Summary of the ACA Advocacy Competencies
The ACA advocacy competencies are clustered into 9 sub-groups depending on the level of application and the target population in societies. The domains are very important because they define the actions of the counselor and the target groups within the public space. Such components include client/student empowerment or advocacy, community collaboration, system advocacy, collective action, and social/political advocacy. Notably, each fragment has distinctive attributes and roles played by the counselor at every level. These competencies define the relationships between the professionals and their clients in different environments.
The counselor has a central role in enhancing public awareness and effecting change through their actions at each cadre of competency. These values seem distinctive from one category to the other. For instance, the necessary knowledge and skills for a client/student empowerment/advocacy is unique to such set of surrounding. The key aspects used in classification include the extent of client involvement and the level of advocacy intervention required for success. These two dimensions intersect to provide the domains described within the premise of operation.
Title and Summary of the Legislative Issue
The title for the legislative issue is “Tele-behavioral health for states.” This issue is a new concept in counseling sector that emanated from the implications of Covid-19. It provides guidelines on how to use technology to communicate during emergencies and crises within the state. As a result, it provides a well-designed letter to spearhead the decisional model used by counselors to reach different stakeholders in effecting public awareness.
Letter
- Data___________________
- The Honorable __________
- Office of the Governor
- Full Street Address City,
- State Zip code
- Dear Governor __________,
On behalf of all the registered members of our state counseling association, with due diligence hereby respectful submit our concerns for inclusion of the new policy of tele-health behavioral framework to guide the operations of our people during the current global pandemic. In essence, we would like to express our gratitude to the federal government and our state for steadfast leadership that has seen prompt response to Covid-19. As a body, we need elaborative policy that will help tackle public advocacy and empowerment without any further confusion.
Although there has been directive by the president and congressional chamber, there is a further need to offer vivid documentation in the state.
Ideally, the current mental health states in the world require substantial investment in public communication and awareness creation to avert the alarming spread of the virus. Such situation can only be reversed by avoiding fake news and instilling behavior change within the society. As a council, we would love to have a well-formatted policy that minimizes confusion in applicability and promotes wholesome approach to public advocacy and empowerment. Concurrently, we would advise your office to facilitate and fast-track the accomplishment of the following by medical and insurance companies:
- Reimburse all services provided by licensed professional counselors in tele-health behavior communication
- Renounce all marginal certification cost and training for counselor in handling mental illnesses
- Reimburse all online professional engagements by members of registered counselors
Subsequently, any public engagements within the new online platforms should only be conducted by registered professional counselors from within our board. Therefore, the state should provide a shield of protection from intruders and hackers who might mislead the people or extort money from unsuspecting individuals.
We are looking forward to your response, and a fruitful collaboration in public policy and counseling.
Signed
All members of the counseling board