CALL FOR PRESENTERS: "Runnin' on Empty:

What Do You Do When You Haven't Got a Clue – Innovative Ideas and Solutions for New and Old Problems"

We are accepting proposals for 1 1/2 and 2 hour Workshops and 4 hour Institutes.  Deadline EXTENDED to Thursday, September 15, 2022.

Has it occurred to you that these “turbulent times” now seem to be the new “normal”? The practice of family law has historically been challenging for members of the judiciary, attorneys, and mental health professions. Adding to a COVID pandemic that just won’t go away are strains on families resulting from rapid increases in the costs of living and economic uncertainty, persistent political and racial turmoil, vast changes in our climate and an increasingly polarized red and blue nation. These factors have compounded the difficulties we face as family law professionals.

Sixty years and counting with AFCC we face many of the same and recurring problems we faced at our founding while facing new challenges brought on by the complexities of new family structures, gender identity, sexual orientation, increasingly nuanced and expanded definitions of domestic violence, and uncertain changes in the right to control our bodies and obtain appropriate health care, among other issues. Our children, families and friends face these increasingly complex problems with fewer and more expensive resources available to help. What new ideas and approaches can we discuss, explore and apply to the problems we all now face? We are called to be collaborative and creative in our efforts to improve the lives of families, children and communities.

With the foregoing in mind, the focus of the 2023 California conference – “Runnin’ On Empty: What to Do When You Haven’t Got a Clue” – aims at:

  1. Cutting edge and creative solutions to the increasingly difficult times in which we practice.
  2. Opportunities for engagement and partnerships with other professionals (e.g., police, physicians, clergy) who are the first to be involved with domestic abuse, a deteriorating adult relationship, or inappropriate parental practices.
  3. Examining alternative interventions and therapies for issues ranging from resist-refusal issues to mental health issues to unique and challenging treatment of alcohol, drug and other addictions to dealing with the epidemic of domestic violence and other conditions which impact the ability to parent children.
  4. Engaging conference participants in the exchange of ideas and practices.
  5. Developing practices to protect professionals from burnout.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Access to Justice and Serving the Needs of Underserved Communities
  • Cultural Diversity Issues in Family Law
  • The Voices of Children – In and Out of the Courtroom
  • Intimate Partner Violence – Definition and Treatment
  • Assessing Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse
  • Innovations in Family Dispute Resolution Outside of Court
  • Parent-Child Relations and Gender Identity Issues
  • Unique Issues in Blended Families
  • Challenges in International and Interstate Custody Disputes
  • New Treatments for Addiction – Drug, Alcohol, Sex and Other Maladies
  • Using – and Challenging – Research in Family Law Courts
  • Mental Health for Lawyers, Judges and Mental Health Professionals – Keeping Your Cool When Everyone Else is Losing Their’s
  • New Tools and Educational Innovations
  • Effective Means and Techniques for Mediating Family and Custody Dispute
  • Child Custody Evaluation, Minor’s Interviews and Related Assessment Methods, Benefits and Limitations
  • Artificial Intelligence and the Courts in Family Law Matters
  • Bench Officer Training
  • Community Alliances – Mental Health Professionals Working with Hospitals, Schools, Religious Centers and Places of Worship, School Administrators and Teachers and Law Enforcement
  • The Intersection of Faith and Family Law

Download the Call For Presenters PDF for full submission guidelines and instructions.

Submit Your Proposal Here

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