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Register Now for Virtual Training in April The collaboration between AFCC-MN and the Mediation Center continues! Registration is now open for the Custody Evaluation Training, starting April 20, 2022. This is a comprehensive 43-hour course, which addresses everything from developing an evaluative protocol to addressing the complexities of the evaluation process. Karen Irvin and Jennifer Joseph lead this hands-on training, using lecture, interactive discussion, and application of concepts through various simulations. It’s one of the Mediation Center’s more popular courses, and we’re honored to make it more widely available. Please note the training is LIVE (via zoom). More information available here Registration available here

Please join AFCC-MN for a special 2-day event, July 28-29, 2022! For our Annual Conference, we are teaming with Overcoming Barriers to present “What To Do When a Child Resists or Rejects a Parent: Building a Tool-Kit for Professionals.” MORE…

Annual Conference Sponsorship Goal BECOME A SPONSOR! REGISTER TO ATTEND 2022 ANNUAL CONFERENCE!!

The AFCC community lost a beloved member earlier this year. Our good friend and valued colleague, Jessie Ware, left a lasting impact on many Minnesota families dealing with conflict. Her infectious humor and generosity of spirit will be missed by many of us in the family law community. Jessie Ware, age 62, died August 19, 2022 while hiking in Oregon. Raised in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, Jessie graduated from Oberlin College and William Mitchell College of Law, and clerked for MN Supreme Court Justice, Rosalie Wahl. While raising three boys, Jessie began a distinguished 20-year career as a mediator and parenting consultant. She could be relied on for fairness and compassion with her clients, and for insightful, unvarnished truth laced with humor with her colleagues. She loved laughter, all things musical, pontoon rides, hummingbirds, watching the Lynx, Pawley’s Island, adventure travel with a deeply treasured group, and spending time with her many, many dear friends. She leaves behind a lasting legacy of integrity, kindness, caring and wit.

AFCC-MN recently received some information from James Tuft (yes, that James Tuft), regarding the new law in Minnesota that provides for bonus pay to eligible COVID-19 frontline workers. According to James, many AFCC-MN members may be eligible for this bonus pay, as it applies to employers and employees in broad range of industries that include: public health, social service, and regulatory service courts and corrections childcare According to James, the application period will be open from June 8 through July 22 and employers in the identified frontline sectors must provide a notice to employees. Eligibility criteria for Frontline Worker Pay are set forth in the law and there are many nuances and details included as well. Erik Hinz and Jessica Roe of The Horton Group will present a webinar on June 15, 2022, at 2 pm to discuss the announcement and answer your questions. If you think you may be eligible, and wish to learn more, please register . LINK:  https://www.thehortongroup.com/events/minnesota-frontline-worker-pay The webinar is free. AFCC-MN is not affiliated with the Horton Group. We are providing this information as it may be helpful to our members.

As many of you know, we have been working to create a benefits package that will be available to all AFCC-MN members. The advantage of creating a medical offering through AFC-MN is that it will give smaller companies and individuals access to larger group rates which are generally much less expensive. Our goal is to also offer benefits such as short-term and long-term disability insurance as well as life insurance. The company or individual will be responsible for the premium, however the rates themselves are likely to be lower than what most members currently have access to. As we begin the process of setting up these offerings, we need to get a head count of those that would be interested. If you have any interest about accessing these benefits, please complete the survey below. This is important even if you completed the survey that was sent out to members last year. Thanks for your participation. Please feel free to share this link with others who may be interested in joining AFCC. AFCC Benefits Survey

YOU CAN’T MAKE ME GO Understanding and Intervening in Resist/Refuse Cases Virtual CLE Benefiting LAOC CLE Event – Legal Assistance of Olmsted County Please join Legal Assistance of Olmsted County in supporting their annual fundraising CLE virtual event: You Can’t Make Me Go-Understanding and Intervening in Resist/Refuse Cases. This course will educate the family lawyer, therapist and social worker to better handle resist and refuse issues in family law cases. There is a a stellar line up of speakers, including AFCC MN members and board members. This event is on Thursday, May 26, 2022, 8:15 am – 4:30 pm. Credits applied for: 6.75 CLE, CEU, and CE, including 1 ethics* and 5.75 general credits. Link to register

Please let us know your thoughts! As things start to return to normal(ish) AFCC-MN is considering the best way to deliver programming. Your responses to this poll will help our education committee plan future events. Thanks in advance! Click here to respond.

For more information or to REGISTER NOW! Be sure to sign up today for AFCC-MN’s Spring Half-Day conference:  Supporting transgender and gender diverse youth and their families: medical, social and legal considerations Professionals who work with families involved in legal matters are finding discussions and decisions around gender diversity and transgender youth surfacing more and more in their cases. In this Spring AFCC Half Day Conference, we have two honorable professionals, Dr. Jenifer McGuire and Dr. Angela Goepferd, providing education, resources, and tools to best support healthy family environments around gender and sexual identity. This is a virtual presentation, so there is still time for you to be part of this important conversation. For more information or to REGISTER NOW! AGENDA 8am Registration 8:30-10:00 Part 1 – Support Without Steering:  Gender Identity Development in Children, and Talking with Kids & Families about Gender 10:00-10:15 q&a 10:15-10:30 Break 10:30-11:30 Part 2 – Evidence Based Approaches to Parenting Transgender and Non-Binary Kids 11:30-11:40 q&a 11:40-11:50 Break 11:50-12:50 Part 3 – Gender Identity Issues in the Context of Co-parenting

January 2022 I am delighted to announce that Mediation Center and the MN Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation courts are collaborating to provide the highest quality family ADR training for family professionals to improve the lives of MN children and families through conflict resolution.  Mediation Center has been a recognized leader in ADR for more than 30 years.  Our partnership will ensure deep interdisciplinary knowledge and thoughtful adult learning design. Our first joint class will be Rule 114 Certified 40 Hour Family Mediation Skills on January 27 – 29 and February 3 – 5, 2022 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, on Zoom. Our online events are live and interactive. We have designed them to maximize online engagement. Registration for the class is now open. To register or for more information, follow this link: https://mediationcentermn.org/training/ If you have already taken training, please help integrate and strengthen the ADR community by sharing this information with a colleague who may be interested. Look for AFCC MN to host other Family ADR Training in 2022! ~ Kent Kodalen, PhD, LP AFCC-MN President

Family Court Services is changing its name to Family Mediation and Evaluation. We are also moving from Hennepin County’s Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation to Health and Human Services. As of January 1, 2022, this is our new name and tagline: Family Mediation and Evaluation Supporting children’s well-being in custody and parenting time arrangements The change in name and department will not change operations or services, but the changes better align the focus of our work, alternative dispute resolution services and evaluations of child custody and parenting time disputes, with the broader HHS emphasis on child well-being. This new name is more descriptive of the services we provide and makes it clearer to residents and agency partners that we are an entity of Hennepin County, and less likely to confuse us with the MN State Court’s Fourth Judicial District. We will continue to provide all the services you are currently accustomed to receiving. Likewise, we will keep all current telephone numbers and staff email addresses will remain the same. Moving forward, you will notice our new name and department on letter head, court orders, agency forms and materials, and public website.

“Worth a Read: Minnesota’s own Mindy Mitnick (AFCC President) contributed an article to the AFCC-NY newsletter on the topic of Supporting Children’s Communication in Forensic Interviews” (article starts on page 5) Click here to view NY Newsletter article.