ACA eNews

American Counsleing Association - ACAeNews Volume 1, Issue 23 November 19, 1998

CONTENTS

A call to action! Help needed on two major legislative priorities
ACA invites you to make the case for 100,000 new school counselors
Pennsylvania counselors get closer to licensure
Joint survey outlines violence against women
Essay on technology and school counseling available
Journal of Adult Development and Aging: Theory and Research now online
Save money by consolidating your student loans
ACA web site receives Links2Go Key Resource Award
Special student membership kit available to counselor educators
ACA 1999 World Conference information available online
CTOnline

Professional Resources

Special Topics: An overview of play therapy - Part two
The Student Center: Developing a flexible specialty

A call to action! Help needed on two major legislative priorities*

100,000 New School Counselors" proposal

Interested in a plan to help fund thousands of new school counselor positions for those schools most in need? We need your help. The American Counseling Association has begun a targeted campaign in Washington, D.C. to educate officials on the benefits of counselors in America's schools. Last month, the White House Conference on School Violence (see CTOnline article at http://www.counseling.org/ctonline/news/wh1098.htm) discussed initiatives to reduce school violence. One proposal discussed hiring 100,000 new youth workers or counselors in America's schools to reduce the incidence of violence and to make students feel safer. This proposal was modeled on recent Clinton Administration initiatives to put 100,000 new police officers on the streets, and to place 100,000 new teachers in America's schools.

ACA strongly supports increasing the number of school counselors. Adding 100,000 new school counselors to the workforce would decrease student-to-counselor ratios close to the recommended level of 250 to 1. We need your help to move this proposal. It is clear that more school counselors are needed. Improving students' access to school counselor services can help reduce the incidence of school violence, enable more effective treatment of mental and emotional disorders among children, and can improve students' educational outcomes.

President Clinton supports reducing school violence, but the Administration has not officially proposed nor endorsed any plan to pay for significant numbers of new school counselors. This month, executive branch departments will develop their budget for Fiscal Year 2000, which is expected to be released in early February of next year. President Clinton is now beginning work on his State of the Union Address, to be delivered to Congress in January. We must act now to draw attention to the proposal to add 100,000 new school counselors to our nation's schools.

In the U.S., the average counselor to student ratio among elementary and secondary schools is 513 to 1--considered high by some policy experts. Obviously, in some schools, counselors are stretched even thinner. Currently, 20 states mandate the provision of guidance and counseling services in public elementary and/or secondary schools. Twelve of these states prescribe specific counselor-student ratios in their school counselor mandates, ranging from one counselor for every 400 students to one counselor for every 800 students.

Children, parents, teachers, counselors, and all interested parties are urged to contact the President this month. Let the President know that in order to reduce school violence, ensure that students get the help they need, and improve educational outcomes, you want money for significant numbers of new school counselors included in the FY2000 budget. Let him know that you want to hear him support this proposal in his State of the Union address. To send your message to the President, call the White House Switchboard at 202.205.5451 or send an e-mail to president@whitehouse.gov. If you send an e-mail, include as the subject line the phrase "100,000 new school counselors." You can also fax your comments to the President at 202.456.2461. Share your personal experiences and anecdotes about the ways in which you are able to help your students and the schools in which you work, as well as your thoughts on how reducing student-to-counselor ratios would help in your work.

Medicare reimbursement

Licensed professional counselors are not recognized under the largest single health insurance plan in the nation: Medicare. Currently the program covers the services of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and clinical social workers, but NOT counselors. We are trying to change this, and need your help.

ACA has been knocking on doors for the past year and a half in an attempt to find a member of Congress willing to introduce legislation allowing reimbursement of professional counselors' services provided under Medicare managed care plans. ACA is focusing on this proposal due to continued concern among lawmakers regarding the costs of the Medicare program; any proposal with even a small price tag will face an uphill battle. Making professional counselors reimbursable under Medicare managed care plans should not present any significant cost to the federal government because Medicare managed care plans are paid a fixed amount of money per enrollee to control access to all needed services, outpatient mental health spending makes up less than one-half of 1 percent of total Medicare costs, and only an estimated one in five Medicare beneficiaries is enrolled in a managed care plan. Both clinical social workers and clinical psychologists have gained recognition under Medicare managed care plans.

Rep. Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.) has expressed interest in the ACA proposal. However, before Rep. Lazio can commit to pushing the proposal, he needs assurance that he will have the support of some of his colleagues. Consequently, ACA needs to line up 15-20 original co-sponsors of the draft legislation in order to generate momentum for its introduction. Please take five minutes to write or call your Representative. Urge him or her to support reimbursement of licensed professional counselors under Medicare managed care plans by calling Rep. Lazio's office at 202.225.3335 to ask to be signed on as an original co-sponsor of this legislation. Your Representative can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121. We won't succeed unless you do your part!

Call ACA at 800.347.6647 ext. 352 if you need to find out the name of your Representative. If you are an ACA member and would like to get a copy of ACA's Advocacy Kit on Medicare, call ACA Member Services at 800.347.6647 ext. 222.

ACA invites you to make the case for 100,000 new school counselors*

Violence and crime are serious problems in America's schools. Children often do not feel safe, and unfortunately, in many cases they are not. Improving students' access to school counselor services can help reduce the incidence of school violence, enable more effective treatment of mental and emotional disorders among children, and can improve students' educational outcomes. Currently, the average U.S. student-to-counselor ratio is 513 to 1. Hiring 100,000 new counselors would reduce the student-to-counselor ratio to around the recommended level of 250 to 1.

We need to educate officials in Washington, D.C. on the value and importance of having an adequate number of qualified counselors in America's schools. Policy makers can understand the value of reducing classroom sizes by hiring more teachers, or making the streets safer by hiring more police officers--but do they understand the value of a school counselor? The American Counseling Association needs your real-life examples to help those in Washington understand.

If, your student-to-counselor ratio is above 750 to 1, there has been a violent incident at your school in the last two years, and you have examples of situations where lack of time or resources has led to an unfortunate outcome, please include your name, title, name of school, student-to-counselor ratio, number of violent incidents within the past year, address, telephone, and e-mail address in an e-mail to jurbaniak@counseling.org.

It is very important that you provide the student-to-counselor ratio and the number of violent incidents. We will contact you before using any of the information you provide. All responses should be sent via e-mail to jurbaniak@counseling.org or by fax to the attention of the ACA Office of Public Policy and Information, "100,000 New Counselors Proposal" at 703.823.0252. The American Counseling Association thanks you in advance for responding.

Pennsylvania counselors get closer to licensure*

The Pennsylvania Counseling Association (PCA) and its allies in the Pennsylvania Alliance of Counseling Professionals expect a final vote on the Professional Counselors and Therapists Licensure Bill (S.B. 619) on Monday, Nov. 23 or Tuesday, Nov. 24, 1998. PCA and its allies worked with the House Professional Licensure Committee to develop language that resolved the problems created when the bill was amended on Sept. 29. The new language was added in an amendment offered in the Pennsylvania Senate on Nov. 16 by the legislation's prime sponsor, Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County). The licensure bill then passed the Senate on Nov. 17 by a vote of 48 to 0, and on being sent to the House was referred to and subsequently reported out of the House Professional Licensure Committee. The bill is now in the House Appropriations Committee where quick action is expected.

According to David Hall, PCA Legislative and Licensure Chair, the bill is now basically unopposed. "The recent amendment resolved our problems with the prior version of the bill and satisfied the objections of opposition groups, especially the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society. The measure is no longer viewed as controversial," said Hall. It is believed that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge will sign the bill if it is passed. Hall is asking supporters of licensure to contact their State Representatives and the Governor's office.

"Ask your Representative to vote for the bill (S.B. 619) without further amendments and ask the Governor to sign it when it is referred to him," said Hall. Further details on the bill and its status may be found on the PCA web site at http://www.uofs.edu/pca.

Joint survey outlines violence against women*

A recent survey by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that nearly 18 percent of women surveyed, or 17.7 million American women, have been raped or been a victim of attempted rape during their lifetimes. The survey was published in a recent Justice Department Research-in-Brief. The survey was conducted by the Center for Policy Research in Denver, Colorado and sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. The survey reported that 54 percent of those raped reported they were under the age of 17 when first raped and that more than half of American women have been physically assaulted some time during their life. To read a press release from the Department of Health and Human Services on this study, visit http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/1998pres/981117a.html

Essay on technology and school counseling available*

Education Week (http://www.edweek.com) recently published an essay on technology and school counseling by Kenneth Hartman, an ACA member who serves on the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Research Committee and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Technology Committee. The technology competencies noted in the Education Week essay were designed for and will be incorporated in the Dewitt-Wallace/Education Trust project to reform school counselor pre-service programs.

Hartman plans to conduct a week-long summer technology institute for school counselors and counselor educators on the campus of Widener University. For more information, e-mail Hartman at ken.e.hartman@widener.edu or call him at 215.387.7600 ext. 124.

To read the article, visit http://www.edweek.com/ew/vol-18/09hart.h18

Journal of Adult Development and Aging: Theory and Research now online*

The first issue of the Journal of Adult Development and Aging: Theory and Research is now online. The journal is the official publication of the Association for Adult Development and Aging, a division of the American Counseling Association. To read the first issue, visit http://www.uncg.edu/ced/jada

Save money by consolidating your student loans*

Who has time to wait for the December issue of Counseling Today to reach your mailbox? The December Washington Update from ACA Office of Public Policy and Information is now available online and reports on how professional counselors with student loans can save money under the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998 ... how the recent elections mean changes in Congressional leadership ... and whether master's degrees may be optional for vocational rehabilitation counselors. ACA members can read the latest Washington Update at the link below. You will be prompted for your last name and membership number.

http://www.counseling.org/members/ctonline/news/washingtonupdate1298.cfm

ACA web site receives Links2Go Key Resource Award*

The ACA web site recently received The Links2Go Key Resource award in the mental health topic. Fewer than one page in one thousand will ever be selected for a Links2Go Key Resource award. Unlike most awards that rely on the subjective opinion of "experts," many of whom have only looked at tens or hundreds of thousands of pages in bestowing their awards, the Links2Go Key Resource award is completely objective and is based on an analysis of millions of web pages. For more information on the award, visit the ACA web site at http://www.counseling.org.

*Special ACA student membership kit available to counselor educators*

ACA has a special student membership kit available for counselor educators. The kit includes a poster with student membership applications and application forms for specially priced liability insurance to cover the student practicum. Limited quantities of the kits are available and orders are limited to a maximum of five kits per school. To order, call ACA at 800.357.6647, ext.224

ACA 1999 World Conference information available online*

It's time to start thinking of the ACA 1999 World Conference on April 13-17 in sunny San Diego. The advanced registration brochure for the conference is now available online. Read the conference schedule, highlights, special events, and much more. Also download the conference registration and housing forms in PDF format. This format allows users to download and print forms using Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is free on Adobe's web site. Adobe Acrobat allows the form to look exactly as it would in print. To view the advanced registration brochure, visit: http://www.counseling.org/conference/arb

*CTOnline* Between ACAeNews postings, read the latest news in Counseling Today Online.

http://www.counseling.org/ctonline

PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES

Special Topics* Play therapy: An overview - Part two http://www.counseling.org/enews/volume_1/0123a.htm

Play and toys to a child are like paper and pen to a poet--the means to expressing the inner workings of the mind. Part two of our ACAeNews introduction to play therapy continues with a description of an ideal play room, adaptations for therapists who must travel to their clients, and a list of types of clients for whom play therapy is appropriate. Adlerian considerations are included.

The Student Center* Developing a flexible specialty http://www.counseling.org/enews/volume_1/0123b.htm

Counselors are in an ever-changing profession and society. Here is a brief essay for those choosing a specialization.

ACAeNews archives

If you are a new subscriber, be sure to browse past issues in our online archives at http://www.counseling.org/enews/archives

Join ACA

If you are not a member of the American Counseling Association and would like to join the world's largest association representing professional counselors, visit http://www.counseling.org/join_aca or call 800.347.6647 ext. 222.

ACAeNews comes to you by subscription only. To subscribe, go to: http://www.counseling.org/enews/subscribe

Or send a message to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com with the following in the body of the message: subscribe acaenews (first name) (last name)

Example: subscribe acaenews janet smith

If you wish to unsubscribe, write to: listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com In the body of the message write only: signoff acaenews

ACAeNews staff Managing Editor: Tom Marino (tmarino@counseling.org) Assistant Editor: Peter Guerra (pguerra@counseling.org) Professional Resources Editor: William Sams (bsams@counseling.org)

ACA Home: http://www.counseling.org ACAeNews: http://www.counseling.org/enews CTOnline: http://www.counseling.org/ctonline Write us: enews@counseling.org Subscribe: http://www.counseling.org/enews/subscribe Unsubscribe: http://www.counseling.org/enews/unsubscribe