: that of making intimate partner violence a problem of the community rather than a problem between two individuals. Most mainstream domestic violence service models have not prioritized ongoing engagement of survivors' informal social support networks as a core part of their work. Yet the perpetration of domestic violence occurs within a community context that contributes to the maintenance or alleviation of the problem. Given extensive research on the centrality of social networks to the fabric of survivors' daily lives, as well as their ongoing safety and emotional well-being, it is critical to consider how domestic violence services and systems can align with these social networks more effectively. Following a review of research on the role of informal social support in survivors' lives, this article calls for a shift in mainstream domestic violence services toward a more network-oriented approach, one that highlights potential partnerships between professionals and survivors' informal social support networks. Such a shift would require a reconceptualization of the role of the domestic violence practitioner and the scope and nature of services. It would also raise a series of emergent research questions about how informal network members can best support survivors, how domestic violence services can help survivors engage with existing and new supporters, and the extent to which specific types of network-oriented practices can indeed improve survivors' safety and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

As the pendulum swings: Federal agency programs for children.

This article provides a brief history of federal agency involvement in programs for children and their families, examines factors that affect the development of federal social policy, and suggests what might come next. It includes a brief summary of the existing 93 federal programs operated by various agencies of the federal government. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reflections of an advocate for research and health promotion: An interview with Jacob K. Javits.

Senator Jacob K. Javits views the role of scientists and scientific organizations working with Congress as twofold: (1) the scientists' expertise is critical to the workings of Congress and (2) scientists must be involved in the process to highlight their ethical and moral concerns. He discusses the social, political, and philosophical factors that have contributed to the activist, antiscience, and antiresearch movement that developed in the US during the early 1980s. Javits identifies the integration of health and behavior as the radical change that has occurfed in the latter part of the 20th century. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hospital mortality in acute myocardial infarction: is it possible to predict using admission data?

We described the development and psychometric properties of the Community Living Attitudes Scale, Mental Retardation Form (CLAS-MR), a 40-item measure based on the input of self-advocates and focused on contemporary community living philosophies. The CLAS-MR, which consists of four subscales that tap attitudes about people with mental retardation, demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, retest reliability, and construct validity with samples of 104 college students and 283 community members. Using data from a sample of 355 staff members from community agencies, we confirmed the factor structure of the measure. Given the importance of attitudes toward persons with mental retardation in policy making and community inclusion, the CLAS-MR can help chronicle the diffusion of the new paradigm of empowered community living for persons with mental retardation.     

The future of pediatric psychopharmacology

The future of pediatric psychopharmacology will be a collaborative effort among the public, the federal government, the pharmaceutical industry, and clinical scientists. Clinical scientists and the NIH have initiated the process. The federal regulatory guidelines are in place but may need to be amended further to truly facilitate needed research. The pharmaceutical industry is making efforts to study medications in childhood psychiatric disorders. More new drugs are being tested in humans. Many of the new agents offer the promise of more clinical benefit with milder side effects. The future is indeed promising.     

Influence of behavioral and social science on public health policymaking.

Public health policies are important guiding principles that serve to shape the well-being of individuals, groups, and society. Behavioral and social scientists can play key influential roles in public health policymaking. The actors and processes involved in setting public health policy are described, and several substantive examples of public health decision making are discussed, emphasizing HIV prevention policy experiences at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The significant influence of behavioral and social science in each of these examples is identified and critiqued. Challenges to further integration of behavioral science and public health policy are identified, and potential solutions are proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simplify and energize policy development

Nurse managers revamp nursing policy and procedure development to increase efficiency, engage their staff, and ensure current easy-to-use policies. The system has worked successfully in a community hospital and a regional health care network.     

Psychology's response to the graying of America.

Asserts that changes set in motion by major public health advances early in the century have increased the demand for knowledge about the aging process, especially the psychological aspects of aging. There is need for basic and applied research on aging in areas such as memory; federal support should be provided for training at the predoctoral level; and information on the psychological aspects of aging should be transmitted to society, policy makers, and members of other professions who serve the elderly. Knowledge of aging as a biological, psychological, and social process is applicable in fields such as industry, education, and engineering. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of the family in the nurture and protection of the young.

U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett discusses the federal government's failure over the past two decades to alter substantially many of the problems facing the nation's youth. He suggests that the family is better able to make decisions regarding the well-being of its young members than is the federal government and that federal policy, therefore, should be concerned primarily in strengthening rather than supplanting the family's influence and authority. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creating tobacco control policy at the local level: implementation of a direct action organizing approach

This article describes the community activation and policy change process in seven Minnesota communities involved in the Tobacco Policy Options for Prevention (TPOP) study. The study's intervention employed a direct action organizing model, which relies on mobilizing large numbers of people to alter decision making and leverage the power of elites. As part of the organizing process, TPOP organizers and teams made 1,319 personal contacts with community members, generated 309 media stories, and initiated 445 public events related to tobacco use. These actions resulted in the establishment of comprehensive tobacco ordinances in all seven communities. The authors discuss the goals, training, activities and political factors relevant to four phases of the TPOP intervention: information gathering and team recruitment, community awareness building and ordinance development, preparing for city council, and ordinance establishment and enforcement. Included are suggestions for practitioners interested in using policy change and community-based advocacy to resolve public health problems.