Hello and welcome to APA’s Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice (Division 37) website.
To current members of Division 37, thank you for contributing to our mission of improving the lives of children and families. To future members, we hope that you find us as a supportive home for your professional work. Division 37 is interdisciplinary in nature, with psychologists and other professionals who are involved in teaching, research, practice, and supervision broadly in the area of children and families. The Division is dedicated to using research to inform and advocate for meaningful change at the local, state, and federal levels that directly impact members of our communities.
Division members are doing great work in various areas, including trauma prevention and intervention, accurate assessment and diagnosis of children and adolescents, immigration policy, sleep and school start times, services for justice-involved youth, preventing corporal punishment and child abuse, and violence prevention in schools. These are just a few of the topics that our Division members are working on! In order for our research to be impactful and inform policy change, the work has to be disseminated in a way that is digestible with the implications clearly articulated. Throughout the year, members of the Division will be sharing their work and providing clear talking points that other members and advocates can use to influence policy change and practice within their communities. Look for this information on our social media accounts, the website, and our newsletter – The Advocate. If you would like to share your work in this way, please feel free to contact me via email.
There are also many other ways for you to participate and contribute to the division’s mission:
- Join our Section on Child Maltreatment, if you have an interest in research, policy, and practice in the area of child welfare.
- Join our Diverse Racial Ethnic and Multicultural (DREAM) Special Interest Group and check out our anti-racism resources.
- Attend our periodic congressional briefings (see examples of prior congressional briefings on homelessness, school violence, human trafficking) or suggest a topic for a future briefing.
- Contact our editor to contribute to our book series, Advances in Child and Family Policy and Practiceopens in new window.
- Write a topical essay to our Division newsletter, The Advocate or the Section newsletter, Section on Child Maltreatment Newsletter.
- Volunteer or nominate yourself for a position on our Executive Committee.
- Nominate a colleague for one of our many awards recognizing excellence in research, advocacy, citizenship, or practice.
For those who are not current members, please consider joining the Division. Membership is $45/year for professionals and $4.37/year for students. Dues support a variety of worthy causes, from congressional policy briefings to grants and awards to the members doing the important work of advancing the division’s mission. Find out more about membership.
I am truly honored to be serving as the President of the Division. I have been a part of the board for several years in various roles, including Early Career Member-at-Large and Treasurer. The Division is a great professional community that is supportive of members in their various roles. The work of our members is so impressive and is truly improving the lives of children and families. I look forward to our continued work together.
Paula Fite, PhD
2024 President of the Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice, Division 37
