The Public Policy Committee (PPC) had a productive end to 2019. At APA’s convention in Chicago, the Div. 44 PPC held a conversation hour centered around supporting trans people in the military services. The conversation hour was arranged by Nick Grant, PhD. The focus of the meeting was on how Div. 44 can continue to build its relationship and collaboration with Div. 19 (the Society for Military Psychology). Representatives from the APA Office of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity and the APA Chief Advocacy Officer were present for the dialogue.
The PPC disseminated a “Conversion Therapy” fact sheetopens in new window developed by Kim Skerven, PhD, highlighting warnings and advocacy against change efforts.
In collaboration with the APA Office of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, the PPC disseminated a position paper supporting the creation of a three-digit national mental health crisis hotline authored by Christina Patterson, PhD, and a call to action for Div. 44 members to advocate for sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in state and local child welfare systems authored by Jared Boot, MA. These papers were distributed via the Div. 44 Listserv and are available by request.
We had a great discussion at the division's mid-winter meeting regarding the need for the PPC to work proactively to advance public policy in support of sexual and gender minorities. We have some very exciting projects coming out in the next couple of months. Be on the lookout for updates.
Thank you to the Office of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity for your help and support and to our committee members who put forth an extraordinary amount of effort to make change.