USLCA Releases Model Licensure Bill to State Committees
Your Board of Directors is grateful for the work on IBCLC licensure in which so many of you are engaged. The development of Lactation Consultant Practice Acts within your own states is a challenging endeavor. We know that our licensure teams work with integrity and have the best interest of families and their IBCLC colleagues at the center of their licensure policy agenda. As your Licensure Committee Chair, Judy Gutowski, so appropriately articulates, "Licensure is vital to expand access to IBCLC care for families. Licensure also provides the framework for job opportunities and reimbursement for those achieving the IBCLC designation." Our goal is licensure of the IBCLC in every state and territory of the United States!
In an effort to provide a backbone to your licensure work, USLCA is releasing a model bill. The bill is available to all USLCA members here. Our hope is that this bill will help to guide each state through the process.
If you have questions about the bill or wish to get involved please contact our licensure committee chair, Judy Gutowski at licensurecommittee@uslca.org.
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Looking Toward New Horizons in Clinical Lactation
Our eyes are on the horizon. We await the coming year with anticipation and resolve. We are thinking, planning, and listening to be sure we remain focused on our mission: ensuring that families have access to IBCLC care for a lifetime of optimal health and wellness.
We can't predict every detail of what the future has in store for those who work in the lactation field, but we can continue our work to advocate for the IBCLC in every way. The past year has been filled with important and significant achievements: Georgia joined Rhode Island in having US legislation passed for IBCLC licensure, we've created a Mentoring Task Force to assist in the work of advocating and supporting those who want to help aspiring IBCLCs meet their goals, our Board has worked tirelessly and with dignity to represent the interests of the IBCLC in the national and international conversations on breastfeeding, and we've planned a conference for 2017 that will be unique and memorable.
To top it off, USLCA has created a model licensure bill to streamline the work of our state licensure committees. Each state licensure committee has received access to the bill and the support they need to continue working in earnest toward the future of IBCLC licensure.
While we celebrate the end of the year holidays and spend time holding our loved ones near, we are thankful for the support and strength of our members. We look forward to the New Horizons in Clinical Lactation Conference and to seeing friends, old and new, gathered together in one place for one purpose: to enrich the practice and the life of the IBCLC.
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Membership in Your Professional Association
We keep our members' needs and wants foremost in our work and in our plans. Our members are the reason we exist, and we want you, our members, to feel valued, to be recognized, and to feel that your membership dollars bring you incredible benefits. As your professional association and the ONLY organization working to advocate for the IBCLC® in the United States, we work diligently on your behalf. USLCA offers unmatched member benefits. With this in mind, we have worked this past year to add benefits like 8 free CERPs per year, an affinity program that saves you money on products and services you already buy, updated professional advocacy documents, a Member Marketplace where you can advertise your services and products to other members, and an optimized and mobile-ready website that works better for you AND is designed to appear higher in online searches.
We work hard to keep costs down. We offer multiple levels of membership. We have annual and monthly payment options, making USLCA membership even easier on your budget.
Current Membership Rates:
Contributing Professional* $109/year
Monthly* $9/month
Individual* $85/person
Retired IBCLC $50/person
Group $75/person (Group of 5 or more)
Student $43/person
You might find that you can easily build a group of 5 for group membership by gathering colleagues in your practice group, your WIC site, your hospital lactation team, your local breastfeeding coalition, or any other network of lactation professionals you know!
Click Here to Join, Renew, or Learn More!
*If your membership is set up for auto renewal, the current rates will be reflected on your renewal date.
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Have you saved the dates? #NewHorizons in Clinical Lactation is the theme of our May 3-6, 2017 USLCA Conference.
We're supporting today's IBCLC® with the latest research, techniques, and concepts to help advance your practice! We're busy lining up excellent plenary speakers, fascinating breakout sessions, and great networking activities and opportunities.
Follow #USLCA17 and #NewHorizons on Facebook and Twitter for updates on the conference!
Registration information will be coming soon! Member DIscounts will be available, so be sure your membership is active.
The conference will be held at a beautiful resort in the Hill Country of Texas, just outside San Antonio. The resort has amenities like a golf course, wave pool, bicycles to ride on the bicycle paths, fitness center, pools and hot tubs, a full-service spa, and excellent dining options. There are great kids' club options which are all free! There's so much to do for you and your traveling companions, you may not want to leave! |
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Where Can I Find That Document About IBCLCs?
Do you write policies, scholarly articles, or blogs about lactation? Do you often ask yourself "Now where can I find something that demonstrates the efficacy of the IBCLC?" Do you ever need a quick reference about how best to represent what an IBCLC does?
Well, wonder no more! Here are some quick reminders about how to find the great information you need to get the job done!
- USLCA has many excellent, referenced documents regarding the purpose and efficacy of the IBCLC and licensure of the IBCLC. Each document is fully referenced with citations you can use. Think of the references as a list of documents to which you can then refer for additional helpful resources. For example, the USLCA publication "Efficacy of the IBCLC: Recommendations and Evidence" contains 50 references! You can read and download USLCA's publications by clicking here
- As a member (any level, including student) you have access to the entire archive of the journal Clinical Lactation! This journal has long been a rich resource filled with references to how IBCLCs practice, their effects on the care of breastfeeding families, and excellent explanations of how best to utilize the services of an IBCLC. The Clinical Lactation site is accessible through the USLCA website and is a completely searchable database. Click here to access the Clinical Lactation site.
- Set yourself a Google Alert on the term "IBCLC" so you never miss a new piece of research or mention of the IBCLC in the popular news.
- If you find yourself in need of a document you can't seem to put a finger on, harness the power of social media by posting on our Facebook page. Ask your question and watch the lactation world lend a hand with suggestions and ideas!
Please share with us when your piece is published! Highlighting the efforts of IBCLCs in all areas of lactation is a key component to marketing the IBCLC and ensuring that the IBCLC is recognized as the national standard in clinical lactation care.
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What You Can Do to Help Advocate for the #IBCLC
Many of our members are active on social media networks, and they provide an excellent opportunity to market the IBCLC! Educate your network of friends and followers about the IBCLC, and use #IBCLC at the end of every post, tweet, pin, or gram to help others find it. When we see your post with #IBCLC at the end, we can share it, too! It's a great (and free!) way to educate the public and make new connections to advocate for our profession.
Questions? Email our Director of Marketing, Christine Staricka for help at Marketing@uslca.org.
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Holiday Hours
In observation of Christmas and New Year's, the USLCA office will be closing at 3 pm Eastern on Friday December 23 and reopening at 9 am Eastern on Monday January 2.
Closed December 24-January 1
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