Supported by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's Campaign for America's Kids (CFAK), Life Members Fund, and John E. Schowalter Endowment Fund.

*The award is discretionary and subject to funding availability.

Application Deadline: June 27, 2025

Program Description

The EOP provides the opportunity for child and adolescent psychiatry residents to receive a formal overview to the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, establish child and adolescent psychiatrists as mentors and experience the 2025 AACAP Annual Meeting, October 20 – 25, 2025. Participants will be exposed to the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, including research opportunities, access to mentors, and various networking opportunities. Participation in this program provides a reimbursable post-meeting award stipend of up to $1,200.

Program Benefits

• A post-meeting payment of $1,200 to attend the 2025 AACAP Annual Meeting.
• Participation in various AACAP Annual Meeting events for residents, including mentorship program(s), academic/networking sessions, an awards breakfast program and focus groups.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be enrolled in a residency program in the United States at the time of the AACAP Annual Meeting in October 2025; residents in their first or second year of child fellowship training as of July 2025 are eligible.
• Triple Boarders at the PGY4 or PGY5 level, and Pediatric Portal Pathway residents at the PGY4 plus level, as of July 2025 are also eligible.
• Participants must either be members of the AACAP or have a membership application pending at the time of application.
• Participants must attend all Annual Meeting events specified by AACAP, during the dates of Tuesday thru Friday of the meeting, and are required to sign up as an Annual Meeting monitor.
• While past Educational Outreach Program awardees are eligible to apply, priority will be given to first time applicants.

Application Process

• Use the online awards system to complete your application and to upload your Curriculum Vitae, a personal statement, and a letter of shared funding support from a local institution.
• Curriculum Vitae;
• Personal statement articulating a compelling reason for wanting to attend the Annual Meeting;
  • In about 500 words (preferably no more than one page), share the origins of your interest in child and adolescent psychiatry, along with a clear description of why you wish to attend the Annual Meeting, and how it will be beneficial to your professional development and career goals. Please include how you plan to navigate the meeting; the program schedule, which will be available during the month of June, allows you to search programming via date, session type or committee sponsored sessions. If you are presenting, please provide a brief description of your role, title and program event type, including with whom you are presenting, if applicable. Additionally, if you have attended the meeting previously, indicate how this opportunity allows you to build on past experience. Lastly, include why it is important to attend the meeting this year.
• Training Verification and Endorsement
  Your CAP Fellowship Program Director must also upload a completed form indicating good standing from your training program, along with a letter of support; the applicant enters the program director contact information in the online application, and clicks the button to send a notification to the Program Director. [Note: If you are just starting your fellowship in July 2025 and the program director of your program is not sufficiently familiar with your work to provide a recommendation,  have the program director or a faculty mentor from you current program complete a letter of support.]
  • The letter should indicate how long the faculty member or mentor has known the applicant and in what capacity. In describing the candidate, it would be helpful for the letter to address the applicant’s training, qualifications, accomplishments, interest in the child and adolescent psychiatry specialty, motivation for this award, and the potential benefits of the candidate attending the Annual Meeting, as appropriate.
• Please see complete detailed instructions on the online awards system by clicking on the link below.

Letter of Shared Funding (Optional for Virtual Meetings)

For in-person Annual Meetings, a letter of shared funding is required for 2025 application submissions. Applicants must submit a Letter of Shared Funding that includes the following:

• The name of the sponsoring institution/program;
• The total dollar amount that will be provided to the trainee (minimum cost-share amount of $300);
• A statement indicating that documentation proving receipt of shared funding payment by the trainee will be sent to AACAP by the institution/program;
• A signature on behalf of the institution/program by an authorized signer, indicating financial responsibility for the amount indicated.

Generally, applicants secure shared funding through their training program or regional organization. 

Selection Process

Administrative Review - Applications will be vetted for completeness. The candidate must be eligible and have submitted application materials in accordance with the requirements. Incomplete applications will not be assigned for further review.

Selection Committee - Completed applications will undergo a review process by selection committee, which consists of AACAP’s Training and Education Committee, as well as AALI member volunteers. The panel will read applications and rate the following:

• Significance of the statement of interest and justification for wanting to attend the annual meeting.
  
  
• Candidate’s accomplishments as shared in their CV.
  
  
• Letter of Recommendation in support of the candidate’s selection for the meeting, including key information on how the candidate has performed in their training program(s) and future potential.

The panel convenes to finalize the selection of the candidates. Generally, a large number of application submissions makes the selection highly competitive. Current funding for this award severely limits the possibility of selecting more than one individual per institution. Overall, the selection is multifactorial taking into account the candidate's score as well as equity and geographic distribution [institutional, region, state]. Preference is given to first-time meeting attendees or individuals that have not received the award previously.

The completed application and attachments must be submitted by June 27, 2025

For more information contact the AACAP Department of Research, Workforce and Grants at 202-587-9663, or training@aacap.org.

AACAP reserves the right to waive liabilities.