The American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s Government Affairs & Clinical Practice Department hosts the AACAP Resident Advocacy Scholar, a four-week elective experience in Washington, D.C., designed to allow current or rising child and adolescent psychiatry fellows to experience the political, legislative, and regulatory factors that affect the delivery of patient care.

During the fellowship, the Resident Advocacy Scholar will achieve comprehensive understanding of health care policy and politics, gain first-hand experience of a political environment, assist in day-to-day activities in AACAP’s Government Affairs and Clinical Practice Department, help craft policy statements, create specific research projects, and explore and report on new law and policy changes affecting child and adolescent psychiatrists. During the fellowship, the Resident Advocacy Scholar will be supervised by AACAP’s Chief of Advocacy and Practice Transformation.

This fellowship is ideal for a trainee interested in advocating for children’s mental health, learning more about mental health policy and legislation, and further understanding what is occurring in the political realm in both the state and national levels.

This fellowship requires the Resident Advocacy Scholar to be in Washington, D.C., for up to four weeks, and to secure his or her own housing, if necessary. A stipend of $1,500 is provided to offset living expenses.

If interested in applying to the 2024 cohort, please submit a one-page statement of interest, updated CV, letter of recommendation from an AACAP member, and a letter of support from your program director by Friday, September 29, 2023. Please send these documents and any questions to bmelano@aacap.org.

Learn more about this program by reading the first-hand experiences of recent AACAP Resident Advocacy Scholars published in AACAP News.