Policy News and Opportunities at SPSSI

Local- and State-Level Policy Work Awards - Apply Now! SPSSI is accepting proposals for Local- and State-Level Policy Work Awards. This grant initiative, begun in 2015, has three goals: 1) to influence policy at the local and state levels through applied research, 2) to increase the availability of policy opportunities for SPSSI members who are interested in applied research, and 3) to encourage students and early career scholars to become more involved in SPSSI. SPSSI will fund up to three groups, at up to $2000 each. Proposals are due November 1, 2018.

SPSSI Reaffirms its Longstanding Opposition to Torture. In advance of the August 2018 meeting of the APA Council of Representatives, SPSSI issued a statement reaffirming its longstanding opposition to torture and longstanding commitment to human rights. During the meeting, the Council declined to adopt a resolution that would have supported the role of military psychologists as providers of health care services to detainees in any national security setting.

SPSSI's Dalmas Taylor Fellow contributes to a new report on unaccompanied children. As SPSSI's 2016 Dalmas A. Taylor Summer Minority Policy Fellow, Dr. Tejaswinhi Srinivas (then a doctoral student) began working with the DC-based Immigration Psychology Working Group. Now, two years later, she is a co-author of the working group's inaugural publication, "Vulnerable But Not Broken: Psychosocial Challenges and Resilience Pathways Among Unaccompanied Children from Central America." 

Pictured: Members of the Gender Studies Department at Central European University in Hungary. In a statement, the department thanked all of the scholars and institutions around the world who have spoken up for Hungary's Gender Studies programs.

Policy News 

Newly proposed in the U.S. Congress:

S. 3314: Census Equality Act. This act, introduced by Senator Kamala Harris on July 31, 2018, would add Census questions on sexual orientation and gender identity.

H.R. 6697/S.3335: Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act. This act, introduced by Representative David Kustoff and Senator Orrin Hatch, would overturn the 2015 Johnson v. United States Supreme Court decision and once again increase prison sentences for certain “career criminals” to a mandatory minimum of 15 years.

H.R. 4884/S. 2313: DETER (Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines) Act. This Act, introduced by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Senator Chris Van Hollen, would establish new sanctions on Russia if they interfere in the midterm election. 

Newly proposed in the U.S. Executive Branch:

Proposed rule would make it harder for legal immigrants to get green cards if they have received certain kinds of public assistance [link to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] [link to ABC News article] - Comments due 60 days from when the proposed rule is officially published in the Federal Register (within the coming weeks)

Proposed rule would seek to hold migrant parents and children together in detention until their case has been heard, effectively circumventing the Flores Agreement [link to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] [link to NBC News article] - Comments due November 6, 2018

On a related note: SPSSI issued a statement on the topic of family separation in late June of 2018. SPSSI also signed on to a joint statement by psychology groups on U.S. immigration policies and practices.

Internationally:

Hungarian government announces that it will stop accrediting and funding gender studies in Hungary. According to right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, “The Hungarian government is of the clear view that people are born either men or women. They lead their lives the way they think best, but beyond this, the Hungarian state does not wish to spend public funds on education in this area.”

For additional context: Please see the the solidarity statements issued by institutions and organizations around the world.

Policy-Relevant Opportunities

Apply to become an APA Congressional or Executive Branch Science Fellow - Applications due January 6, 2019

Apply to become a AAAS Congressional, Executive Branch, or Judicial Branch Fellow - Applications due November 1, 2018

Apply to become a Strategic Data Project Fellow at Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research - Applications accepted beginning October 22, 2018

Call for nominations: NSF’s Alan T. Waterman Award for early career scientists - Nominations due October 22, 2018

Webinar on Higher Education Policy and the States: A Review of the 2018 Legislative Sessions - Scheduled for October 10, 2018 at 2 pm Eastern

America's Children in Brief is a report issued annually by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. The report includes indicators on child poverty, health insurance continuity, homelessness, and exposure to violence, among other indicators.

Resources and Readings

U.S Census Bureau releases annual data on poverty and health insurance coverage in the U.S.

NSF announces new measures to protect research community from harassment

From the NIJ "Director’s Corner" blog: Pushing the Edge on Evidence-Based Policing

From the NIH “Open Mike” blog: Funding Longevity by Gender Among NIH-Supported Investigators

New “All About Grants” podcast on NIH’s Inclusion Across the Lifespan Policy

Newly released America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2018

New report from the National Academies on Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy

New National Academies report on Immigration as a Social Determinant of Health

Justice Policy Institute and National Center for Victims of Crime release new report on strategies to prevent youth violence, heal victims of crime, and reduce racial inequality

From the blog: Why Social Science? Because It Can Challenge Conventional Wisdom

From The Atlantic: China Is Going to Outrageous Lengths to Surveil Its Own Citizens

Union of Concerned Scientists calls for scientists to submit letters to editors about voting in midterm elections

From the Washington Post: How the Great Recession changed higher education forever

From the Washington Post: State agency rejects Virginia school district’s plan to arm school employees

New brief from the National Association of Social Workers on disparities by race/ethnicity among youth transferred to the adult criminal justice system

From The Marshall Project: A new presidential appointee has quietly changed decades-old federal policies meant to improve racial disparities in youth incarceration