The Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health (COPACFH) is composed of AAP Fellows who are primary care pediatricians and subspecialists with expertise and interests in developmental and behavioral pediatrics. Committee issues include divorce, parenting practices, use of psychotropic medications, violence prevention, childhood behavior problems, and access to mental health services. The Committee provides guidance to pediatricians and families through policy statements published in Pediatrics and the media.
Committee Members
Arwa Abdulhaq Nasir, MBBS, MSc, MPH, FAAP
Chair
Omaha, NE
Beth Ellen Davis, MD, MPH, FAAP
Charlottesville, VA
Evelyn Berger-Jenkins, MD, FAAP
White Plains, NY
Paul H Dworkin, MD, FAAP
Hartford, CT
Tiffani Jenae Johnson, MD, FAAP
Sacramento, CA
Irène Mathieu, MD, MPH, FAAP
Charlottesville, VA
Natasha Kapoor Sriraman MD, MPH, FABM, FAAP
Virginia Beach, VA
Zoë Warczak, MD
Liaison, Section on Pediatric Trainees
Sprinfield, MA
Kathleen Hobson Davis, LSW
Family Liaison
Chagrin Falls, OH
Abigail Boden Schlesinger, MD
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Wexford, PA
Terry Stancin, PhD, ABPP
Liaison, Society of Pediatric Psychology
Cleveland, OH
Anne Debattista
Liaison, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Palo Alto, CA
Heather Fraser
National Association of Social Workers Liaison
Chicago, IL
History
On April 16, 1931, the Executive Board established the Committee on Mental Hygiene to study the psychiatric problems of children. The Committee addressed not only obvious mental health problems, but also difficulties that children faced in adjusting to changing circumstances in the family. In 1939, it became the Committee on Mental Health. When the AAP established Sections in the late 40s, the Committee sought to establish a Section on Mental Growth and Development. The Executive Board agreed to this and in 1948, the Committee became the Section Executive Committee for the Section on Mental Growth and Development.
In 1958, the Section was discontinued and a Committee on Child Development was established to address the concerns of the Section. The Committee reemerged in 1960 as the Section on Child Development. In 1988, it became the Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. During the 50s, 60s, and 70s, the Section in its various formats, addressed the concerns of child development and childhood mental health.
In 1980, the Board approved establishing a new committee on behavioral pediatrics and the family.
The Committee changed its name to the Provisional Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health and had its first official meeting in October 1980. In 1982, the Committee became a standing committee as it remains today.