As I write this column, the country continues to make slow strides against the COVID-19 pandemic after a breathtaking loss of life—including over 200,000 children who have lost a parent (countless more have lost grandparents). The magnitude of this blow to children’s mental health is incalculable. The pandemic has served as the backdrop to relentless mass shootings that children continue to face (an ugly lesson our children now grapple with as routine to their learning)—our Division board signed onto an 8-point planopens in new window to prevent gun violence in the US. These public health issues are occurring while we monitor a host of legislative actions that can undermine communities of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and women, with many proposed and enacted policies about health care access and critical race theory that will directly or indirectly impact members of already marginalized communities. Indeed, check out our editor’s column on the mental health disparities act that is currently being considered in Congress—a reminder that opportunities to do brief contacts with your state officials (a quick call, a personalized email, etc.) are simple ways to let your representatives know that you support efforts to reduce racial disparities.
During our summer Advocate issue, tradition suggests that the president’s column highlight the upcoming APA national convention— this is a particularly exciting occasion of finally resuming in-person meetings after the pandemic hiatus. I will be delighted to welcome our division membership to Minneapolis, at long last back in person.
At APA Convention 2022, I will be leading an interactive symposium, “Family Reactions to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Diverse Populations: Risk and Resilience Opportunities” on Thursday, August 4 from 10-10:50 a.m. CST in Convention Center Ballroom B, Level 1—which will be one of the APA featured CE-eligible programs that will be live streamed during convention. This symposium aligns well with my presidential theme for 2022: “Championing a Safe, Inclusive World for All Children, Youth, and Families: Moving toward Resilience from a Pandemic.” I hope you will join us for a discussion on how such research findings can shape public policy for children and families moving forward. My presidential year also prioritizes spotlighting the work of graduate students and early career professionals by offering a data blitz session on Practice and Policy implications for Diverse Children and Families—please come show your support to the newest generation of child and family researchers on Thursday, August 4 from 1-1:50 p.m. in Convention Level 2, Room 200A.
I am also excited to report that Division 37 is once again partnering with APA’s Committee on Children, Youth, and Families to host a catered social hour but with a particular twist: given the momentous return of socializing in person, we are launching what I have dubbed a Mega-Social Hour for professionals committed to the welfare of children, youth, and families, including: Division 7 (Developmental Psychology), Division 16 (School Psychology), Division 33 (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities/Autism Spectrum Disorder), Division 43 (Society for Couple and Family Psychology), and Division 54 (Society of Pediatric Psychology). This will be a wonderful opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and to hear about the award-winning work of individuals in our own division and theirs. Please join us starting from 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 4 in the Hilton Grant Ballroom A, Third Floor.
I hope you will also check out our other APA programming (see the brochure in this issue for additional CE opportunities), like our well-regarded, CE-eligible Walk-A-Mile program on Thursday from 2-3:50 p.m. in Convention Level 1, Room 101F, this year focused on the challenges of health care access. Please also visit our division poster session in the convention center on Friday, August 5 from 9-9:50 a.m., from which we will select three poster-award winners for the division; and please join us for updates about the division at our Division Business meeting on Saturday, August 6 from 8-8:50 a.m. at Convention Level 1, Room 103F, immediately followed in the same room by our esteemed division award winners speaking about how their work has made a difference to children and families on Saturday, August 6 from 9-9:50 a.m. And don’t miss our Section on Child Maltreatment programming later that Saturday as well, which will also feature presentations on the award winning work from our section members.
You will see from our convention programming detailed in this issue that we have multiple excellent opportunities for you to both interact with division members (from the full division social hour, student-focused socializing, and to ECP-focused socializing), with ample opportunities for you to learn how others have translated their passion for advocating for children and families into research and action.
Finally, on a personal note for those of you needing to find me this fall, after nearly a decade, I will be leaving the University of Alabama Birmingham department of psychology to assume the position of director of clinical training for the doctoral PhD program in clinical psychology at Old Dominion Universityopens in new window—you can reach me there.