Inland Empire Chapter of CAMFT

Proposed Dues Increase: Furthering Progress and Managing Increasing Business Costs

At the March, 2014 Board Meeting, the CAMFT Board of Directors voted to recommend a dues increase to the general membership. The Board directed staff to provide members with an explanation of the need for a dues increase and solicit member comment for discussion at the September, 2014 Board of Directors meeting.

CAMFT is an association that revolves around two primary themes: 1) the advancement of marriage and family therapy as an art, a science and a mental health profession, and 2) the advancement of the common business interests of its members.  

The increased costs of maintaining CAMFT’s strong infrastructure, member benefits, and programs call for additional dues income. Despite very frugal management of finances, CAMFT’s operating costs increase by approximately three percent annually without a corresponding increase in revenue. An increase in membership dues is necessary to keep pace with inflation, sustain progress, and facilitate new projects to further advance the professional interests of members.

CAMFT has not raised dues in four years for clinical members, and three years for associate and prelicensed members. The Board will consider a modest annual escalation of dues planned over a five-year period. (Please see the chart below for the proposed dollar amounts.)

As a result of the last dues increase, the following services and benefits were implemented to increase the value to your membership:

• Additional staff to answer members’ questions regarding business, legal and ethical issuesundefinedthe number of questions CAMFT’s legal department handles increases annually. On average, the legal team receives approximately 25,000 calls per year. CAMFT has been able to add two legal staff members to accommodate the increased call volume and to continue to provide the same quality service with minimal wait times for members.
  
  

• $5 Rebate for Renewing Early Online – this feature was added in 2012 and has provided members over $56,000 in rebates to date. The online renewal offers members convenience and removes administrative burden from staff to handle other member issues.
  
  

• Free professional liability insurance for graduate student membersundefinedto support the journey to licensure, CAMFT partnered with CPH and Associates to provide this member benefit at no cost to prelicensed student members.
  
  

• Enhanced Professional Development Opportunitiesundefinednew opportunities include an on-demand learning system that offers online opportunities to fulfill CE requirements, and increased offerings of targeted live and online events on hot topics such as CPT Codes, DSM-5, supervision, and law and ethics.
  
  

• EBSCOhost Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection™undefineda powerful online research service that provides access to full-text articles from nearly 600 journals. The Collection allows members to search for peer-reviewed information pertaining to professional interests, whether clinically-driven, personally-motivated, or research-oriented.
  
  

• The Legislative Action Center undefinedan online advocacy program that provides members with up-to-date information on relevant pieces of legislation and provides the tools members need to become active in the legislative process. This program allows CAMFT to send email alerts and advocacy messages to members and key legislators at the state and national level.
  
  

If adopted by a three-quarters vote of the Board (pursuant to CAMFT Bylaws, Article VIII, Section B), CAMFT member dues will increase on January 1, 2015, and thereafter, as noted in the chart below.

Proposed Dues Increase

CAMFT is eager to provide excellent service and benefits to the membership. The Board welcomes your comments about the decision to raise member dues before voting on this plan. Click here to share your thoughts on this proposal by Monday, August 18, 2014. Your valuable feedback will be shared with the Board at its September meeting.