Volume IX Number 11
May 24, 2007
ACAeNews is a biweekly electronic newsletter of the American Counseling Association.
In this edition readers will find:
~ 2007 College Grads Faring Well in Transition to Workplace ~
It's graduation time and the National Association of Colleges and Employers' 2007 Graduating Student Survey has found that hiring is on the rise for the fourth consecutive year. More than half (51.2%) of current graduates who applied for full-time employment secured one prior to graduation and many of their classmates have offers they were considering as they donned their caps and gowns.
ACAeNews readers can review the highlights of NACE's Job Outlook 2007 at http://www.naceweb.org/products/info_pages/joboutlookreport.htm and examine other details at http://www.naceweb.org/press/display.asp?year=2007&prid=258.
Student use of their campus career center was rated high on the list of successful strategies this spring as more than 52 percent of those securing jobs had applied through a center sponsored career fair, and 41 percent had posted their resume on the center's web site. Information on the most effective search practices of students can be found at http://www.naceweb.org/press/display.asp?year=2007&prid=259
~ ACA Sponsors Children's Mental Health Awareness Day Briefing ~
The American Counseling Association joined with a wide array of other national organizations in cosponsoring the second annual Capitol Hill briefing held to recognize National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, May 8th, and to help shed light on the need for comprehensive children's mental health services in schools and communities. Howie Mandel, acclaimed comedian and host of the popular TV game show "Deal or No Deal," was the honorary consumer spokesman at the event, and shared his personal experiences managing obsessive-compulsive disorder and mysophobia, the fear of germs. Mandel discussed how the stigma surrounding mental health affected his decision to seek help as a teenager. "The things I got expelled for, hit for and punished for as a child, I get paid to do as an adult," he said, adding that channeling his energy into creative arts helped him achieve success. He also said he is supportive of nontraditional therapies, including play and art therapy, to help children work through their issues.
"The briefing put a very real face to the need for mental health services in schools," said ACA Chief Professional Officer David Kaplan, who was in attendance with ACA President Marie A. Wakefield. He added that he hopes those who attended the briefing now can work toward sharing ideas and best practices to fill that need.
~ Nevada Counselor Licensure Bill Clears Hurdle ~
Legislation to establish licensure of professional counselors in Nevada has cleared another hurdle. On Monday, May 14th, the Nevada Senate Business & Professions Committee unanimously approved counselor licensure bill AB 424 after incorporating amendments agreed to by Senators Joe Heck—the lead proponent of counselor licensure in the state legislature—Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, and Senator Maggie Carlton. The legislation now heads to the Senate floor, where a vote is expected within the next week. Sadly, the state's marriage and family therapists are opposing the legislation, despite the bill's authors having already made several changes at their request.
Counselors in Nevada are strongly encouraged to contact their state Senator to urge approval of the legislation. Counselor licensure is needed to both protect consumers from unqualified providers and help the state increase access to mental health care. Nevada has a suicide rate nearly twice as high as the national average and large parts of the state are considered mental health professional shortage areas. Without licensure of professional counselors in Nevada, the state's ratio of citizens to master's-level mental health professionals is roughly 50 percent higher than the national average of less than 1,000 to 1.
For more information on the Nevada licensure effort, contact Scott Barstow at 800-347-6647, Ext. 234, or by e-mail at sbarstow@counseling.org.
~ ACA To Sponsor the SOGI First Annual LGBT Mental Health Symposium ~
The Sexual Orientation and Gender Institute (SOGI) at Center on Halstead will hold its first annual LGBT Mental Health Symposium on June 18.. At a regional level, providers, administrators, and consumers will confer to provide a comprehensive review of existing services available across the lifespan of the Chicago metropolitan area. SOGI's National Advisory Council will examine aging in the LGBT population. For more information visit www.centeronhalsted.org or contact the Center on Halsted at SOGI@centeronhalsted.org or 773-472-6469.
~ Relevant Research - Counseling First-Generation College Students ~
A study of first-generation Texas college students by the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education has implications for counselors assisting similar students across the nation. The three major recommendations of the study are: 1) Get the message out to all students about college as early as possible, 2) Better prepare students for college and 3) Provide more support to students once in college. The complete findings are contained in a report, Straight From The Source, which can be found at: http://www.pellinstitute.org/files/files-sfts_what_works.pdf
~ Indiana Abolishes Restricted Test List ~
The Restricted Test List (RTL) in the state of Indiana met its demise on May 8th when Governor Mitch Daniels signed HB 1821 into law. This new legislation removed the psychology board's authority to establish a list of restricted psychology tests and lifted prohibitions on certain individuals (e.g., marriage and family therapists, social workers and mental health counselors) from administering and interpreting the restricted tests.
The Indiana Counseling Association played an integral part in a major coalition of behavioral health professionals and testing specialists who had opposed the establishment of the restricted test list, contending that test manufacturer specifications and professional ethical codes have been and continue to be sufficient to ensure the professional administration, scoring and interpretation of psychological assessment instruments. ACAeNews readers desiring additional information about the effort can contact John Bloom at jbloom@butler.edu.
~ACA Monograph on Client Records ~
A recently released monograph, Documentation of Counselor Records: An Overview of Ethical, Legal and Clinical Issues, Third Edition, by Robert Mitchell, offers guidelines on how to keep client records that are legally, clinically and fiscally sound. The author provides basic information on how counselors can protect themselves from lawsuits and allegations of unethical conduct, assist in court cases, speed third-party reimbursements, master electronic record keeping and enhance the quality of care through effective communications. Order # 72851. List Price: $29.95. ACA Member Price: $21.95. To order this or other ACA titles, go to: http://counseling.org/Publications
~ Reliable Resource - Kids, Divorce and School Success ~
Every divorce is unique and every child reacts differently, states Greatschools.com, a web site offering a Parent Advisor electronic newsletter. The May 10th edition takes a look at kids, divorce and school success and offers the views of parents and counselors (school and family) who have experienced divorce and divorce circumstances. To learn more, go to: http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/static/poll_results.tmpl/ca/?cpn-20070510pa2
~ FYI - $$$ Worth of a Stay-At-Home Mother ~
The celebration of Mother's Day earlier this month brought forth the annual compensation research from Salary.com Inc. indicating that if the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for the various roles she must play, she would earn $138,095 per year. A mother who holds a full-time job outside the home would earn an additional $85,939 for the work she does at home. ACAeNews readers can go to: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070502/us_nm/work_mothers_dc to access this interesting report.
~ Grants - Special Education Research, Literacy/Love of Learning Minigrants and Job Skills and Education Grants ~
Special Education Grants for "Related Services"
The National Center for Special Education Research, part of the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, is seeking to fund research in the area of special education. Of particular interest to counselors is the grant competition that specifically mentions "related services" as a priority research area.
The grant competition (CFDA No. 84.324A-2) deadline is November 1, 2007.
The National Alliance of Pupil Services Organizations (NAPSO), of which ACA is a member, is interested in supporting quality proposals that would gather empirical evidence on the effectiveness of "related services" in serving the needs of special education students. Applicants that have the ability and capacity to conduct scientifically valid research are eligible to apply. Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, non-profit and for-profit organizations and public and private agencies and institutions, such as colleges and universities.
Although "related services" must be the focus of the proposal in order to receive support, NAPSO encourages linking proposals to other research areas, such as autism or response to intervention, as this is likely to make the application more competitive. For additional information on this grant opportunity, please see the announcement which was posted in the Federal Register on April 6th: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-1713.pdf
Literacy & Love of Learning Minigrants
A minigrant program of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation is making grants of up to $500 available to educators, parents and children in public schools and libraries that spread literacy and the love of learning. Application deadline: September 15, 2007. Go to: http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/programs/minigrant.html for additional information.
Job Skills and Education
The Staples Foundation for Learning provides funding up to $25,000 to programs that support or provide job skills and/or education for all people, with an emphasis on disadvantaged youth. Eligibility: Nonprofit organizations. Application deadline: August 3, 2007. Go to: http://www.staplesfoundation.org/foundapplication.html for details and application forms.
~ Fast Fact - Homeschooled Students Exceeds One Million ~
Until the US Department of Education began to collect data in the National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) in 1999, little statistical information existed about the prevalence of home schooling. The most recent report of NHES, reflecting the year 2003, estimates 1.1 million children and youth between the ages of 5 and 17 (grades K-12) learning at home. For additional information, go to: http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/homeschool/.
~ Events - ASCA, NCDA and AMHCA to Hold Summer Conferences ~
June 23-26, 2007
American School Counselor Association
Theme: Reaching New Heights
Location: Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, Denver, CO
Information: http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?pl=325&sl=129&contentid=182
July 6-8, 2007
National Career Development Association
Focus: Integration and Collaboration in a Multicultural World
Location: Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers, Seattle, WA
Information: http://209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?AssnID=NCDA&DBCode=130285&Action=DisplayTemplate&Page=AWS_NCDA2_conference_info.html
July 26-28, 2007
American Mental Health Counselors Association
Theme: Growth Out of Adversity
July 26-28, 2007
Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans
Information: http://www.amhca.org/pdf/AMHCAFebPNad-flyer.pdf
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ACA divisions and branches are valuable sources of learning and professional development and ACAeNews readers will find relevant future meetings and conferences posted here regularly. Information of this nature will be posted approximately 8-10 weeks before the conference is held. This information is made available to ACAeNews via the ACA master calendar and the various organization web sites. Additions to that calendar should be directed to JMacdonald@counseling.org and fburtnett@counseling.org. Please provide the sponsor, dates, site and contact person information. Information posted here is restricted to that sponsored by ACA divisions, branches, regions and related organizations.
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About ACAeNews
ACAeNews is published biweekly by the American Counseling Association for the benefit of members and the counseling profession. Any reference to a product, service or activity or listing of a web site 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.
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.
Marie A. Wakefield, President
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© 2007, 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.