ACAeNews is a biweekly electronic newsletter of the American Counseling Association.
In this edition readers will find:
_______________________
~ Congress Returning to Take Up Major Health Issues ~
Although much of September will be devoted to matters dealing with Iraq, the US Senate and House of Representatives will also be taking on some important health issues of consequence to counselors. Congress will reconvene the first week of September and will quickly commence work on major health care issues, including reauthorization of the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP), Medicare legislation, and mental health and addictive disorder parity legislation. The SCHIP program-which provides health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured children across the country-is set to expire at the end of September. Both chambers have passed versions of legislation to extend the program for another five years and increase its funding; the version passed by the House also includes language to strengthen and improve Medicare, including establishing Medicare coverage of counselors. Although Congress may decide to drop Medicare-related provisions from the SCHIP legislation in order to reach a consensus by September 30th (and override a potential presidential veto), Medicare legislation would likely still be taken up separately later this year.
Mental health and addictive disorder parity legislation is also moving forward, with the Senate reportedly aiming to bring such legislation up for floor votes the first week it returns. ACA and other mental health advocacy organizations are hopeful the House of Representatives can follow suit by passing a parity bill before September ends, in order to maximize the legislation's chances of enactment this year. Advocates are concerned that if consideration of parity legislation is delayed until next year-an election year-it will become increasingly difficult to enact.
To find out how you can help support these bills, visit the ACA web sites at http://www.counseling.org/publicpolicy and http://capwiz.com/counseling. For more information, contact ACA staff members Scott Barstow (800-347-6647 x234, e-mail: sbarstow@counseling.org) or Peter Atlee (800-347-6647 x242, e-mail: patlee@counseling.org).
~ Counseling Today "Back to School" Issue Examines Timely Issues ~
Be on the lookout for Counseling Today's annual "Back to School" issue in September. The issue features articles on the special needs of students from military families, the role of counselors in decreasing the prevalence of dating violence on college campuses, bullying and relational aggression among female social cliques, career development for students and the evolving challenges faced by college counselors. Plus, Counseling Today takes a look back at the life and career of Albert Ellis.
~ Important Medicare Provider Eligibility Determination for LPCs ~
In a Louisiana Association of Ambulatory Healthcare (LAAH) phone conference on Friday August 17, 2007, it was announced that the national office of CMS had stated verbally that a determination had been made that licensed professional counselors (LPCs) in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri are indeed eligible Medicare providers for psychotherapy services "incident to a physician". This determination will reverse previous policy statements by Trispan, a CMS contractor, which had stated that LPCs were not eligible providers and their services were not reimbursable.
This determination will also bring to an end the self-audits initiated by Trispan which attempted to have provider companies make reimbursements for LPC services over the past four years. It is anticipated that written policy statements regarding this determination will be forthcoming from CMS in the near future. A coalition of LPCs in Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri played an active and vital role in bringing this matter to a successful conclusion.
~ Fast Fact - Back to School Numbers ~
The Institute of Education Sciences' research and statistical centers have been engaged in some "back to school" counting and report that nearly 50 million students have or will soon be enrolling in approximately 97,000 public elementary and secondary schools for the fall term. Their education will cost an estimated $489 billion, with an average of $9,969 being spent per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools. Some 3.2 million teachers are projected to be employed in public elementary and secondary schools in 2007-08. Another 6.1 million students will attend private and parochial schools. Go to http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372 and get more of the IES school launch numbers.
~ ACA Hawaii Summer Registration Rates to End - The Clock Is Ticking! ~
The deadline for summer registration rates for the ACA Annual Conference and Exposition, March 26-30 is August 31, 2007. Go to counseling.org/conference and register for the Honolulu, Hawaii conference at the discounted rates. While there, take a look at the array of pre-conference Learning Institutes (LI). Direct any conference or LI questions to ACA Member Services at 800-347-6647, ext. 222 Monday-Friday 8am-7pm. Aloha!
~ Reliable Research - Quality of Child Care in After-School Settings ~
An overview of the features of high-quality after-school settings focusing on child care for school age children has been prepared by the Harvard Family Research Project and may be of interest to counselors in varied educational and community settings. The brief, including an examination of key research on links between program quality and developmental outcomes, a review of current practices in program quality assessment, and a set of quality-related considerations for policy makers can be accessed online. The brief includes a listing of program quality assessment tools. Go to: http://www.researchconnections.org/SendPdf?resourceId=12576
~ ACA Joins Fellow Associations on ASAE Wall of Social Responsibility ~
The American Society of Association Executive's Wall of Social Responsibility is a virtual symbol of association and industry partner communities' support for the critical "people" issues of the times. Go to http://sr.asaecenter.org where you will find ACA among more than 200 organizations and firms that have pledged a commitment to advancing social issues, acknowledging specifically our members' work on Katrina and Virginia Tech.
~ Obesity - Growing Problem of Americans ~
A new report from the Trust for America's Health, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2007," passes along some grim numbers and a large measure of criticism for past efforts to deal with the problem. Included are recommendations calling for a national strategy to deal with lifestyle, nutrition and physical fitness concerns and ways to involve educational, health and the workplace in addressing what many believe to be a national epidemic. To review the full report, go to: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2007/
~ FYI - Survival Skills for the 21st Century ~
With the "ringing in" of the fall term in the nation's schools, the current online edition of the American School Board Journal (ASBJ) presents the view of editors and writers on the skills students will need to possess in order to survive in the 21st century and what is being done in American education to get them ready. Go to: http://www.asbj.com/MainMenuCategory/Archive/2007/September.aspx to peruse a series of provocative messages from a mix of authors.
~ Revised Resource Helps Counselor Educators Present ACA to Students ~
By now most counselor educators have acquired the membership and related materials they will distribute to students enrolled in their fall courses. ACA has also created a new PowerPoint presentation -- 'Chart Your Course' - available for download, as well as a set of talking points to accompany the presentation. The PowerPoint explains the services and benefits ACA offers and can be found at http://www.counseling.org/Counselors/.
~ Relevant Reading - GLEF Publishes Three eNewsletters ~
The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) publishes three free e-newsletters: Edutopia News, Project-Based Learning, and Technology in Education. Each is the work of the foundation established in 1991 by filmmaker George Lucas of Star Wars fame. To subscribe, go to: http://www.edutopia.org/edutopia/enews.
~ Duncan First Winner in ROAR Competition ~
Dr. Kelly Duncan, counselor educator at the University of South Dakota, is the winner of a $75 gift certificate to the ACA BookStore for her answers to the questions in the first ACA Reach Out and Recruit (ROAR) competition. The questions, with correct answers in parenthesis, follow:
- Who has ACA partnered with to provide access to great counseling jobs? (Career Builder)
- Where is the 2010 ACA Conference & Exposition being held? (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- How many newspapers does the ACA "Counseling Corner" appear in? (222)
- How many branches does ACA have? (56)
A new PowerPoint presentation has been loaded on the ROAR page (www.counseling.org/ROAR) to aid members in their efforts to recruit new members. Let's hear you ROAR!
~ Advocacy Matters - Lights On Afterschool Observance Coming October 18th
In America today, 1 in 4 youth -- 14.3 million children - are alone and unsupervised after school. The Afterschool Alliance, of which the American Counseling Association is a supporting organization, wants to call attention to this concern and has created a number of resources that counselors can use to call attention to after-school programs at the community level. To learn more, go to: http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/lights_on/glance.cfm
~ One-Stop Access for Private Practices ~
Private practice counselors looking for a "one-stop" place to access managed care links, billing information, web site resources, National Provider Index registration and HIPPA compliance information can find it at a free service to ACA members. Go to: www.counseling.org/Counselors/PrivatePracticePointers.aspx. You will need to log on first with your member ID or member name and then your password. Call ACA Member Services at 800/347-6647, Ext. 222 if you need a password to log on.
~ Events - Opportunities for Leadership Development and Counselor Renewal ~
Regional Leadership Development Meetings
The schedule for Fall 2007 Region Leadership Development meetings provides an excellent opportunity for counselors to become involved in the work of their state and regional organization and witness firsthand the linkages that strengthen ACA at every strategic level.
North Atlantic Region (CT, DE, DC, EU, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, PR, RI, VT, VI)
Meeting in Philadelphia, PA - Professional Development Workshops on Thursday, Sept. 27. Branch Leadership meeting, September 28, 29
For information, contact Connie Matthews, Chair, crmatthews1@comcast.net
Southern Region (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV, Lat. Am.)
Meeting in Williamsburg, VA - Interest Sessions and Emerging Leaders Training, Thursday, Oct. 18. Branch Leadership meeting begins evening of Oct. 18; continues Friday-Sunday, October 19-October 21
For information, contact Jeff Siskind, Chair, JeffSiskind@scps.k12.fl.us
Midwest Region (IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, OK, SD, WI)
Meeting in Minneapolis, MN - Thursday, October 4 - Saturday, October 6
For information, contact Kelly Collins, kelcollins1967@cox.net
Western Region (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, Philippines, UT, WA, WY)
Meeting in Burlingame, CA - Nov 8-11
For information, contact Sharon Bowles, airshay2@cs.com
State Level Counseling Conferences
The autumn months will provide professional development opportunities for counselors in the following states:
September 14-15, 2007
Event: New Mexico Counseling Association Annual Conference and New Mexico Art Therapy Association, 9th Joint Conference
Location: Albuquerque Marriott, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Information: nmcalinda@yahoo.com
September 14-15, 2007
Event: Colorado Counseling Association Fall Conference
Location: Longmont, Colorado
Information: lavernejordan@denverseminary.edu
September 23-25, 2007
Event: Nebraska Counseling Association Annual Conference
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Information: kschink@inebraska.com
September 25, 2007
Event: Maryland Association for Counseling and Development
Location: Loyola College, Columbia, Maryland
Information: Kbarrett@aacps.org or 410/757-2806
September 30 - October 1, 2007
Event: Texas Counseling Association Directors of Guidance Conference
Location: Austin, Texas
Information: Jennifer@txca.org
October 10 - 14, 2007
Event: Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Annual Conference
Theme: Vanguards of Change and Social Justice
Location: Easton Center, Columbus, Ohio
Information: http://www.aces2007.net/
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. 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.
~ Tell a Professional Colleague or Counseling Student About ACAeNews ~
ACAeNews is disseminated by subscription only. If you believe a colleague would like to receive this electronic newsletter, they can send an email to listserv@listserv.counseling.org and leave the subject blank. In the body of the email, type the following: Subscribe aca-enews First Name Last Name. Counseling students can also keep abreast of important professional information by reading ACAeNews regularly and grow more knowledgeable about the important worked being performed by ACA.
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.
Brian Canfield, President
canfield@sandiego.edu
Richard Yep, Executive Director
ryep@counseling.org
Brandt Heatherington, Director of Marketing
bheatherington@counseling.org
Frank Burtnett, ACAeNews Editor
fburtnett@counseling.org
ACA Web site: www.counseling.org
© 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.