Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 2. Source pages: 4.
Effective January 23, Dr. Laura Choate, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), took over the role and duties of the Chair for the Licensed Professional Counselor State Board, announced at the recent board meeting. Dr. Laura Choate is also a Louisiana State University Associate Professor, author, National Board Certified Counselor, and a Board Approved Supervisor in Louisiana. She was the 2009- 2010 chair of the American Counseling Association Publications Committee. The board’s new Vice Chair is Dr. Kathy Steele. “Dr. Steele is the first Board Member who is also a member of the Marriage and Family Therapy Advisory Committee to serve in the Vice-Chair position,” said Mary Alice Olsan, Executive Director for the board to the Times in a recent interview. “We’re thrilled she accepted the nomination.”
Dr. Kathy Steele is an LPC and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Associate Professor of Psychology and Counseling and Director of Clinical Training at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans. She helps train counselors in Havana, Cuba for the Seminary and brings her bilingual and multi- cultural focus to her work.
Olsan also said that Mrs. Penny Millhollon will continue as Board Secretary. “Penny Millhollon was also the first member of the Board and MFTAC to serve in the Secretary position,” Olsan said. “She has served in this role for over a year now and thankfully, accepted the position again.” said Olsan. Ronald (“Ron”) Cathey, LPC- S, LMFT-S has also been appointed to the Board and to the MFTAC, Olsan said. Cathey will replace Mark Reynaud, LPC-S, LMFT-S, who stepped down last year.
Above: The Licensed Professional Counselor Board met in January and announced the new Chair Dr. Laura Choate and Vice Chair Dr. Kathy Steele. Left to right are Kathy Lammert, Dr. Ernie Couger, Dr. Laura Choate, and Dr. Kathy Steele (facing away.)
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 2. Source pages: 4.
Medical Board Changes Notices, Holds New Hearings Dates Following hearings for public comments on new Rules for Telemedicine and for Unprofessional Conduct, the Medical Board has amended the Rules. New public hearings for comments on the updated proposed Rules will be held February 26 at 630 Camp Street, New Orleans, LA 70130. Written comments are due by February 19, 2015.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 2. Source pages: 4.
The Psychology board announced in a January memo that they will begin developing a Rule for the Emeritus license holders’ continuing education (CE) requirements but Emeriti will not have to report their CEs until 2017 and 2018.
The memo explained that Emeritus psychologists with odd-numbered licenses will begin collecting CEs this July, 2015. They will then report credits in 2017, for the two-year period. Those with even-numbered licenses are to begin in July 2016, and report in 2018.
In October 2013 when the board made major changes to the Rules for continuing education, now called continuing professional development, they eliminated the phrase that waived the CE requirements for the Emeritus.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 2. Source pages: 7.
The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts is an interdisciplinary, international association that focuses on helping professionals improve the lives of children and families by working to resolve conflicts. The association will hold its 52nd annual conference in New Orleans, May 27 to 30 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.
The organization is a source of specialized information and training regarding the courts, legal disputes, parenting issues, child support, child maltreatment, and other topics that are faced by professionals in the court system when they attempt to help children and families in need.
Leslie Todd, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, was the founding President for the Louisiana Chapter of the organization. At the upcoming May conference, Todd will present a workshop on “Compassion Fatigue and the Reflective Brain.”
“Family Court-related work has at its heart traumatized parents and children in a generally dysfunctional system,” said Todd. “We professionals, whether we are therapists, mediators, evaluators or officers of the Court, sustain a lot of ‘collateral damage’ ourselves. We are constantly handed unsolvable problems that must be solved, and our clients often displace their rage, paranoia, distorted grief and anxiety on us.”
Dr. Alicia Pellegrin, forensic and clinical psychologist, told the Times, “It is important that training for evaluators be specific to the practice of child custody as opposed to taking generalized forensic courses, many of which have no bearing on child custody practice,” explained Pellegrin. “One of the important sources of such training is the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, which is the premiere organization dedicated to advancing the field at which family law and mental health intersect,” she said.
“At AFCC conferences, psychologists can hear from and interact with juvenile and family court Judges, attorneys who specialize in family law, forensic investigators, family violence experts, and researchers who specialize in child and family law matters. Equally important at these conferences is the opportunity to chat with other custody evaluators for collaboration and support.”
Pellegrin also noted that another excellent source of training is the American Board of Professional Psychology “offering training in the area by well recognized and highly experienced psychologists who work in the area.”
Todd’s workshop for the national conference of AAFCC will be part of nearly 100 sessions relating to the area of children, courts, legal issues and families. Todd will be also teaching about stress and burnout in this high intensity field, with the help of colleague Nan Waller Burnett, from Colorado. “The tough-minded among us––often the legal folks––are generally anxiety-flingers. (‘What, me worry? I’m fine. Let’s have another drink.’)” said Todd. “The tender-hearted among us –– often the mental health folks––are anxiety- absorbers who stoically go from client to client until we are emotionally and spiritually depleted. Nan and I will help participants identify their own style and find means of self- reflection to prevent compassion fatigue and secondary trauma.”
Others from Louisiana will present in May.
The Hon. Ernestine S. Gray, from New Orleans, will present “Critical Issues in Child Development for Family and Juvenile Judges.” She is joined by the Hon. Karen Adam from Tucson, Arizona, and Drs. Kirsten Lysne and Phillip Stahl. This presentation will include a multi- disciplinary panel of judges and psychologists who will explore children’s developmental needs, focusing on trauma, effects of domestic violence on children at different ages, parenting plans, overnights with young children, and other critical issues judges face daily.
Presenting “Fragile Narcissism: A Forensic Challenge,” is a group with psychologists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and an attorney, from New Orleans and Metarie: Suzanne C. Klenck, PhD, LCP, Clinical Psychologist; Sarah Hinshaw-Fuselier, PhD, LCSW; Karen VanBeyer, PhD, LCSW; and Anna Wellman, JD, LCSW. This workshop will focus on understanding and working with narcissistic individuals in the family court system. Some traits and disorders may be exacerbated by the divorce process and presenters will cover how some narcissistically fragile individuals will often engage in ongoing legal conflict, or high conflict custody cases.
Lisa Matthews, JD, Hearing Officer, from New Orleans, will present, “Two Program Models and Research on Parenting and Co-parenting Skills.”
Stephen W. Thompson, EdD, from Hammond, Patricia Hicks, JD, from Hammond, Rykert O. Toledano, Jr., JD, from Covington, and the Hon. Mary Clemence Devereux, Family Court Judge, from Covington, will present, “Two Goals: Retraining Family Lawyers and Teaching Co- Parenting in Child Custody.” In this workshop presenters show how Parents learn sound co- parenting skills from attorney-teachers who know courtrooms from the inside out and discourage litigation by supporting the parents as decision- makers in the lives of their children. Attorneys learn by teaching parenting skills and guiding parents to becoming collaborative problem solvers, not just litigants.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 2. Source pages: 8.
Mardi Gras is upon us. As you give some thought about what to attend, here are some relatively new comers to the list of happenings in the Big Easy.
Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale February 8 at 3 pm, Magazine Street at Jefferson Ave. Inaugural parade of this new Carnival organization.
Mystic Krewe of Druids February 11 at 6:30 pm, Magazine Street at Jefferson Ave. A satirical theme to be revealed at parade.
Mystic Krewe of Nyx February 11 at 7 pm, Magazine Street at Jefferson An all-female krewe with a satirical theme to be revealed at parade.
Mystic Krewe of Barkus February 8 at 2 pm, at Louis Armstrong Park “Bark-2, D-2” and canine light sabers in the theme of “Bark Wars: Return of the K-9.” Features costumed dogs and people. The tried and true favorites: Rex February 17 at 10 am, Napoleon Ave. at South Claiborne The theme this year is “Wars that Shaped Early America.”
Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club February 17 at 8 am, Jackson Ave. at S. Claiborne Ave. The African–American krewe with signature floats “Big Shot” and the “Witch Doctor.”
Krewe of Proteus February 16 at 5:15 pm, Napoleon Ave. at Magazine Street Theme “Nature of the Beasts.”
Krewe of Orpheus February 16 at 6 pm, Napoleon Ave. at Tchoupitoulas Street Theme “Magic of an Ordinary Day.”
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 2. Source pages: 9.
Dr. Paul Harch, physician and expert in hyperbaric medicine, and Dr. Susan Andrews, New Orleans neuropsychologist, are recruiting individuals for their Phase III Clinical Trial aimed to uncover the potential benefits of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or Persistent Post-Concussion Syndrome.
Dr. Harch told the Times, “Since our first study the military has published five papers on three studies of HBOT in TBI. They have confirmed our initial data with the dose that we pioneered 25 years ago,” Harch said, “obtained similar results with another dose of hyperbaric therapy and achieved neutral and negative results with other higher doses of hyperbaric therapy.
“Misinterpretation of these results by the military based on a misunderstanding of the science of hyperbaric therapy,” Harch said, “has confused the public and medical community. The key is that they have duplicated our results with the dose we have used.”
Harch and Andrews are nearly finished with the manuscript on their previous study. “Without divulging data it is fair to say that we have confirmed the previous data with greater statistical strength and incorporated an imaging control group,” said Harch. “The present study is to confirm or refute the previous study with a stronger design.”
However, recruitment for the current study has been difficult. The researchers are especially hoping for the veterans and because of the importance of the study have opened participation for all of 2015 and perhaps into 2016.
Dr. Susan Andrews, who conducts the pre, post, and post-post psychological assessments previously told the Times, “Obviously, the long-term goal is to help the vets,” she said. “But another major goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of HBOT for persistent post-concussion syndrome under solid experimental conditions.”
Any person who has persistent symptoms from one or more concussions that have occurred within the last six months to ten years is eligible. Referring practitioners and persons wanting to participate can contact the research coordinator at 504-427-5632 for more information.
The study is fully funded through a congressional appropriation to Dr. Harch, the principal investigator, and LSU Health Sciences Center. It is administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command (USARMC). Oklahoma State University School of Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine Department is the second site.
HBOT came to the attention of the Louisiana State University football coach, Les Miles, who was featured last August in The Health Care Journal of Baton Rouge in a front-page feature article about HBOT for athletes. Miles told the Journal that he heard about HBOT and that the “two foremost experts on hyperbarics were right here in Louisiana.” These turned out to be Paul Harch and Keith Van Meter.
“What we found is that there are all of these unexplained advantages to these divers that were being put at altitude and given 100% oxygen,” Miles said to the Journal.
For the body under pressure, there is a change that takes place that makes it more receptive to oxygen. So you drop it 15 feet, which is one altitude, or 30 feet which is two altitudes, or 60 feet, and so on. It kind of depends on where the spot is, if you will, or the protocol that would demand what depth. Then suddenly your body is open to oxygen,” Miles said.
“They found that there was so much really undiscovered use for this and Paul Harch went to a bunch of different extremes to get this information,” Miles told the Journal. “For instance he offered free treatment to veterans who would come off of combat who were around an explosion.”
“If we get to a point where this thing says it’s a 20% advantage. Wow! It’s worth it,” Miles explained. “But then, what if it’s more? What if the multi-uses are just more? We had a guy say once, ‘Let’s let the injury mature and we’ll treat it on Monday.’ That seems counterintuitive. I recognize that I don’t know, but I am open to trying.”
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 1. Source pages: 15.
(Editor’s note: The Times’ publisher had been asked by a number of people outside of Louisiana to write an article for the National Psychologist explaining what happened with Psychology and RxP in Louisiana. The following was published in the NP November/December issue, and is used here with permission.)
In 1995 the American Psychological Association (APA) endorsed state legislation for psychologists to obtain prescriptive authority, or “RxP.” Louisiana psychology put forth its first bill that same year and by 2004 became only the second state to pass the legislation. However, the organizational changes needed to fuel a successful political effort also set in motion group dynamics that have changed psychology in Louisiana, splitting the community and causing the erosion of the state’s psychology practice act.
Here is a review of some of what has happened in Louisiana.
The emergence of the RxP subgroup
Some have said that APA chose Louisiana as a testing ground for RxP. It is a small state and therefore relatively inexpensive to wage a political battle. It is also highly political. Fortune currently places Louisiana as #2 in the most corrupt states. Locals say, “For $1 million you can pass any law you want.”
Some of the needed money for RxP came from APA. By 2009 APA had given the Louisiana Psychological Association (LPA) various grants totaling $527,000. More money was needed, however, and also people.
“The [LPA] leadership had come to believe that having a cadre of psychologists well trained in psychopharmacology would also mean that there would be a nucleus of psychologists personally invested in and committed to advancing prescriptive authority legislation,” wrote an early leader, Dr. Tom Stigall, in “The struggle in the states,” a chapter in M.T. Sammons’ edited book on prescriptive authority, published by APA.
One key to developing this cadre was the shared experience of training. LPA partnered with the California School of Professional Psychology to create a Baton Rouge campus. In 1999 a group of 35 psychologists graduated with masters in psychopharmacology, a shared vision, purpose, and each loyal enough to contribute $2500 a year to the goal of RxP. They would come to be referred to as “the Class.”
Members of the class assumed key positions in LPA and on the state psychology board. The expensive and politically savvy firm of Courson & Nickel replaced the long-time, more conservative lobbyists. A new Political Action Committee, the “Louisiana Academy of Medical Psychology” (LAMP) replaced the older PAC. Leaders emerged whose style was consistent with the mission and the political culture and older leaders were pushed out.
In-group, out-group differences became salient. At the annual convention LAMP discussions were restricted to devotees. The LPA newsletter was terminated. Non- LAMP psychologists were edged away from decision-making. “If you weren’t in the Class,” one officer said, “you were voted off the island.”
The strategy worked. By 2004 RxP was passed in Louisiana. Medical psychologists, “MPs,” were now official.
But other organizational goals had almost completely vanished. In 2008 LPA spent $153 on public education campaigns but $72,000 on lobbying. One insider reported, “When we went to APA, we were rock stars. Here, at home, nothing was going on.”
But by 2009 the momentum carried the community over an edge.
Act 251: LAMP and medicine create a “New, hybrid profession”
In 2009 LAMP leaders secretly negotiated with the state medical board to pass a bill, Act 251, which repealed the 2004 law and created a “new, hybrid profession,” as described by LAMP leader, Dr. James W. Quillin, PhD, MP.
Act 251 transferred the medical psychologists (MPs) from the psychology board to the medical board. MPs would no longer need to hold a state psychology license. Medicine would regulate the psychology practice of the MPs. While Act 251 provided for an advanced certificate, doing away with the consultation clause for experienced MPs, it also placed them under medicine as “mid-level providers.”
Several national groups registered concerns. These included APA Board of Educational Affairs, the Interdivisional Healthcare Committee, Committee for the Advancement of Professional Psychology (CAPP), and Academy of Medical Psychology (AMP).
Conflict broke out in LPA over both the specifics of Act 251 and because rank and file members had been deceived by MPs who held leadership positions in both LPA and the psychology board. When LPA members discovered the bill by accident––“Who let this slip pass LPA?”––it was by then too late. Eventually it was discovered that the lobbyists for Act 251 were paid from LPA and APA funds.
While two surveys confirmed that about 70 percent of LPA members were concerned about Act 251 and wanted some type of remedy, motions passed for this goal have made no progress.
The more heated debates that marked the 2009 to 2011 time frame have cooled to a cold war.
Most MPs have dropped from LPA. In 2013 LAMP formed a new regional organization to match their PAC. LPA is forming new alliances in the larger Louisiana community.
MPs continue to hold three of the five positions on the psychology board, even though only 5 percent of licensed psychologists are dual licensed as MPs. In 2011 the board voted to qualify MPs to supervise psychology interns, even when the MP did not hold a state psychology license. The decision has been called “bizarre” by a past board chair and the Executive Director of the Association for State and Provincial Psychology Boards said, “Louisiana is playing with fire.”
The MP Chair during that 2011 decision, Dr. Joe E. Comaty, PhD, MP, was recently reappointed to the psychology board, despite considerable opposition from the community. LAMP’s influence appears to be the main reason for Comaty’s appointment.
The continued political influence of LAMP is not surprising. In the 2011–2013 time frame contributions to LAMP were $324,771 while contributions to the LPA PAC were $22,115.
Sources at LPA say that there is little to be done about Act 251 because of this.
RxP in Louisiana created a new and strong identity group with many unintended consequences. The bleeding over of norms from the political culture, such as the tolerance for deception and ends– justifying–means, are inconsistent with the foundational values of psychology, both the profession and the science.
Perhaps in Louisiana the LPA parent group was naive in its understanding about what group dynamics could emerge from this type of effort. Perhaps the identity and boundaries for the parent group, the state association, were too fragile in the first place to support this type of organizational change. Perhaps it was simply the typical corrupting influences of power.
Whatever the reasons, states considering RxP should be careful. If in pursuit of prescriptive privileges organized psychology loses, or worse yet willingly gives up, the values of openness and truthfulness, we will have lost what makes us most worthy to serve others in our society.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 1. Source pages: 16.
The Louisiana Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC-LA) will hold its 5th State Conference on January 30-31 at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU in Baton Rouge. The theme of this year’s conference is “Current Issues in Family Court: Interdisciplinary Perspectives.”
The conference will include presentations by Renee McCarthy, LCSW, Leslie Todd, LCSW, Wendy Edwards, JD, and Lisa Mathews, JD, Dr. Alyson McCain and Dr. Deann Johnson,Yevonne Baran, LPC, Ladonna Ward, LPC, and Pam Guedry, LPC, Todd Gaudin, Judge Pam Baker, Bob Lancaster, JD, Lila Hogan, JD, Cinday Nassar, LPC, and Stacy Marcel, JD.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 1. Source pages: 16.
Dr. John Simoneaux, owner and instructor for Professional Training Resources, and steering member in the Louisiana Coalition for Violence Prevention, will present on the topic of “Suicide Risk and Prevention” during January and February. He will cover incidence, prevalence, high-risk groups, timing, circumstances, and assessment strategies and clinical management, and other issues.
Workshop dates are January 30 in Kenner, February 6 in West Monroe, February 13 in Lafayette, and February 27 in Baton Rouge. For more information go to the PTR website.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 1. Source pages: 2.
I recently finished one of Phillip Tetlock’s books on human judgment, this one an early report of his expert political judgment experiments. Tetlock took one of the most complex areas imaginable, world politics, gathered high level experts into a large pool for forecasting, and measured their accuracy in predicting events. From post-Communist Russia to the Japanese stock market to the future of Canada, he designed a complex method for figuring out who can predict geopolitical events better.
Tetlock found that it’s not a person’s years of experience, gender, or political affiliation that matters. It’s not being an academic, or having a PhD, or past training that matters.
It’s cognitive style, our style of reasoning. What experts are thinking matters much less, than how they are thinking. When it comes to judgment, what matters is whether the person is a fox or a hedgehog.
Tetlock uses Isaiah Berlin’s prototypical hedgehog at one end of the cognitive style continuum and the prototypical fox at the other. Hedgehogs are confident in their views, “know one big thing,” and push determinedly to apply this idea. Foxes on the other hand, “know a lot of little things,” they cover more ground, are flexible improvisers, with a dubious, self-critical style of reasoning. While foxes are moving from one idea to the next, hedgehogs are digging in and pulling the dirt in on top of themselves. The deeper they dig the more they risk becoming trapped in their own ideas, uncovering more reasons why their initial view is “right.”
Tetlock points out the paradox that the media and the public prefer the confidence and simplicity of hedgehogs. He also notes that hedgehog’s “formulaic solutions to ill-defined problems” is a quality prized in scientists. Something to think about.
But he also warns to keep in mind that foxes themselves aren’t all that amazing, being consistently outperformed by statistical models. Even foxes need training to do well. However, hedgehogs, bless their hearts, are roughly equal to dart-throwing chimpanzees.
The popularity of insight into human judgment, advanced in large part by Daniel Kahneman, psychology’s Nobel Prize winner (Thinking, Fast and Slow), is making its way into the collective. A refreshing example is Scott Lilienfeld’s 2014 article, “Why Ineffective Psychotherapies Appear to Work,” with his list of hedgehog type cognitive distortions that therapists apply. But this type of meta-cognition, thinking about thinking, especially in group dynamics, seems slow to catch on.
So you might understand my surreal experience when I found myself at the psychology board’s recent planning meeting defending one of my most cherished hedgehog ideas, free speech. The board says it needs more authority to govern licensees’ behavior––not just to govern their practice of psychology––but to discipline overall “professionalism,” and this includes speech.
I found myself fumbling around in a discussion over free speech with Dr. Comaty, muddying up my concepts and doing a terribly poor job of making my point, which would of course make no real difference even if I would have somehow come up with the brilliant ideas that I only thought of later when I was obsessing over what I did say and wishing I hadn’t said it.
Nevertheless, my lifelong affection for Freedom of Information is one of my hedgehog views. As any good hedgehog, I’ve spent decades acquiring evidence to support my ideas, from organizational, humanistic, and evolutionary psychology. I’ve filtered everything else out that doesn’t fit.
And of course, also like any good hedgehog, I’m not about to change my mind. My belief-defending behaviors include the Times, which is now going on 6+ years. I’m trying to encourage freedom of information, free expression, and open conflict resolution in the community. Of course I don’t see any need for more control by government over free speech. I see the complete opposite: We need more entrepreneurial freedoms, more outspoken visionary leadership, more open debate of differences, and less covert political gamesmanship.
But Tetlock is elegantly convincing. So, with my one exception about individual freedom, I’m going to try and be much less of a hedgehog in 2015.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 1. Source pages: 3.
The continuing drop in oil prices may be good for the country as a whole in the long-run, but Louisiana will have to further tighten its belt, something that will likely affect higher education and health care.
The Advocate interviewed the Commissioner of Administration, Kristy Nichols, last week who said, “We’re going to have to make some tough choices.” Everything will have to be considered, including “more cuts to higher education and the possibility of no merit pay raises for state workers,” Nichols said, according to the Advocate report.
Oil prices have recently hit a five-year low and they continue to slide. The price of oil is tied to the state budget because of royalties and taxes the state collects are linked to oil. For each $1 drop in oil the state loses about $12 million in revenues.
The Governor was already looking at ways to reduce a $1.4 billion shortfall, but this number is continuing to grow.
According to a number of analysts, fracking has put competitive pressure on the OPEC who is now reducing prices by releasing more oil in efforts to protect their market share.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 1. Source pages: 3.
Specifics to be set out for victims of sexual assault, “Forensic Medical Exam”
An Executive Order was published in the December issue of Louisiana Register listing the duties of government agencies for assisting victims of sexual assault. In the two- page Order, Governor Jindal instructs the Crime Victims Reparations Board, in consultation with the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, to revise its administrative policies and develop a list of eligible medical expenses related to the forensic medical examination for victims of sexual assault.
He also instructs the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) and the Department of Public Safety to jointly convene a group to formulate a definition for “Forensic Medical Exam” as it relates to the crime of sexual assault. One of the goals is to ensure that all charges are included in that definition and are not chargeable to the assault victim.
The Governor also tells the DHH, through the medical directors of each of its nine regional Health Service Districts, to coordinate a sexual assault response plan. The plan must be in by February 1.
The Governor introduces the topic with, “All government, of right, originates with the people, is founded on their will alone, and is instituted to protect the rights of the individual and for the good of the whole. Its only legitimate ends are to secure justice for all, preserve peace, protect the rights, and promote the happiness and general welfare of the people. …”
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 1. Source pages: 3.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families awarded grants to Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, HP Serve and LouisianaChildren.org. The funding will center on improving outcomes for child trafficking victims in Louisiana by analyzing data and implementing best practices for children in the child welfare system. It will also be used to develop infrastructure for coordinating multiple agency efforts to deliver services, as well as expand collaborative efforts to serve victims of child trafficking.
"Protecting children is the most important thing we do at DCFS," said DCFS Secretary Suzy Sonnier. "Sadly, child trafficking is becoming more prevalent, but this grant will be invaluable in our work to prevent trafficking and serve those children who have already been victims of abuse and neglect."
According to the announcement, research demonstrates a connection between youth involved in child welfare systems and those who have been or become victims of child trafficking. A 2013 study by the Institution of Medicine and National Research Council, found that many times sexual abuse and involvement with child welfare precede trafficking of minors. A report conducted by the California Child Welfare Council found that 50-80 percent of victims of commercial sexual exploitation, including child sex trafficking, are or were formerly involved with child welfare.
"Sex trafficking of minors is one of the most horrific crimes that can be committed against a child," said Claudia Berry, Executive Director of HP Serve. "The trauma of being trafficked has a long term impact on all of its victims. HP Serve is pleased to have received funding from DHHS to expand what we are doing to help youth in the child welfare system who are at risk of or are involved in minor human trafficking in Louisiana."
The grant will allow DCFS and its partners increased resources to identify and combat child trafficking, including the implementation of special assessments to target children entering or returning to child welfare who may be child trafficking victims and to improve services provided.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 1. Source pages: 3.
Pew Research is a center for research on a wide range of topics aimed to help key stakeholders in society understand and solve the world’s most challenging problems. Pew listed a number of what researchers considered “striking findings for 2014.” Below is a list of some of the top issues from Pew and links to their reports.
1. “Republicans and Democrats are more divided along ideological lines – and partisan antipathy is deeper and more extensive – than at any point in the last two decades: 92% of Republicans are to the right of the median Democrat; and, conversely, 94% of Democrats are to the left of the median Republican.”
2. The gap between how much young adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher earn, and those with no degree is the largest in the modern era. This is even with huge levels of student debt and also high youth unemployment.
3. The percent of American adults who have never been married is at an all time high. At the same time, marriage rates are continuing to drop. “In 2012, one-in-five adults ages 25 and older had never been married,” noted Pew researchers. And, “Men are more likely than women to have never been married. And this gender gap has widened since 1960.”
4. “Nearly three-quarters (72%) of the public thinks religion is losing influence in American life, up from 52% who said so in 2002;” and most say they believe that the influence of religion is waning, and also see this as unfortunate and a bad situation. A growing number report that “religion should play a role in politics.”
5. While the Great Recession was hard on all US families, and housing and other assets have become to recover some of their value, this recovery is not a uniform effect. “… wealth inequality has widened along racial and ethnic lines. The median wealth of white households was 13 times the wealth of black households and 10 times that of Hispanic households in 2013, compared with eight and nine times the wealth in 2010, respectively,” says Pew.
6. The public is concerned about privacy issues. Public policy debates, especially after major hacking incidents and also high tech products that track citizens and consumer activity have fueled concerns. “ — 91% of Americans agree or strongly agree that consumers have lost control over how their personal information is collected and used by private companies.”
7. According to Pew, a majority of Americans are ready to pitch the “war on drugs: 67% say the government should focus more on providing treatment for those who use illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine, while just 26% think the government’s focus should be on prosecuting drug users,” say the Pew researchers.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 1. Source pages: 4.
The state Medical Board published “Guidance for Medical Psychologists” in their recent News category on their website. The guidance relates to two measures passed in the spring legislative session. The measures, Act 136 and Act 137, established the “Licensed Specialist in School Psychology” and the “Provisionally Licensed Psychologist.” The bills were amended to include medical psychologists who may supervise these new categories but who are only regulated by the state medical board.
The statement by the medical board, posted on December 17, stated that MPs licensed only under the medical board should comply with the supervisory obligations set out by the state psychology board. Specifically the announcement noted:
“While the LSBEP has no regulatory authority over MPs who do not maintain their license with the LSBEP, the supervisory requirements imposed upon LSSP [Licensed Specialist in School Psychology] and PLP [Provisionally Licensed Psychologist] by the law and any LSBEP regulations must be met in order for these individuals to lawfully practice their profession. With that in mind, the Board would consider it the professional obligation of any MP who undertakes the supervision of an LSSP or PLP to be aware of and comply with the obligations imposed on such supervisors by law and LSBEP rules. Failure to provide such supervision would work to the detriment of the LSSP or PLP (and clients), who could also be found to be engaged in an improper practice for lack of supervision.”
“In short, while there may little occasion for an MP to serve as a supervisor for a LSSP or a PLP, an MP who does so should comply with the supervisory obligations imposed by law and LSBEP regulations. To do otherwise may be viewed by the Board as unprofessional conduct or having a professional association with an improper practitioner, which could give rise to disciplinary investigation and/or action by the Board.”
According to the August minutes of the Medical Board, Dr. C. Mouton, Executive Director of the Medical Board, met with Kelly Parker, Executive Director for the psychology board, and discussed these new Acts and that included medical psychologists as potential supervisors. “… Following review and discussion it was the consensus of the Board to await the input of the Medical Psychology Advisory Committee on this matter,” noted the August minutes.
In the September minutes of the psychology board, minutes noted, “Ms. Parker updated the Board regarding the meeting with LSBME and counsel.”
And in their meeting on October 10, the Medical Psychology Advisory Committee was listed in its agenda to discuss the Rules for Acts 136 and 137. No minutes have been published thus far as to the substance of that discussion.
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