Townhall Comments Psych Board 8-6-24
"My name is Phillip Crum and I am here in my dual capacities as Joe Citizen and co-founder of the Association for Mental Health Professionals.
I want to make a single point that's been bothering me since the MFT Townhall and get it on record.
Townhall Comments Psych Board 8-6-24
At that townhall a legitimate request was made to examine one of the licensing fees as being potentially exorbitant. That's fair enough, and just to make sure there are no misunderstandings about my upcoming thoughts here is the exact text that was submitted:
"African Americans are disproportionately over-represented in the criminal justice system, as a result of institutional racism. Because of this disproportionality, the $150 cost disproportionately burdens African Americans, particularly students graduating from Social Work programs at HBCUs."
Promoting a Social Construct
What I object to is the unsubstantiated and socially driven reasons that were given for wanting the fee reduced:
- That black people spend more time incarcerated than any other group.
- That "systemic racism" is apparently entirely to blame for that.
- And therefore, people attending Historically Black Colleges couldn't afford the $150."
Aside from my main point which I will summarize with momentarily, the juxtaposition of the first two thoughts to arrive at the third is highly confusing to me. She seems to be saying that because black people spend more time in prison, but are somehow still able to attend and pay for college upon their release, that they therefore cannot afford a $150 licensing fee after graduation?"
Poorly Developed Logic
If she's not linking the two groups in a causal relationship then how does one man's incarceration affect a never-been incarcerated HBCU graduate's ability to pay the fee? Even if I accepted the major premise of her argument (systemic racism), which I do not, the development of her logic is terminally flawed.
To Fee or Not to Fee?
Also no thought was expressed or question asked as to how much actual cost might be behind the $150 fee; that BHEC might be incurring expenses for that fee that must be passed along to the applicant or that they have people who expect to get paid every week for their efforts and BHEC incurs some expense there. The lack of input on this point makes me think that the requestor believes these fees are just made up out of thin air. Fees are business expenses and business expenses do not care about your criminal record or any other aspect of your life.
Summary
My main point here today is that identity politics has no place in the BHEC Rulebooks and should not be used in any form or fashion to substantiate a new rule, or to edit or repeal existing rules. I hope the boards and council keep that in mind.
If the fee is too high for legal or business related reasons and the Board & Council see fit to lower it for everyone then lower it for everyone! But not because a social justice adherent is mad at some other identity group and wants to play the victim.
Thank you."
Got Something to Say?
These posts are based on the beliefs and personal experience of the post's author. Please feel free to leave your civil, constructive comments below. We try very hard to back up our statements with fact-based data and we ask you to do the same in your comments. You do not need to be logged in to leave a comment.
About the Author
Phillip's background has blessed him with a variety of interests, skills, and tools to get things done. He spent 25 years in the printing and marketing industry before meeting Kathleen Mills in 2015. They quickly figured out that they made a pretty good business team and, owing to Kathleen's story, embarked upon a mission that would see the creation of PracticeMentors.us and eventually the Association for Mental Health Professionals.
