In this issue readers will find:
- U.S. Census Report: Marriage on the Rebound
- In the News: Depression in Preschoolers?
- California Experiment Giving Schools Spending Flexibility Has Backfired
- Reliable Resource: Free SAMHSA Teleconference on Collaboration Thursday
- Hiccup in Economic Recovery Hurting College Grads
- Update Your ACA Member Profile and Stay Connected
- Calling All Counselor Moms and Dads: Counseling Today Needs You
- ACA Announces New Affiliation with TherapySites!
- Listen In and Learn About Public Policy Initiatives
- Fast Facts: More High School Students Earning Diplomas, Dropout Numbers Still High
- 2012 San Francisco Conference Call for Student Volunteers
- AMHCA, NECA, AACE, and ACES Conferences This Summer/Fall
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ACA blogs, written by counselors, for counselors:
U.S. Census Report: Marriage on the Rebound
A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau has revealed that American marriage is on the rebound. After stories in the media over the past several years questioned the future of marriage as a social institution, the new Census data shows the divorce rate for most age groups dropped in the 1996–2009 period by an average of 5%.
Demographers attribute the turn-around to several factors:
- U.S. couples are waiting longer to get married.
- Approximately a third of men and women ages 25-29 have never married. Since divorce was extremely high in this age group, these numbers were certain to topple.
- Marriage longevity is on the increase. Once married couples passed through the "divorce mania" of the past several decades, the survivors seem to be sticking together. In 2009, 44% of married couples had been married 15 or more years, 35% for 25 years and 6% for 50 years.
Commenting on the implications of the new Census data for counselors, ACA Chief Professional Officer David Kaplan said:"We know the decrease in divorce rate is related to the increase in age of first marriage and the subsequent increase in maturity of the partners. But I would like to think that the lower divorce rate is also related to the good work being done by couples and family counselors in teaching the skills necessary to have a happy and healthy life-long relationship."
The full report, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2009, contains trend data on marriage and divorce by age, gender, race and other individual characteristics. The report can be found
In the News: Depression in Preschoolers?
A recent edition of ScienceDaily.com reports on discoveries researchers have made relative to depression in the very young. Prompted by the response offered by adults with depression that they had been "depressed all of their lives," the researchers were attempting to find the precursors to chronic depression. The research is helping to identify the indicators of early childhood depression, but also has opened doors to determining what treatment methods, including play therapy, might be effective.
California Experiment Giving Schools Spending Flexibility Has Backfired
A study by the RAND Corporation and Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) has found that a California experiment to give schools greater flexibility with state fiscal support has not turned out as planned. In fact, the action has resulted in cutbacks in critical student need areas such as school counseling and library programs. Responding to a local complaint of too many bureaucratic hassles in spending, the action was intended to remove cumbersome "red tape."
The ultimate result of the 2009 decision by the legislature were cuts in programs that had the greatest effect on lower-achieving students, not the administrative personnel and management trimming that was intended by the move.
Reliable Resource: Free SAMHSA Teleconference on Collaboration Thursday
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is sponsoring a free training teleconference, "Forging a Path toward Social Inclusion: Collaboration Among Individuals, Community Partners, and Public Systems" which will be held on Thursday, June 23 3:00pm – 4:30pm ET.
Counselors, along with other mental health and addictions professionals, play a central role in helping individuals experiencing mental health or substance use problems to recover and rejoin their communities as fully participating and contributing members of the community. This training will offer valuable insights into acceptance, dignity, and social inclusion issues. Participants must
To receive updates of other SAMHSA Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health (ADS Center) activities including future training teleconferences,
Hiccup in Economic Recovery Hurting College Grads
With graduation ceremonies behind them, the current crop of college graduates is facing the stark realities of landing their first job. They are finding the going very tough. After optimistic economic and workplace signals were being sounded as recently as 6 months ago, the numbers of grads who have secured positions is lagging and the salaries they are accepting are lower than in previous years.
According to a study released by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, the beginning median salary for students graduating from 4-year colleges in 2009/2010 was $27,000, down from $30,000 just 3 years earlier. This study and other job challenges facing the current and recent college graduates were reported in a recent article in the New York Times.
Update Your ACA Member Profile and Stay Connected
ACA is committed to ensuring that our professional organization represents a strong, vibrant, and evolving model of diversity and inclusion for the counseling community and needs your help in maintaining a personal membership profile that is accurate and current. The information you share will be used for internal purposes and may only be shared in the aggregate with outside parties; therefore no personal, identifying information will be communicated to anyone.
In a few weeks, members will receive a form requesting you to review and update your membership information. Please review the information ACA currently has on record for you, make the necessary changes and/or updates, and return the form in the postage-paid envelope provided.
Members may also log on to the members-only area of counseling.org by entering your username and password. Once logged in, click on "MANAGE MEMBERSHIP" in the orange login box and proceed to update your information. If you do not know your username and password, please contact Member Services at 800-347- 6647 x222 / 703-823-9800 x222 (M-F, 8am – 6pm, ET), or email us. Likewise, please use the same contact information if you have any questions, comments or concerns about your ACA membership.
Thanks for taking the time to update your member profile and know that the new information will help ACA in representing a larger, diverse, and inclusive counseling community.
Calling All Counselor Moms and Dads: Counseling Today Needs You
Are you a counselor-mom or counselor-dad? Counseling Today is researching the ways counselors balance work and parenting, hoping to learn about some of the unique challenges of working counselors and those building a practice while raising a family. Do you have a network of other counselor-parents in your area, or would you like to develop one? Are social media outlets such as Facebook helping you build networks, get referrals and find supervision? Please contact us at ct@counseling.org if you would like to weigh in on this topic for an upcoming article in Counseling Today.
ACA Announces New Affiliation with TherapySites!
TherapySites offers websites that are designed specifically for counselors. TherapySites integrates professional website design, hosting and content that is HIPAA compliant for just $59 per month. Now, through ACA's new affiliation with TherapySites, ACA members receive One Month Free when they sign up with promo code "ACA". Visit:
Listen In and Learn Public Policy Opportunity
Members interested in getting a fresh update on public policy and advocacy issues affecting counselors and counseling will want to participate in a conference call hosted by ACA public policy staff on Thursday, July 7 from 1:00 – 2:00pm ET. A portion of the 1-hour program will be devoted to policy issues before the federal government and matters that are being addressed by ACA staff members. The remainder of the hour will be open to Q&A from callers.
To participate, call 866-220-0969 (toll free) and enter *1603550* as the meeting number. To mute/unmute your line during the call, hit*6. Pre-call questions can be directed to Christie Lum at 1-800-347-6647, x354 or clum@counseling.org.
Fast Facts: More High School Students Earning Diplomas, Dropout Numbers Still High
The Education Week Diplomas Count 2011 edition, timed for release with the end of the school year, reports that the national high school graduation rate stands at 71.7% for the class of 2008, the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Education. After 2 declining years, the current diploma award numbers have climbed to the highest point since the 1980s.
The cloud over the upbeat news is that 1.2 million students from the current high school population will fail to earn a diploma.
The accompanying report, which addresses the "college for all" debate, is available online, along with links to state-by-state indicators. EdWeek Maps, a web-based geographical tool, also allows users to create interactive maps and download a special report for any school district in the country.
2012 San Francisco Conference: Call for Student Volunteers
Volunteering at the ACA National Conference & Exposition can be one of the greatest ways counseling students can immerse themselves in the work of the organization, meet and interact with leading counseling professional, and contribute to the efficient management of the annual gathering of professional counselors, counselor educators, and fellow students.
ACA is seeking up to 100 graduate student volunteers willing to work a minimum of 8 hours during the ACA 2012 Conference & Exposition in San Francisco, CA, March 21-25 In exchange for your time and commitment, ACA will waive one-half of your registration fee. We are also pleased to offer graduate students who volunteered in 2011 full reimbursement for their registration fee. The deadline to sign up for this program is Friday, November 30, 2011. For more information, please
AMHCA, NECA, AACE, and ACES Conferences This Summer/Fall
American Mental Health Counselors Association
Theme: The Power of Partnerships
July 14 – 16, 2011
Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco Union Square, San Francisco, CA
National Employment Counselors Association
Theme: Wellness in the Workplace – NECA Summer Institute
August 16, 2011
Annapolis Yacht Club, Annapolis, MA
Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education
Theme: Assess. Advocate. Create. Empower.
September 8 – 10, 2011
Radisson Fort Worth Fossil Creek, Fort Worth, TX
Association for Counselor Education and Supervision
Theme: Leading the Leaders, Helping the Helpers, Shaping the Future
October 26 – 30, 2011
Gaylord Resort and Convention Center, Nashville, TN
ACA divisions, branches, and regions are valuable sources of learning and professional development. Information on events will be posted approximately 8-10 weeks prior. This information is made available to ACAeNews via the ACA master calendar and the various organization web sites. Send calendar items to dbrown@counseling.org. Please provide the sponsor, dates, theme, site, and contact person information. Information posted here is restricted to that sponsored by ACA divisions, branches, regions and related organizations.
About ACAeNews
ACAeNews is published 24 times annually by the American Counseling Association for the benefit of members across the counseling profession. Any reference to a product, service, activity or listing of a website in ACAeNews does not imply endorsement by ACA. Any views and opinions are those of the sponsoring organization and may or may not be shared by ACA. Past editions can be found
Direct comments, questions, and submissions to fburtnett@counseling.org. All submissions will be subject to review by ACA for accuracy, timeliness and relevance to the readership and may be edited to meet space parameters.
Marcheta P. Evans, Ph.D., President
Marcheta.evans@utsa.edu
Richard Yep, CAE, Executive Director
ryep@counseling.org
Debra Bass, Director of Marketing and Communications
dbass@counseling.org
Frank Burtnett, NCC, NCCC, ACAeNews Editor
fburtnett@counseling.org
Don Kenneally, Internet Development / Production
dkenneally@counseling.org
ACA Web site: www.counseling.org
Copyright 2011, American Counseling Association, 5999 Stevenson Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22304. Telephone: 703/823-9800. Email: fburtnett@counseling.org. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce anything contained in this newsletter as long as the American Counseling Association is identified as the original source of the information.
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