Wednesday, October 24 
8:00 – 11:00 a.m. (ticket) 
Andres J. Pumariega, M.D., Stephen M. Soltys, M.D., Kristin Kroeger Ptakowski, Charles Huffine, M.D. 

This FREE Workshop discusses how child psychiatrists can better have their voices heard in state agencies. In addition, the participants are shown how, with limited time and resources, advocating on behalf of patients and the profession is easy. Participants learn how the AACAP Department of Government Affairs can assist members in their advocacy efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. The Workshop briefly reviews the recent history of mobilizing youth voice, its relationship to the family advocacy movement, and the recent phenomenon of youth as advocates emerging as a key ingredient of advocacy in the mental health field. In addition, there is a discussion on advocacy within the context of class action lawsuits around children’s mental health. 

Sponsored by the AACAP Committee on Community Psychiatry and AACAP Department of Government Affairs