camft.org | Board Meeting Highlights June 2012

The following notes highlight discussion and action from the June 9-10, 2012, CAMFT Board of Directors meeting:

Orientation
The new Board of Directors was welcomed and President Sandy Wolf conducted an orientation to review Board roles, responsibilities, and functions. Ms. Wolf also discussed Board process.

Strategy Summit
The Board participated in a closed-session strategy summit and voted to engage an outside vendor to work with staff and communicate with members regarding long-range strategy to ensure CAMFT’s viability.

Committee Reports/Nominations
The Board heard reports from the PAC and Voluntary Certified Supervisor Program Committee.
The Board voted to approve all of the 2012-2013 Committee appointments.

Policies/Procedures
The Board members reviewed and signed “Policy on Anti-Trust Compliance” and “Policy on Conflict of Interest.” The Board also accepted proposed revisions to the “Policy on Use of CAMFT Logo” and “Policy on Board and Committee Reimbursement.”

The Board voted to create a “Policy on Communicating CAMFT Board of Directors Election Results” and a “Purview Policy.” The “Purview Policy” guides decisions on whether social/public policy issues are within the range of operation and meet requisite thresholds. The Purview Policy calls for the creation of a Purview Committee, comprised of five CAMFT members, to serve as a clearinghouse for issues, to conduct a review of each issue that is raised, and to consider whether CAMFT should offer official opinions or commentary on social/public policy issues. The Committee will make recommendations to the Board. The President will appoint the Committee in September, 2012.

Proposed Partnerships
While statewide insurers denied guaranteed-issue health insurance, there are several regional insurers that are considering CAMFT’s application to offer coverage for CAMFT members in those regions. More details will be available this summer.

Member Open Forum
David Pickup spoke to the Board on behalf of himself and Therapists for Embracing Religious Freedom (TERF) about concerns with SB 1172 (Sexual Orientation Change Efforts - SOCE).

CAMFT SOCE Statement from March, 2012
The Board declined to take any action on a request to modify the existing statement on Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE).

Technology
CAMFT members will soon be invited to consent to receive ballots and vote online in anticipation of electronic voting in future Board elections. Members will also be asked to provide their birth year so CAMFT can get an accurate picture of the membership demographics.

Communication Tools
A quarterly Pre-Licensed e-newsletter was launched in May, 2012. The purpose of this newsletter, distributed exclusively to the pre-licensed members of CAMFT, is to provide materials and information that is unique to these members.

CAMFT activated the Legislative Action Center on the CAMFT website and staff noted that the Center will be enhanced to make it more intuitive for users. This tool links to all legislation of interest to CAMFT and the first action alert (regarding SB 632) was posted to the home page of the Center.

The Therapist
The July/August 2012 issue of The Therapist will mark the first issue with clinical articles that have been peer-reviewed by the CAMFT Clinical Editorial Council.

Chapter Advisory Council
The Board expressed disappointment that more Chapter leaders did not apply to serve on this newly-created Council, designed to serve the mutual membership and profession by facilitating communication and collaboration between chapters and CAMFT. The Board agreed to use this year as a pilot project for the Chapter Advisory Council and proceed with the four applicants and the Board liaison.

2012 Annual Conference
Six hundred and seventy-two people attended the 48th CAMFT Annual Conference in San Diego. There was positive response from attendees about holding the event in CAMFT’s hometown.

Finance
To date, CAMFT is nearly $200,000 ahead of budgeted net revenue from operations. Income on investments is also ahead of budget. The reserve fund balance as of May 31, 2012 was $5.44 million.

Legislation/Advocacy
The Board heard updates about the BBS and state/federal legislation. It was noted that two pieces of CAMFT-sponsored legislation (SB 1134 – Duty to protect/Dangerous Patient and AB 367 – BBS Reporting to Department of Health Care Services) are still moving through the legislature.

The Board spent a significant amount of time discussing the intent and language of SB 1172 (Sexual Orientation Change Efforts - SOCE). Executive Director, Jill Epstein, shared concerns that had been expressed to her by members on all sides of the issue. While the Board supports the intent behind SB 1172, the Board agreed that the current language and specific words used in the bill could be read to cast a wider net than expected and could chill legitimate forms of therapy, such as work with the transgender population or to reduce sex addiction and promiscuity of homosexual and/or heterosexual teens. The Board acknowledged the immense amount of staff time and thoughtfulness that has been dedicated to this issue and recognized that staff is working to ensure the best outcome for CAMFT members, minor clients, and the profession. The Board supported the Coalition’s (CAMFT, CA Association of Psychiatrists, CA Association of Psychologists, and CA Association of LPCCs) continued discussions with the author to find a more acceptable definition of SOCE.

Future Board Meetings
The Board voted to hold the January Board meeting in December, beginning in December, 2013. This will ensure that the Board meets once each quarter (instead of simply four times per year).

The next meeting will be held September 8-9, 2012 in San Francisco. For more details on future meetings, please visit the Board of Directors section of the CAMFT website.


Please enter your birth year below. We are asking for your birth year to learn the demographics of our members so we can best tailor programs and services. This information is confidential and will only be used in an aggregate form to help us know the age of our membership.
Birth Year:
I prefer not to provide this information:


Consent to electronic voting and help CAMFT conserve member resources and become more eco-friendly! To facilitate electronic voting in future CAMFT elections, please consider giving consent to 1) receiving ballots and accompanying documents from CAMFT via electronic means, and 2) voting by electronic means. Your consent only applies to these electronic communications. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by providing CAMFT with a written notice sent by e-mail, fax, or mail. If you choose to consent to electronic voting, you may still request a ballot and accompanying documents in paper form.
I give my consent for E-Voting:
OR
I withhold my consent for E-Voting. Please send paper ballots:

Board Highlights June 2012