The Hidden Rules of Class

(At right: Taken from the 2010 U.S. Census)

The agency I work for requires my colleagues and I to complete specific online learning courses every 3-4 months this year. I'm guessing they perceive such requirements as a way to promote "professional growth." I say this loosely, as every course I have taken thus far for these agency reqs undermines our intelligence...not to mention our common sense of basic psychology. The course I completed on Thursday ("A Culture Centered Approach to Recovery"), however, amazingly had something semi-thought provoking within it. I got so excited about it that I actually spent the most time on this one aspect of the course, even eager to share it with others. I'm not sure if it's meant to be tongue-in-cheek, disturbing, amusing, or a combination of all three. Whatever the intent, it definitely challenged me to stop and reflect on an issue that tends to get overlooked or at the least, a societal problem that doesn't (yet) encourage open-mindedness and helpful solutions. It's interesting to see the different priorities, values, and/or potential stuck points of each class. Maybe if we shift our perspective, we can leave room for a paradigm shift on the challenges of those struggling in poverty and proceed with a more collaborative approach.

"People who grow up in poverty learn different things from people who grow up wealthy or in middle class. But most schools and businesses operate with middle-class norms, and most teachers and business people grew up learning the hidden rules of middle-class families. It's no surprise, then, that children of poverty often struggle in education and business environments. In her book A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Dr. Ruby K. Payne presents lists of survival skills needed by different societal classes. Test your skills by answering the following questions." (Copyright by www.ahaprocess.com)

Could you survive in poverty? Check each item that applies.
I know how to...

__find the best rummage sales
__locate grocery stores' garbage bins that have throw-away food
__bail someone out of jail
__physically fight and defend myself
__get a gun, even if I have a police record
__keep my clothes from being stolen at the Laundromat
__sniff out problems in a used car
__live without a checking account
__manage without electricity and a phone
__entertain friends with just my personality and stories
__get by when I don't have money to pay the bills
__move in half a day
__get and use food stamps
__find free medical clinics
__get around without a car
__use a knife as scissors

Could you survive in middle class? Check each item that applies.
I know how to...

__get my children into Little League, piano lessons, and soccer
__set a table properly
__find stores that sell the clothing brands my family wears
__order comfortably in a nice restaurant
__use a credit card, checking and/or savings account
__evaluate insurance: life, disability, 20/80 medical, homeowners, and personal-property
__talk to my children about going to college
__get the best interest rate on my car loan
__explain the differences among the principal, interest, and escrow statements on my house payment
__help my children with homework and don't hesitate to make a call if I need more information
__decorate the house for each holiday
__get a library card
__use the different tools in the garage
__repair items in my house almost immediately after they break, or I know a repair service and call it

Could you survive in wealth? Check each item if you...

__can read a menu in French, English, and another language
__have favorite restaurants in different countries around the world
__know how to hire a professional decorator to help decorate my home during the holidays
__can name your preferred financial advisor, lawyer, designer, hairdresser, and domestic-employment service
__have at least two homes that are staffed and maintained
__know how to ensure confidentiality and loyalty with domestic staff
__use two or three "screens" that keep people whom you don't wish to see away from you
__fly in your own plane or the company plane
__know how to enroll your children in the preferred private schools
__are on the boards of at least two charities
__know the hidden rules of the Junior League
__support or buy the work of a particular artist
__know how to read a corporate balance sheet and analyze your own financial statements

Challenging rigid state law ( MA degree and licensure)

One of my coworkers has been battling a terrible predicament the last two weeks; it is quite alarming. She is wanting to move back to her home state of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has been tirelessly working on getting mental health licensure in the state of Pennsylvania. She thought everything was taken care of, until she was informed that PA would NOT accept the credits she obtained from her Master's degree at S.U. (can you believe it?!?!)....thus, she currently doesn't qualify for a Mental Health Counselor license in PA. Did I mention she found this out after she had already put in her notice to resign from our employer?! Her job has already been officially offered to someone internally, so there's no way she can keep her current job here.

She just found out a few days ago, however, that there may be a bill in the works to challenge this archaic and ridiculous policy. Please, if you feel so inclined, read below what she wrote and contact Pennsylvania senators on her behalf. Contact before 9/27/11. The Senate Standing Committee will be having a meeting to vote on this House Bill on 9/27/11, and again on 10/18/11. http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/CO/SM/COSM.HTM

I have included the letter I wrote to a Senator near Scranton, PA at the bottom as well. If this can/is happening in one state, you can bet it's a licensing requirement that may be affecting mental health therapists' ability to get licenses/be able to work in other states in the U.S. as well. It's hard enough trying to figure out reciprocity state by state for our profession, but let's all at LEAST get on the same page about recognizing Master's degrees from accredited universities. The mental health counseling profession as a national system needs to give deserved respect and equal opportunity for licensure to individuals from ANY state in the United States of America who have put their blood, sweat, and tears into meeting the rigorous and often far-reaching standards the profession demands from its clinicians.

Here's what coworker/friend wrote:

CALLING ALL PA RESIDENTS (and even you non-PA residents can help out)!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!!! As some of you know I am hitting a serious roadblock in trying to be licensed as a Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania. Basically, the state will not recognize my Master's Degree in Counseling from S.U. because it is 4 credits short of the PA requirement. As the law is written right now, I would have to go back to school for a whole new Master's degree or pursue a doctorate in order to be licensed in PA. HOWEVER, there is a House bill, which if passed by the Senate, will modify the licensure requirements in PA. I would be allowed to go back to school and get the additional credits I need to supplement my existing degree...yay!!

It is House Bill 816. I am asking you to PLEASE take a few minutes out of your busy day and contact your local Senator. Just go to the link below (http://www.legis.state.pa.us/) and in the upper right-hand corner, you can enter your address and find out who your local Senator is. You can also enter HB 816 to see the details of the bill. It doesn't really matter who you contact, as long as we make it LOUD and CLEAR to several different Senators to vote YES on HB #816. Feel free to contact more than one because we need as many Senators as possible to vote YES on HB #816. Please pass this on to as many of your family and friends as possible!! We have to get this bill passed!!!

Thank you all.... this means a lot to the R & I families!!! It will allow C. and I to move home to Pittsburgh and be near the ones we love. It will also allow me to work and make a living in my chosen profession of counseling.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly www.legis.state.pa.us

Here's my letter:

Senator Blake,

I am writing to you in regards to House Bill #816, which would enable extremely competent, experienced and educated individuals seeking residency in Pennsylvania to practice in their chosen field as professional counselors and therapists.

Although I am not a resident of your state, Pennsylvania is my colleague SRI's home state. She and I have worked together for the last 3 years. I have had the opportunity to work very closely with her during this time and I can say with absolute certainty she stands out to me as an intelligent, competent, compassionate, and tenacious clinician. She had recently made plans to move back to Pennsylvania, however, she is unable to obtain licensure there as the current law stands. The state of Pennsylvania would be suffering a great loss by not allowing her to obtain licensure, particularly the mentally ill clients she could provide much needed services to throughout her career.

As Chapter 49 of the Pennsylvania Code is currently written, individuals who received master's degrees from institutions that did not require 72, quarter-hour semester credits have been denied license reciprocity by the Pennsylvania Department of Health regardless of the fact that these individuals have degrees from accredited institutions and, in most cases, have been practicing in the field of mental health counseling for many years.

Unfortunately, the only recourse for these individuals who desire to move to this Commonwealth is to either abandon their chosen profession and education that they have worked so hard to achieve, or to start from scratch to obtain yet another master's degree in this Commonwealth. The current law does not even permit these individuals to enroll in academic institutions to obtain the additional credits needed to achieve the requisite 72, quarter-hour semester credits for license reciprocity. Typically, only four (4), additional quarter-semester credits would be needed.

House Bill # 816 will remedy this situation, which is why I am urging you to vote "YES" on House Bill # 816. The passing of this Bill will not only help rejuvenate an aging workforce, but it will also bring to this Commonwealth the type of individuals whose education and skill can benefit our society as a whole.

I thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.