2008 APA President-Elect Endorsements

Why Your Future Depends on this Year’s APA Presidential Election

Candidates' Statements

The Division of State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Association Affairs (Division 31) wishes to assist state, provincial and territorial psychological associations (SPTAs) in their deliberations for endorsing APA President-elect candidates.  Division 31 has taken the initiative in developing questions of interest to SPTAs and have submitted them to all APA President-elect candidates.  We are distributing their responses over the CESPPA list serv so that those who wish to know the candidates’ positions on issues of interest to STPAs will have ready access.  This process provides an efficient forum for APA President-elect candidates to address their involvement and understanding of SPTA issues without each state, province and territory separately submitting questions to each candidate, thereby creating an undue burden for the candidates.  The responses of the three candidates who replied are attached as is an article by Dr. Jeffery Barnett.

Many candidates are unfamiliar with SPTA issues, have never had active involvement in an SPTA and will likely not be strong advocates for SPTAs and those issues of importance to them if elected to office.  The APA President plays an important role in leading the Association’s governance, allocating resources that include APA’s $100 million annual budget and staff time and determining the future direction of APA.  A President who is knowledgeable about, sensitive to and supportive of SPTA issues can do much to advance the agendas we so diligently support.  An APA President who does not know about or support our agendas can do much harm, can greatly add to ongoing challenges we face and can place additional obstacles and roadblocks in our paths.

We encourage SPTAs to endorse candidates to guide their membership in voting.  Should your SPTA wish not to endorse any APA President-elect candidate, you may still wish to share the candidate responses with your membership via your list serv and/or by publishing their responses in your newsletters.

Division 31 recommends the following voting order:

                                    #1 – Carol Goodheart
                                    #2 – Ronald Rozensky
                                    #3 – Robert McGrath
                                                                                                                                   
We hope you find this an important service for Division 31 members as well as a way in which each SPTA can help influence APA in a manner that benefits SPTA interests and concerns.  Ballots will be mailed to you in mid-October.  Please vote and please be sure your vote counts by ranking all desired candidates in the order of your preference.

Why Your Future Depends on this Year’s APA Presidential Election

Jeffrey E. Barnett, Psy.D., ABPP
Past President, APA Division 31
(State and Provincial Psychological Association Affairs)

Heard all across the nation in response to my pleas that psychologists from the State, Provincial, and Territorial Psychological Associations participate in the upcoming APA election and support the three candidates who support SPTA issues:

“I never vote in those elections.  What do they have to do with me anyway?”
“What difference can one vote make?”
“Who cares what they do at APA?  It’s what happens at the State level that matters.”
“It’s all so political.  I’m a clinician.  I’m not interested in that stuff.”
“I’m too busy trying to make a living.  I can’t be bothered wasting my time with elections.”
“The staff does everything at APA.  What does it matter who the president of APA is?”

I’m assuming that pretty much covers it.  If I left some out, please e-mail them to me.  The ballots for the APA Presidential election will be mailed to each APA member on October 15th.  Why should this matter to you?  I’m sure you have more mail than you care to look at.  Yet, this ballot may be one of the more important pieces of mail you receive this year. 

The APA President has great power and influence.  Each president leads the APA Board of Directors and runs the meetings of the APA Council of Representatives, and, therefore,   has great influence over issues that  are addressed by the Board of Directors and Council and how much attention (staff time and money) they receive.  Each year the APA budget of approximately $100 million (that’s a lot of money!) is dispersed to a wide range of initiatives and activities.  Since we can’t do everything, many tough decisions need to be made.  The influence of the APA President should not be minimized in the making of these decisions.  Will APA’s Council of Representatives invest its energy in addressing managed care issues, health care reform, insurance reform, medicare reimbursement, prescriptive authority, health and behavior CPT codes, licensure issues, mobility, specialization and guidelines, and related legal and regulatory issues of importance to the States and State psychologists?  Will a significant portion of the APA budget go toward addressing these issues; or will it go elsewhere?  Who we elect in the next APA presidential election will have a great impact on how these questions are answered.

Over the past 15 years between only 15% to 31% of eligible voters have participated in the APA presidential election.  The science community typically has had a very well coordinated election campaign in recent years.  They had an informed electorate who participated in the election. It is no surprise, therefore, that they have won several recent Presidential elections.  To be successful and to ensure that the issues that are so important to our survival and success are addressed fully, we need to do two things.  First, every SPTA member who is a member of APA must vote in this next election.  I can assure you, every single vote counts!  Second, we must each understand the election system used by APA and make it work for us.

APA uses the HARE system is the presidential election.  Each voter receives a ballot with the five candidates for APA president-elect listed.  Voters must rank order each candidate, that is, place a 1 next to your first choice, a 2 next to your second choice, and so on until all candidates have been ranked.  Last year, the States’ candidate would have won the presidential election if all State voters had done this.  But, because many only ranked their top choice or top two choices, this candidate lost out on many possible votes.  The way the HARE system works is that first the candidates receives all their number 1 votes.  Then, based on each candidate’s number of votes, the 2 votes are apportioned to candidates, followed by the 3 votes, 4, votes, and 5 votes.  If a States’ candidate receives the most votes in the first round, she or he may still lose if not receiving a lot of 2 and 3 votes. They all count!  We must use this system and make it work for us. Doing so can win an election for us.

So what does this mean to you when you participate in this election?  You must give your first three votes to the three States’ candidates running in the APA presidential election.  Just giving our top candidate your #1 vote isn’t enough.  It is important that the non-
State candidates not be ranked number 2 or 3.  If they receive these rankings on the ballot it will divide the State vote and provide more support to their competitors. 

This year SPTAs have three candidates running in the APA presidential election who are knowledgeable of, and supportive of, SPTA needs and issues.  They are Carol Goodheart, Ronald Rozensky, and Robert McGrath.  Please vote for them in this order: Carol Goodheart #1, Ronald Rozensky #2, and Robert McGrath #3.  Please then rank the other two candidates #4 and #5.  Please don’t dilute your State vote and reduce the likelihood of our top candidate, Carol Goodheart, winning.  It is crucial that you vote and rank all five candidates in this order.  Each one must be ranked.  The outcome of this election will have a profound impact on each of us for years to come. 

Please vote.  Please vote for the States’ candidates in the order they are endorsed.  Please rank them 1, 2, and 3 on your election ballot.  Then, be sure to rank the other two candidates #4 and #5.  Every single vote is important and really can make a difference.  Carol Goodheart is a knowledgeable, experienced, and effective leader who is a state advocate. Let’s not miss out on this important opportunity! 

Should you have any questions about any of these issues and if you would like to help further SPTA interests within APA please contact me at drjbarnett1@comcast.net 

Acknowledgements: Special thanks are extended to Drs. Ruth Paige and Dorothy Cantor for their helpful feedback and suggestions on an earlier version of this article.  Thanks are also extended to Garnett Coad, of the APA election office, for providing the election data quoted in this article.

Candidates' Statements

Dr. Carol Goodheart:

1. Describe your activities on the national level which have strengthened or benefitted SPTAs.

Advocate for dual membership dues discount in APA/SPTA; advocate and fund-raiser for parity and RxP initiatives (ongoing); advocate and supporter of  APAPO efforts  to roll back Medicare cuts (ongoing); represented my state on the Council of Representatives (COR); supported Wild Card initiatives to increase SPTA representation on Council and backed full funding for the February meeting expense; chaired APA TF on Evidence-Based Practice that developed policy protecting practitioners from restrictive lists and limits; delivered CE workshops to 16 SPTA meetings. For the past six years, I served first as the APA Board of Directors liaison and then ex-officio member of the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice (CAPP), and attended the State Leadership Conference annually as a participant and presenter.

 2. What do you perceive as being the issues of greatest concern to SPTA associations and to their memberships?

Three issues of major concern are:

• Economic viability of practice (e.g. expanded practice roles are needed in light of current reimbursement and other problems with health systems; rising debt loads of early career members; accelerating accountability movement that introduces disruptive utilization review, disparate outcomes measurements and  methods, P4P, and consumer driven health plan reports on professionals)
• Membership recruitment and retention (e.g. many SPTAs are working harder than ever and delivering more services, but membership is not growing sufficiently to keep pace)
• Legislative advocacy (e.g. specific laws and regulations that affect practice are forged in the States; members count on SPTAs and APAPO, which need resources to push forward successfully)

Requests for CAPP grants are growing yearly, which reflects SPTAs work on important membership, legislative, and practice issues.

 3. If elected to the APA Presidency, what would you do to address these issues?

• Vigorously support the 2009 Practice Summit (which I championed and am co-chairing), at which SPTAs, practice Divisions, trainers, and interested others will develop a comprehensive set of recommendations for sharper strategies to ensure the future of psychology practice.
• Encourage partnerships with SPTAs for membership growth.
• Empower the SPTAs, via support for CAPP grants, organizational development, advocacy, diversity, RxP, and public education activities; staff consultation; SPTA participation on CAPP.

4. Have you ever been a member of your SPTA?  If so, when?  If not, why not?

Yes.

5. How long have you been a member and what offices have you held in your SPTA?

27 years as a member of NJPA. I have served in many positions, including: Board of Directors, President PAC, Chair of Committee on Legislative Issues, Strategic Planning Committee, Representative to APA Council, Judge for Trust Research Grant awards, Long Range Planning Committee, and Chair of the Task Force on Women.

6. Describe your activities and accomplishments at the state, provincial or territorial level which have strengthened SPTAs.

Legislative advocacy, fundraising, board/committee service, mentoring psychologists into NJPA, and many program presentations on the practice of psychology. Recipient of NJPA Psychologist of the Year Award in 1991.

Dr. Ron Rozensky:

Question  #1. Describe your activities on the national level which have strengthened or benefited SPTAs.

• A longtime advocate for SPTA issues, twice elected as Division 31’s Representative and once as Illinois’ Representative to APA’s Council of Representatives, before being elected to APA’s Board of Directors.
• Appointed by the US Secretary of Health and Human Services to be a member of HRSA’s Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary Community Based Services in the Bureau of Health Professions. My responsibilities include assuring the Committee’s annual report to Congress and the Secretary recognizes funding for healthcare services by psychologists and the importance of education and training funding in psychology.
• As past President of the Illinois Psychological Association (IPA), worked with then APA’s CEO Raymond Fowler to help initiate a national, model program to increase SPTA membership by attracting academic psychologists to SPTAs.  
• Focused on hospital practice advocacy at State and National level:
• APA’s appointed representative to JCAHO,
• invited speaker, State Leadership Conference, co-presented workshop on advocacy for, “how to” engage in hospital practice,
•  testified for hospital practice in Illinois Senate.
• Presented an APA convention workshop, co-sponsored by Division 31 and Psi Chi, for undergraduate faculty on advocacy for SPTA issues, encouraging inclusion of “advocacy for psychology” in curricula, and engaging potential new SPTA members and an expanded grassroots workforce.
• As chair of APA’s Board of Professional Affairs focused on promulgating practice guidelines educating practitioners but did not restricting practice.
• Routine participant at State Leadership Conference; advocated on Capitol Hill for numerous SPTA-practice issues.
• Presented day long workshop in Hawaii on advocacy for psychology.

Question #2. What do you perceive as being the issues of greatest concern to SPTA associations and to their memberships?

 Key issues include

• SPTA membership growth;
• Mental health parity legislation;
• License mobility;
• Improved healthcare reimbursement rates;
• Fair, equitable SPTA representation on APA’s Council and within governance;
• Balancing resources needed to accomplish our local-SPTA legislative agenda while supporting national advocacy agenda like prescriptive authority.

Question #3.  If elected to the APA Presidency, what would you do to address these issues?   

• I have always represented STPA interests on APA Council and, as APA President, I will advocate for those issues key to the growth and well being of SPTAs and our members.
• Having a successful, former SPTA president as your APA president will help keep the focus on SPTA concerns.
• Successfully moving forward the SPTA and APA agenda and achieving the goals I established for my presidency < www.rozenskyforapapresident.com/presgoals.htm > involves building cross-constituency coalitions and consensus so that psychologists support each other to build the strongest future for all. 

Question #4. Have you ever been a member of your SPTA?  If so, when?  If not, why not?

• Current member of both the Illinois Psychological Association and the Florida Psychological Association.

How long have you been a member and what offices have you held in your SPTA?

• Member of Illinois Psychological Association since 1977 and also member of the Florida Psychological Association since 1998.
• IPA President, State Disaster Relief Network coordinator in Illinois; APA Council Representative from Illinois.

Question #6. Describe your activities and accomplishments at the state, provincial or territorial level which have strengthened SPTAs.

• Initiated the first SPTA–Red Cross training-service relationship following a 1990 tornado in Illinois;
• Initiated rewrite of Illinois’ bylaws;
• Served as IPA’s acting executive director during my presidency while we recruited a new executive director;
• Initiated a strategic plan for IPA still viable after ten+ years and is the core of ongoing revisions;
• Named Illinois Distinguished Psychologist;
• Awarded the APA Heiser Presidential Award for Advocacy recognizing my hospital practice advocacy activities.

Dr. Robert McGrath:

1.   Describe your activities on the national level which have strengthened or benefited SPTAs.
Nationally, I have been very involved in developing and improving guidelines for practice and for education and training relevant to psychologists’ involvement in the practice of pharmacotherapy. The fruits of these labors have already been used in discussions with legislators as evidence that psychologists take their growing involvement in pharmacotherapy seriously.

2.   What do you perceive as being the issues of greatest concern to SPTA associations and to their memberships?
The #1 issue for SPTAs is maintaining and enhancing the viability and vitality of psychology as a profession. Psychologists are under increasing pressure from lower-cost competitors. To combat those pressures psychologists must identify a distinctive niche for themselves. As a full-time academician and a Director of Clinical Training for a Ph.D. program, I am also concerned by the lack of participation by academicians in SPTAs. For many years this factor has undermined future psychologists’ awareness of the importance of involvement in professional issues.

3.   If elected to the APA Presidency, what would you do to address these issues?
I am strongly committed to increasing psychologists’ role as behavioral experts in primary care settings. Through a combination of prescriptive authority, assessment skills, interpersonal relationship-building, and behavioral expertise, psychologists have the potential to provide the evidence-based behavioral and mental health component of a collaborative healthcare model. I am also committed to increasing psychologists’ image as a source of objective, evidence-based information on how to address social and educational problems. APA can become much more effective at supporting such efforts at the state and provincial level. These efforts should involve both clinically and academically oriented psychologists.

4.   Have you ever been a member of your SPTA?  If so, when?  If not, why not?
I have been a continuing member of the New Jersey Psychological Association since 1985. During that period I have received acknowledgement from the association for my contributions to both science and practice. I am proud to be a member of such a vibrant organization.

5.   How long have you been a member and what offices have you held in your SPTA?
At various times I have been involved with various committee and task forces of NJPA, particularly the Committee for Prescriptive Authority and the Committee on Academic & Scientific Affairs. I have not run for office, though I have been invited to do so, because of other commitments.

6.   Describe your activities and accomplishments at the state level which have strengthened SPTAs.
I have been involved in the effort to achieve prescriptive authority in a number of states and several provinces, particularly Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Tennessee. This involvement has varied across jurisdictions, including providing input into their legislation, testifying to and meeting with legislators, discussing training options, even helping to organize the first local committee devoted to prescriptive authority. However, prescriptive authority is only one part of the greater goal, which is to enhance psychology’s role and image generally. I plan to bring my experiences in the legislative arena to bear on a broader array of issues relevant to the practice and science of psychology. These include increasing psychologists’ involvement as collaborators in primary care, and increasing psychology’s visibility as a discipline with evidence-based recommendations for addressing social issues such as the incarceration of the severely mentally ill, domestic violence, and the deficiencies of the educational system. APA can play a larger role in helping psychology become a source of influence for positive social change at the state/provincial level.