Div. 44 Council of Representatives report

Eduardo Morales and Bonnie Strickland represented Div. 44, as did Kristin Hancock who substituted for Beverly Greene. Representatives also attended the LGBT caucus. The Council of Representatives met in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 20-23, 2014.

Activities/Progress to Date of APA Council

The majority of the council meeting was devoted to a discussion of the Good Governance Project (GGP) implementation action plans.

The action plans approved were as follows:

• Delegating specific duties, including financial and budget matters and the evaluation of the CEO from the council to the board of directors for a three-year trial period.
• Creating a new composition for APA's board of directors, including six members drawn from the general membership and elected by the members, a public member and a commitment to have at least one early career psychologist on the board at all times.
• Creating a Needs Assessment, Slating, and Campaigns Committee to conduct annual needs assessment and develop slates for those seats on the board elected by and from the general membership. The committee is also expected to conduct a needs assessment and develop slates for council members elected by and from the general membership, if such seats are added to a new council structure.
• Creating a Council Leadership Team. This team's duties will include managing the council's workflow and developing a process by which the council will identify, prioritize and address the major issues facing psychology.

In addition, the council considered a number of models but was unable to reach a consensus on what its structure should be going forward. Instead, council members directed the GGP Implementation Work Group to develop and propose a new structure based on its discussions. That model will be developed beginning in the spring and reviewed by the council at its August meeting.

In other business, council:

• Approved as APA policy the document “Health Service Psychology: Preparing Competent Practitioners.”
• Adopted as APA policy a new Resolution on Gun Violence Research and Prevention.
• Adopted an official designation of early career psychologists as those psychologists within 10 years of earning their doctoral degree.
• Endorsed a document entitled “Multidisciplinary Competencies in the Care of Older Adults at the Completion of the Entry-level Health Professional Degree.”
• Received the Report of the Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls.
• Approved the Revised Principles for the Recognition of Proficiencies in Professional Psychology.
• Received the report “Assessing and Evaluating Teacher Preparation Programs.”
• Received a report from the association's chief financial officer, indicating that APA was expected to finish 2013 with a positive operating margin of more than $1.8 million. The council also approved a 2014 budget that forecasts a $1.4 million positive operating margin on revenue of $111 million and expenses of $109 million. Special project or designation spending is budgeted at $14,161,403 with $4,550,697 expected in revenues and $9,610,706 being drawn from net assets.
• Declined to approve candidacy status for a proposed new APA division, the Society for Technology and Psychology.

Planned Activities/Tasks

Eduardo Morales was appointed as APA Council Representative to the Implementation Work Group after Council Meeting in February. The work group is charged with providing APA Council specificity on the changes in governance and roles and responsibilities for implementation.