Learning
Veterans Health Care: Efforts to Hire Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists
VHA typically relies on four types of mental health professions to provide psychotherapy services: psychologists, social workers, and, since 2010, LPMHCs and MFTs. The Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 included a provision for GAO to review staffing levels for mental health professionals in VA, in particular for LPMHCs and MFTs. Demand for VA mental health care is growing. The number of veterans provided mental health care services by VHA increased by 85 percent from 2006 through 2020. This growth poses challenges for VHA in maintaining an adequate mental health workforce that provides timely, high-quality services. It is compounded by the nationwide shortage of mental health professionals. more »
Arizona Ranks High on States With Offensive Place Names Eyed For Change
“Regardless of the naming history, such monikers have no place in a diverse society that values the contributions of all individuals and groups and Greenlee County is supportive of name changes that reflect this shared respect,” Rapier said in an email. The word has not always been considered offensive. Shannon O’Loughlin, CEO and attorney for the Association on American Indian Affairs, said in an email that the word comes from the Algonquian language, where it means “woman,” and she said a similar word in the Mohawk language means “vagina,” but that it gained a negative connotation over time. “The term has been used in derogatory ways by colonizers until today, as a sexualized stereotype of a Native American woman,” said O’Loughlin, who is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation. Coupled with the violence against – and trafficking of – Native American women and girls in the United States, the s-word is not appropriate to honor and acknowledge the sacrifices that Native Peoples have made to protect the honor of the United States,” her email said. more »
Pew Research Center: Public Expresses Mixed Views of US Response to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine; 35% Favor US Military Action Even If It Risks Nuclear Conflict With Russia
Roughly a third of Americans (32%) say that the United States is providing about the right amount of support to Ukraine as it fights to hold off the Russian invasion. A larger share – 42% – say the US should be providing more support to Ukraine, while just 7% say it is providing too much support. About one-in-five (19%) say they are not sure. The new Pew Research Center survey, conducted March 7-13, 2022, among 10,441 U.S. adults on the Center’s American Trends Panel, finds wide partisan differences in views of the administration’s handling of the crisis and the level of support the U.S. has provided to Ukraine. However, virtually identical shares in both parties – 51% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and 50% of Democrats and Democratic leaners – regard the Russian invasion as a “major threat” to U.S. interests. Today, nearly identical shares of Republicans (70%) and Democrats (71%) say they have heard or read a lot about the invasion. more »
Ferida Wolff Writes: Nature's Cleaning Crew, NatureMapping Animal Facts About the Turkey Vulture
Ferida Wolff writes: Turkey vultures were gathering on a local street. There was a dead squirrel for lunch. Sadly, it must have been hit by a speeding car but it provided a welcome meal for the large birds. I often see the vultures flying overhead looking for food. They sometimes swoop down to check out a possible dead critter and if one is found, a bunch of them will gather for the feast. They aren’t the prettiest of creatures but they are practical as they help clean up the environment. The is no nest structure. The female Turkey Vulture lays 1 to 3 eggs directly on ground in caves, crevices, mammal burrows, hollow logs, under fallen trees, or in abandoned buildings. The eggs are creamy-white with dark blotches around large end. more »