On June 17, President Obama announced his intent to nominate six new members to the National Science Board (NSB), including current COSSA President James Jackson, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, and Robert Groves, former Director of the Census Bureau and provost at  Georgetown University.  Drs. Jackson and Groves will be sworn in for six year terms at the August Board meeting.    

The National Science Board is the policy making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and also advises the President and Congress on federal policy issues impacting science and engineering. COSSA congratulates Dr. Jackson and Dr. Groves on this prestigious appointment and looks forward to their contributions as members of the Board on behalf of the social and behavioral science community.   

In terms of similarities between the proposals, both plans call for financial counselling, a single income-based student loan repayment program, expanding the availability of Pell Grants, and overhauling teacher training programs. The differences, however, are likely to cause significant partisan problems during debate. For instance, the proposals disagree on the role of the federal government in regard to the rising cost of college. The Republican plan, which would limit the Education Department's regulations in higher education, is at odds with the Administration's recent push to create a college ratings system which is also implemented in Harkin's bill. Notably left out in the Senate proposal is Senator Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) recent attempt to allow borrowers with older loans to refinance at current rates. This would have been a major point of contention in future debate. 

In a statement, Tester said the "history of Native languages in this country is one of great tragedy and triumph. Through decades of failed federal policy, Native languages have been pushed to the brink of extinction. Yet many survive and in fact thrive, thanks to the tireless work of Native educators and others." The committee released a statement saying that "Tribal leaders testifying before the Committee supported both the Native Language Immersion Student Achievement Act and the Native American Languages Reauthorization Act of 2014. Both bills have bipartisan support." 

Nominations, consisting of the nominee's name, resume, a completed form AD-755 ("Advisory Committee Membership Background Information"), in addition to any letters of support, must be submitted by July 18. See the Federal Register notice for more information. 

For more information on the committee and application instructions, see the full announcement here. The deadline for applications is July 17, 2014. 

The Council is seeking candidates who are "distinguished (1) in the conduct of research, demonstration projects, and evaluations with respect to health care; (2) in the fields of health care quality research or health care improvement; (3) in the practice of medicine; (4) in other health professions; (5) in representing the private health care sector (including health plans, providers, and purchasers) or administrators of health care delivery systems; (6) in the fields of health care economics, information systems, law, ethics, business, or public policy; and, (7) in representing the interests of patients and consumers of health care."

Nominations are due before August 16, 2014. More information is available in the Federal Register. 

Easton provided an update on fiscal year (FY) 2014 funding for IES. In the current fiscal year, IES has awarded $41.1 million in new grants, $110 million in continuing awards, and $30 million for dissemination activities. The majority of the new awards have gone toward education research, which accounts for 49 grants totaling $27.3 million.

However, as has been noted in previous NBES meetings, the levels of funding appropriated to IES have been insufficient for supporting all highly-rated, qualified grants. So far this fiscal year, 32 grants that were deemed "excellent" could not be funded, and only 73.3 percent of eligible grants received funding. This is still an improvement over FY 2013, when only 60 percent of grants were funded. The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) has had a much tougher time in terms of funding, though. The NCSER is unable to fund any grants in FY 2014 due to inadequate funding, but they hope to fund two research competitions in FY 2015. 

The Panel made 21 recommendations dealing with the overall design of the NCS, proposed supplemental samples for the NCS; the loss of opportunity to recruit more prenatal cases if the preconception group is retained; the importance of beginning data collection during the prenatal period; probability sample design, size, and composition; content and visit schedule; release of the data; field costs; and leadership of the NCS.

Following the release of the NAS report, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins released a statement indicating that he was putting the Main Study on hold, "effective immediately, in order to determine the best path forward." Read on for more details. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA), Research on Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (PA-14-244) to encourage epidemiological, clinical, and translational research that will increase the understanding of the natural history, prevalence, biological mechanisms, psychological variables, and clinical risk factors responsible for the presence of multiple pain conditions in people with pain.

Participating NIH institutes, centers, and offices include the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), Nursing (NINR), and the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).

Additional information is available on the NIH's website. 

Darla Spence Coffey, Council on Social Work Education, welcomed attendees and moderated a panel discussion that focused on how the expertise of social workers can be an asset in integrating behavioral and mental health services into primary care. Coffey pointed out that a majority of mental health professionals in the U.S. are social workers. Victoria Stanhope, New York University (NYU) Silver School of Social Work, asserted that the core values of social work - self-determination, an environmental approach, focus on relationships and community, and commitment to social justice - make social workers uniquely positioned to lead the shift towards integrated care. Virna Little, Institute for Family Health, spoke from her experience working at a federally qualified community health center (FQHC) and suggested that the social workers' training gives them the flexibility to be able to play the many roles needed in an integrated care setting.

David Johnson, WellPoint Insurance, gave a payer's perspective. He noted that a lot of integrated care centers are funded by grants and donations, limiting the staying power of these resources. Furthermore, many insurance companies separate payments for mental health from primary care. State regulations regarding billing codes also present a barrier to holistic care. Johnson argued that care cannot be truly integrated if funding for it is segmented. Alexander Ross, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), highlighted some of the resources HRSA provides for social workers looking to work in integrated care, such as the National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarships and loan repayments to social workers who practice in underserved communities; training offered by the Bureau of Health Workforce for mental health service providers who work with at-risk youth and high-demand populations; and resources and models for states to implement integrated care offered by the Center for Integrated Health Solutions (a collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).