HEADS UP: CHAPTER  APP  RECENTLY  UPDATED!

Please access the new forms that are posted on this page if you are applying to become a csj chapter.

Information is new as of early May, 2026. 

sTART   A   cHAPTER.

We are very excited about your commitment to the development of counseling as  social justice activism and your interest in forming a CSJ chapter. CSJ and the Membership Committee are committed to building an efficient and quality application process. This page describes the steps and how to get started.

Looking for an existing CSJ chapter? See our Connect: Chapters page for a directory.

Starting  ​ A   CSJ   Chapter

Interested in starting a CSJ Chapter in your state, or a student chapter at your college or university?
​Download our CSJ Chapter Toolkit for everything you need to start and maintain a chapter! (Important! the Toolkit references our prior requirements, which have recently been refreshed. The information in the Toolkit is still largely accurate, however please use the links and download the agreement from this page to complete your Chapter Application as of May 2026.)

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Here is the process for forming a Counselors for Social Justice chapter:

So you want to start a CSJ Chapter?

​Welcome to Counselors for Social Justice! We are excited that you have chosen to establish a student chapter of CSJ. As you begin we would like to orient you to the organization and some of our hopes for the future of social justice in the counseling field. Our online application will ask you to share your reasons for starting the chapter, so you may want to begin thinking through those answers now.

The online application will ask you these questions:

1. Purpose or Mission: Please describe what you seek to accomplish with this chapter or what you intend your focus to be initially. This can be a formal mission statement, or much more informal.
   
2. Why you, why now, why this group? Please give a few reasons or explanations of your motivations and what was behind your decision to start a chapter. Why is this the right time for your group to be doing this, or how did this idea come about for you?
   
3. Bios: Please offer two or three sentences each of background for your founding team. This can be very brief.
   

DOWNLOAD the welcome letter

Building a CSJ Chapter

Any successful movement has to be organized. Thus the questions; how do to pull like minds together to form an organization? We would like to invite the ACA community to help in creating a list of suggestions for activist organizational development. Here are a few suggestions to get started:

1. Host a lunch or an evening viewing and discussion of a video on social justice and counseling, followed by an introduction to starting a chapter. Here are a few videos that are on YouTube:
   • The devolution and evolution of the social justice counseling and advocacy movement
   • Using the ACA Advocacy, Multicultural, Social Justice and LGBTQIA Competencies
2. Host a panel discussion of counselors and social justice advocates in neighborhood groups to talk about the relationship between social injustice and counseling (e.g. Black Lives Matter), followed by an introduction to starting a chapter.
   
3. Partner with a local advocacy group to put on a forum related to social justice and mental health.

This website has resources available here that can be printed and used as literature on different subjects related to inequities in our society for which a CSJ chapter may want to organize around.

Guidelines FOR WRITING YOUR BYLAWS

Every chapter needs a document that captures organizing principles. ​Please use the following outline as a guide to complete your constitution and bylaws. (The terms "Constitution" and "Bylaws" are used interchangeably; you need have only one founding document and may call it either or both terms.) Your chapter constitution and bylaws must be in accordance with the National Counselors for Social Justice constitution and bylaws, policy statements, and mission statement, which can be found on the About page of this website.

The below outline is only suggested, and is meant to highlight some key points that will be required to be included. Please also refer to the Chapter Toolkit linked from the top of this page for more detailed guidance on what needs to go into your bylaws.

​Article I

​The official name of the organization. For example, for student chapters, ‘Counselors for Social Justice – <your university name>’ is recommended.

​Article II

​Mission Statement: A declaration of purpose of the proposed chapter of Counselors for Social Justice

Article III

​A statement of affiliation with the national Counselors for Social Justice organization. This section should include a provision stating that the policies, activities and finances of the organization are subject to the control of the majority of its voting membership. This is intended to clearly differentiate that while the chapter is established under the national Counselors for Social Justice organization, that it is operating as its own independent entity.

​Article IV

​The criteria for membership, including different membership levels if any. Must include a statement that official chapter members maintain membership in national CSJ.

Article V

​The criteria for voting membership. Example language for student chapters: Only university students, faculty and staff qualify as voting members, and three-fourths of the voting membership must be student members.

Article VI

​The duties and privileges of membership.

Article VII

​The establishment of officers, their duties, and authority.

Article VIII

​The procedures for selection and removal of officers (For student chapters, all officers must be current, regularly enrolled students in good academic standing at their universities; alumni and faculty advisors may not serve as officers).

Article IX

The frequency of meetings.

Article X

​Dues of the chapter if any, including how they will be collected and a provision stating that the policies, activities and finances of the organization are subject to the control of the majority of its voting membership. Note that the chapter may or may not have dues for its members, however membership in CSJ is required for the leaders of student chapters and for all members of state chapters.

It is also recommended to include a log of the document history at the bottom, which captures dates that the bylaws were originally ratified, as well as for any amendments. Please include the date that the bylaws or amendments were approved by CSJ National, which indicates when they go into effect.

Commitment

To maintain an active chapter status and be eligible for University Student Chapter membership rebates, the chapter will:

• Submit a Chapter Annual Report Form annually by May 31st. The form includes updated chapter information, accomplishments over the past year, and goals for the following year.
• Meet at least twice every year.
• Ensure that membership requirements in the national Counselors for Social Justice National organization are met.
• For University Chapters, have, at all times, a designated Faculty Advisor. The University Student Chapter Faculty Advisor must be full time faculty of the school and a member of CSJ.
• Comply with CSJ Bylaws, policies, and procedures as set by the CSJ Board.

These are all captured in the Chapter Agreement that is signed between CSJ and the chapter.  Chapters found to be out of compliance with the specific chapter agreement at any time may be removed from our active directory as inactive, and will be ineligible to participate in CSJ programs. 

Chapter Liaison
In addition, CSJ requests that at least one of the members of the CSJ chapter be active on a CSJ National committee. This is meant to facilitate engagement between chapters and National, to support communication, and to open up further activities in collaboration. Chapter Liaisons will get connected with CSJ National Committees in the summer each year, in order to participate through our most active seasons which maps to the academic year.

DEVELOP YOUR APPLICATION MATERIALS
An application consists of:

1. Your chapter's proposed Bylaws (see above Guidelines for Writing Your Bylaws) - this document will be uploaded to the online application, Word file preferred.
   
2. Chapter Charter Agreement signed by your founding officer (and Faculty Advisor, if a School Chapter) - download the Agreement below.
   
3. The online Chapter Application form, which asks for your leadership roster (5 officers recommended, smaller teams considered) including their CSJ member ID #s, and requests answers to a few questions about your rationale for starting this chapter, which are listed above in the Getting Started section and can be reviewed on the Chapter Application Form

DOWNLOAD CHAPTER CHARTER AGREEMENT

SUBMIT CHAPTER APPLICATION FORM

Application Review Process
After your application has been received, it will be reviewed by our Chapters Subcommittee for completion, including verification of CSJ membership for all leaders, and review of your Bylaws to ensure that they comply with the CSJ Bylaws. When the application packet is ready, the Chapters Subcommittee Chair will submit it to the CSJ Board of Directors for review and approval. The Board meets once a month, and this entire process typically requires about two months once the application has been submitted.
Approval and Compliance
Once approved, your chapter will receive confirmation of your chapter as active. Each approval is for a one-year period, and will be automatically renewed provided that the chapter stay in compliance per the requirements listed in the Commitment section above.

maintaining   a   Chapter

In order to maintain the affiliation as a CSJ Chapter:

1. Membership in the CSJ National organization must be maintained by the chapter's members
2. The chapter must complete an Annual Report by May 31 to provide updated information about your chapter, your accomplishments, and your goals. Instructions for submitting your chapter's Annual Report are emailed to all leadership contacts associated with your chapter. If you have not received your email by May 5, please reach out to [email protected]
   
3. Any changes to the chapter's bylaws must be submitted to the Membership Committee at [email protected]  as soon as they are finalized by the chapter. The CSJ Board must vote and approve the changes before they can go info effect for the chapter
4. Increased engagement through a Chapter Liaison. The CSJ Board has requested that at least one member of your chapter participate on a committee at the National level, in order to build community, facilitate communication, and further our mutual goals. Chapter Liaisons will go through a quick orientation and get assignments to their CSJ committees in the summer.
   

Even chapters that have gone inactive are required to please submit the Annual Report by May 31 each year in order to stay in good standing with your chapter charter.  Again, please email [email protected] if you need assistance with the Annual Report submission.

We also request that you promptly inform us of updated contact information so that we can always be in touch with your chapter.

CHECK  OUT  WHAT  CSJ  CHAPTERS  DID  IN  2024!

Download the CSJ Membership Committee Year-End Report for 2024 here.
Questions about the Membership Committee - or, are you a CSJ member looking to get more involved? Reach out to us at [email protected].

 TIPS  FROM  PAST  CHAPTER  LEADERS

From Frannie Neal, University of arizona

Find local organizations interested in similar social justice issues, and collaborate with them. Create effective marketing strategies (via social media, newsletters, email listserv, and other methods) to disseminate important information to membership. Find engaged university advisers who are willing to help. Create sustainability practices to ensure smooth leadership transitions. 

From Rachel White, Wright State

My biggest tip for new chapters is to expect to do a TON of work the first year and to have very engaged faculty advisors. Another tip is to make sure you immediately become a university/college organization. There are so many university resources that we couldn't touch until we were officially recognized. I think another good tip is to get really involved with any local counseling groups to begin networking in the field before you graduate. I've already been tapped to be President Elect of our local Counseling Association because of being involved with the Chapter and the group. I went to them as a student to say "how can we help you all in the field?" and it's just blossomed into opportunities I never would have imagined.  

FROM BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY

Collaborate with other organizations on campus with similar interests and hold officer meetings monthly or at least check in by email monthly. This is a student chapter of CSJ involved in bullying reduction trainings at middle schools, therapeutic boarding program, LGBTQ safe zone training, recruiting counseling students to attend film screenings related to social justice issues, working with the homeless population in Boise, participated in the NAMI walk, helping with the “dreamers” campaign (supporting children of undocumented  residents in Idaho who have to pay out of state tuition even though they have resided in Idaho their entire lives), and are beginning to meet with Idaho Legislators through the Idaho Counseling Association.

connect  with  csj

Join CSJ on social media @CSJNational and join our community on ACA Connect!

Still got questions? Email [email protected]