Search Results

COMMUNITY QUEST You are receiving this message because AAML, AFCC-MN, and the Family Law League have all come together to support a major initiative for our community. Community Quest is a unique growth opportunity for members of the family law community in Minnesota to develop and deepen intercultural competence - both personally and professionally. We believe that ongoing growth and skill development can better support our ability to navigate conflicts and unintended impact, and to proactively create an even more inclusive professional environment for people who work in this field. You may have heard a bit about Community Quest from members of our Pilot Group, or at Divorce Camp. Registration is now open, and we encourage you to sign up as soon as possible. If you're ready to register, CLICK HERE  Keep reading to learn more...  What is the Quest? To help ensure our community of family law professionals in Minnesota is welcoming, respectful, and safe for practitioners from different disciplines, cultures, and perspectives. To support introspection and self-awareness within individuals and organizations in our professional community, and to encourage awareness of how our own actions, attitudes and beliefs affect others and affect our community overall To continue to develop individual and institutional skills to engage curiosity about ourselves and others to be more intentional and effective our work with one another as well as with our clients To promote ongoing exploration of ways to improve our collective ability to bridge difference, and to enhance a sense of dignity and belonging within the family law community. Who should participate? You! Particularly if you are: Invested in helping make our professional community better Curious about how to be more effective at bridging differences of all kinds Ready to learn more about yourself and how you show up for others Eager to build new skills to support better outcomes with people who have experiences and perspectives that are different than yours. Why is this program different than other DEI things I've done? Here's what members of the pilot group have to say: “After so many trainings/presentations I left with the feeling of wow that's amazing and insightful, but now what? What can/should I do to change me/things? This didn't leave me that way, I had actions to do.”  “This has something to offer no matter where you are in your journey. It has actionable content. It gives you ways to advance your skills no matter where you are in your skill building.” “Because sometimes it’s rare to have an opportunity to be genuinely part of the solution.” “We have done work around implicit and explicit bias, and this takes us to the next level – a deeper dive, another way to understand, a new perspective on your implicit bias.” What is the commitment? Short answer: You complete the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), and participate in a confidential 1-on-1 debrief to review the results and discuss strategies for ongoing development, about 1 hour Option to join a Peer Accountability Learning group (PAL) to support individual learning and application, varies Participate in four 1/2-day experiential learning seminars, about 16 hours What is it going to cost me? Short answer: $310.00, and about 17 hours of your time That's it. This covers the cost of the IDI and the one-on-one confidential debrief. AAML, AFCC-MN, Family Law League and Our Family Wizard have all made generous contributions to cover all other program costs. This curriculum has been offered by another sponsoring agency, and has been approved for 11 general CLE credits, and 4.5 Elimination of Bias credits. We are also investigating the process to be approved for continuing education credits for mental health providers. Dates to Remember #1: November 22,2024, 8am-12:30pm Foundations of Intercultural Competence This workshop will introduce participants to cultural self-awareness frameworks and models to deeply explore the complexity of their identity and the ways that can have unintentional impacts on intercultural competence and inclusion and belonging goals. #2: January 10, 2025, 8am-12:30 pm Intercultural Communication Tools to Support Belonging and Inclusion Having tools to be curious and rebound across cultural differences is vital to effectively engage and communicate in multicultural settings. Participants will gain intercultural communication tools and practices to approach challenging topics. Additionally, participants will learn how to take responsibility when intentions do not equal the intended impact. February 7, 2025, 9-10am (Virtual) Launch of Intercultural Development Plan Peer Accountability and Learning (PALs) 60 minute virtual session to formally set up trios, quad to work through their Intercultural Development Plan (IDP) that is received during their IDI debrief. #3: March 7, 2025, 8am-12:30 pm Intercultural Conflict Dimensions and Styles Participants will gain a deeper understanding of judgments made in their culture and how those differences may manifest in other cultures, within and across racial and national groups. Additionally, stereotyping and bias will be addressed. #4: April 25, 2025, 8am-12:30 pm Power, Privilege, and Adaptation Participants will explore concepts of power and privilege to more deeply understand how their lived experience may implicitly perpetuate dominant cultural values at the individual and systems levels of racial equity. Additionally, participants will better understand the impact of assimilation and the distinction of adaptation. On behalf of AAML, AFCC-MN, Family Law League, and our community as a whole, we ask you to join us in Community Quest to help ensure our family law community continues to do the work of co-creating a safe, inclusive and nurturing environment for everyone who practices in this area. Registration closes on Friday October 18, 11:59 pm. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER  for Community Quest CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION  about the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)

Dear AFCC-MN Members: Our neighbors to the East at  AFCC-Wisconsin  have graciously invited us to join a webinar that they are having on June 27th. Please see below for details. Thanks! What might be learned through comparing two divorce movies released 40 years apart? AFCC Wisconsin will host a free webinar on June 27, 2024 from 12 Noon to 1:30 PM CDT entitled Child Custody Cases Drama Then & Now: AFCC Takes on Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Marriage Story (2019). Kramer vs. Kramer became an iconic story of divorce with children and an inspiration for family law "no fault" reforms. Marriage Story is arguably a Kramer vs. Kramer remake, The drama of both center on what happens to a young child whose parents respect each other as parents— until they feel drawn into a litigated custody battle. Join us for a panel discussion on the enduring lure of litigation and challenges of parental hostilities. The panelists are prominent AFCC members: Shely Polak, Ph.D, Peter Salem, MA, Chioma Ajoku, JD, Ph.D., ABPP, Don Saposnek, Ph.D, Andrew Schepard, JD, and Carlton Stansbury, JD Moderator for this webinar will be Alexandra Crampton, Ph.D.,an Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Studies at Marquette University and AFCC Wisconsin Board Member. This event will start with brief movie synopses for those new or rusty on Kramer vs. Kramer and Marriage Story details, and then will open to panel discussion by 3 AFCC members whose careers were forged during the Kramer vs. Kramer era and 3 whose careers are arguably more of a Marriage Story era. Participants are encouraged to download and read this article for movie synopsis in the context of analyzing real cases and how today's parents may resist invitation to avoid competition and litigation. For more information about the session and the panelists, visit the AFCC WI website at this special webinar post. This is a free webinar hosted by AFCC-WI and is open to all AFCC members. Registration is required however and you may do so at this link. You will receive your personalized link via email.

AFCC-MN Community, In accordance with the by-laws and traditions of AFCC-MN, below you will find the candidates for the open Board of Director positions, as well as the position of President-Elect. I am happy to report that these names, which were put forth by current President-Elect Carlo Faccini and the Nominating Committee, were presented to the current Board of Directors at the May meeting and were unanimously approved by the Board. These names will now be put forth for a general membership vote at the Chapter Annual Conference on July 25th: New Directors: Carrie Crockford, MA LMFT The Honorable Jason T. Hutchison Courtney Latcham, Esq. Bethany Hurd, Esq. Amy Krupinski, Esq. (to a two-year term) President-Elect: Racheal Howitz A special thanks to Deb Link, Peggy Cottrell, and Jim Street who are at the end of their two terms. We appreciate their commitment to serving on the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors and Annual Conference Planning Committee hope to see many of you in person at the Annual Conference in July. We anticipate an exciting and educational day to learn and connect. If you have not registered yet, here is the link again https://www.afccmn.org/2024-annual-conference. Also, while I do hope to see many of you in person, we do have a remote option as well. AFCC-MN Chapter President Zak Chesson

Address and Directions: 701 Washington Ave N, #700, Minneapolis MN 55401 Loose-Wiles Building Paid parking is available and accessed on N 3rd St in the Nordic Ramp/Sable building, you will see a small P for parking sign and driveway off of 3rd St. Attendees can park here, however it is around $20-25 per day. There is also street parking and several other cheaper ramps/lots in the area. (Itasca Lot , North Loop Ramp and Designers Guild Ramp ) We are in the same building as the Freehouse, 701 Washington Ave N. Please go into our building through the front, off of Washington Ave. The elevator inside is adjacent to the security desk, take elevator to the 7th floor. The door will say “In Tandem” (this is our newly formed parent company ) please push the call button for the doorbell to the right of the door and someone will let you in.

ADR Training Courses TRAINING COURSES AFCC MN will provide a series of trainings to expand professionals’ skills regarding various family processes and to help professionals qualify for various certifications and rosters recognized by Minnesota courts. In the future the trainings will include Custody Evaluation, Mediation, Parenting Consulting, Parenting Time Expediting, Financial Early Neutral Evaluation (FENE), Social Early Neutral Evaluation (SENE), Moderated Settlement Conferences (MSC), Arbitration and Special Master services. We know that many of you are anxious to obtain some of these trainings but be patient with us! It is our goal to provide trainings that are carefully designed to teach adult learners with highly qualified trainers. That will take some time to identify and train the trainers which we are doing at this time. Please be patient with us while we are “under construction”. If you are interested in being a trainer click here for more info. ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us.

About AFCC MN Board of Directors/Committees Mission About | Board of Directors & Committee Chairs | Committee Descriptions | Org. Chart AFCC-MN is an interdisciplinary and diverse association of professionals dedicated to improving the lives of all children and families through the resolution of family conflict. We have accomplished a lot in a short period of time and look forward to maintaining our energy and our focus on furthering this recently enacted mission statement of the Chapter. This is an important mission and one that will continue to present enormous challenges to the families in our state. Yet, as we have demonstrated in the few short years of our existence, if we as family professionals can come together in a spirit of professional cooperation, we can achieve many good and worthy objectives. How AFCC MN Got Its Start In September 2007, a small group of lawyers, mental health professionals, and a guardian ad litem or two were seated at a table having dinner at the “Divorce Camp” conference in northern Minnesota. Divorce Camp is an annual event put on for 20 years by the Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Recently, Divorce Camp had become more interdisciplinary, including mental health professionals, guardians ad litem, ADR professionals, members of the judiciary, and financial experts. It was fast becoming apparent that we all enjoyed each other’s company and our varied perspectives. In that milieu, someone at the dinner table mentioned AFCC, noting what a wonderful organization it is, and suggesting that it was high time that we had our own state chapter in Minnesota. Planning was soon underway to set up a “Coordinating Committee” to begin that process. We began meeting monthly and before we knew it, we had a solid cadre of persons signed up as members of the national AFCC organization, all serving to give us the energy and support to push forward with formal application for chapter status. We were granted provisional status on July 22, 2008. Once you become a provisional chapter, you must complete additional tasks to demonstrate the ability to sustain a chapter long term. We did that and on March 22, 2010, we formally applied for full chapter status. On June 14, 2010, the AFCC Board of Directors approved chartered chapter status for us, making Minnesota an official chapter within AFCC. Since that time, membership has continued to increase, as has the energy level and visibility of our organization. Family court professionals across the state are now aware of our existence and look to us for innovation, leadership, and interdisciplinary work in the vital challenges that face family courts and families across our state. Minnesota chapter members participate in a variety of committees and projects both at the state level and in the national organization. Our membership is well represented at the annual national conference and at regional AFCC trainings, not only through attendance, but by teaching and board and committee work. Our chapter recently completed work on a strategic plan that will further strengthen our committee structure and the efficiency of our operations.