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Speech and Hearing Association of Alabama Advancing the disciplines of speech-language pathology and audiology, |
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Speech and Hearing Association of Alabama Advancing the disciplines of speech-language pathology and audiology, |
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ASHA Legislative Issues
Dear SHAA Members: I have just returned from the spring Legislative Council meeting in Bethesda, MD. On the eve of travel to Bethesda , Margaret Johnson's father was suddenly hospitalized which prevented her from attending. Due to the last minute circumstances, we were not able to identify a substitute so I had to go solo. The following is a report of the activities and actions taken by the Council and the Assemblies during this meeting: FRIDAY, March 23, 2007 Meetings with Legislators I made visits with Legislative Assistants in the offices of Senator Shelby, Senator Sessions and Representative Bachus. I REALLY missed not having Margaret with me as we've always made a very good team during these visits. The following issues were discussed:
Fiduciary Responsibilities ASHA's Executive Director Arlene Pietranton reviewed Councilors' fiduciary responsibilities. Such responsibilities include: Duty of Care (carry out his or her duties responsibly), Duty of Loyalty (obligation to act in the Association's best interest), and Duty of Fidelity of Purpose (fidelity to the purposes of the Association). Financial Update The Vice President for Administration and Planning, Mary Jo Schill, updated the Council on the financial status of the Association, which is good and positive. Regional Meetings Councilors gathered by region to discuss issues related to personnel shortages, evidence-based practice and marketing of the professions. SATURDAY, March 24, 2007 Presentation on a Proposed New Governance Structure Dr. Ray Kent, Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Structure and Process, made a presentation on the proposed change in the governance structure and the evidence the committee gathered in order to arrive at the proposed model. Outcomes for the new governance structure plan include:
Assembly Meetings The Audiology/Hearing Science Assembly (A/HSA) and the Speech Language Pathology/Speech-Language Science Assembly (SLP/SLSA) met to discuss issues of concern to the professions. Both Assemblies reviewed the results from ASHA member responses to the Critical Issues Survey that was emailed in January. Each Assembly identified and ranked their top 5 issues which were subsequently voted on by the full Council. The following 3 issues ranked the highest of concern and will be forwarded to the Executive Board for consideration:
Resolutions Considered by the Legislative Council and Assemblies:
Focused Initiatives and Strategic Plan Update ASHA's Chief Staff Officers presented updated information on the outcomes and strategies for each of the following Focused Initiatives (http://www.asha.org/about/Leadership-projects/national-office/focused-initiatives). Work Plans for 2007 were also presented.
SUNDAY, March 25, 2007 ASHA Program Review The Legislative Council continued its annual review of one third of ASHA Programs and made recommendations for each program to continue as is, alter by enhancement, reduce, or discontinue. Council's recommendations on the ASHA programs under review are included in the Legislative Council meeting minutes that will be posted on the ASHA Web site at http://www.asha.org/about/leadership-projects/LC/archive/. Grassroots Advocacy A presentation on effective grassroots advocacy on the federal, state and local level was presented to the Council by Councilor Linda Hampton, New York. (Grassroots Advocacy Web page: http://www.asha.org/about/legislation-advocacy/grassroots/) Presentations, Reports and Minutes Presentations, reports and minutes of the Legislative Council and Assembly meetings will be posted on the ASHA web site at: The approval of LC 1-2007 to adopt the new governance model is described in the report on “ASHA's Governance Structure and Process” which is posted on ASHA's website. This was a momentous resolution that was passed with a significant majority and which significantly changes the ‘face' of national legislative representation and eliminates Legislative Council as it is currently composed. In a nutshell, the new governance plan calls for one SLP representative and one audiology representative from each state. We look forward with excitement to the process of establishing this new governance structure. Should you have any questions regarding the discussions or actions taken by the LC, or issues you would like the Council to consider in the future, please do not hesitate to contact Margaret Johnson or me. Thank you. Doreen Oyadomari Margaret Johnson
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