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General Information

September 29-October 1, 2026

AFCC is pleased to offer a comprehensive online training program focused on family violence. Safety First: Family Violence in the Context of Family Law a three day, 15-hour intensive online training designed to meet the urgent need for clarity, consistency, and accountability in how professionals understand and respond to family violence within the family law system.

As family courts, mediators, and clinicians increasingly encounter complex dynamics involving coercive control, psychological abuse, and intergenerational trauma, this training offers an interdisciplinary and evidence-informed foundation for safer and more effective interventions. Whether you are a judge, lawyer, evaluator, mediator, therapist, or child protection worker, this program is built to deepen your ability to detect harm, assess risk, and prioritize the well-being of children and survivors without compromising legal fairness or due process.

Participants will explore key topics, including:

Rethinking the foundations of risk and harm
What Safety First means in 2026
Coercive Control beyond the dyad
Technology-facilitated abuse and on-going access
Risk assessment that fits family law
Mental health and lethality risk
Children as direct victims of domestic violence
Emotional neglect and psychological harm
Child-to-parent violence: Safety, shame, and system blind spots
Family violence and complex family systems from a legal lens
Therapy, confidentiality and the courtroom
Culture, immigration, and family violence
AFCC Guidelines and updates
Credibility and conflicting accounts
The role of minor’s counsel
Psychological safety, stigma, and the future of “safety first”

Through live presentations, moderated dialogue, and case-based discussions, this training centers on both knowledge and compassion. Across all three days, the central question is practical and system-focused: what would a truly safety-first family justice system require from courts, lawyers, mental health professionals, children’s representatives, and community systems?

Above all, this training honors the shared responsibility of legal and mental health professionals to create family law processes that protect the vulnerable, promote justice, and support long-term resilience in the lives of children and families.

GENERAL LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Each session has specific learning objectives. Overall, participants will be able to:

Discuss how coercive control operates across time, relationships, and settings
Examine technology-facilitated abuse as a vehicle for on-going access
Identify the impact of direct and indirect violence on children
Explain emotional neglect and psychological harm as types of violence that are often missed
Discuss shame and system blind spots
Examine culture, immigration, and family violence
Explain how parallel legal systems can increase risk and create re-traumatization
Discuss the implications of therapy, confidentiality, and courtroom process
Examine considerations of risk in AFCC Guidelines for safeguards against bias and advocacy
Discuss concepts associated with disagreement, minimization and credibility in the court process
Explain the role of Minor’s Counsel in domestic violence cases.

What’s Included?

The registration fee includes live attendance to the program, access to the program materials including recordings and handouts from the presentation, and a certificate of attendance. Each attendee’s certificate will reflect the hours viewed live only.

Note: If you are unable to attend live, recordings of the training programs will be available following the completion of the training programs. Continuing education credit is currently available only for programs attended live.

What Equipment Do I Need?

AFCC recommends using a desktop or laptop computer to take full advantage of Zoom’s capabilities. This will provide a better viewing experience and will permit access to features not available on the Zoom app on tablets and smart phones. A stable internet connection is imperative for the best viewing experience. If you experience internet issues, you may join by phone using the dial-in number provided in the confirmation email from Zoom and follow along using the materials that are available in advance of each program. If you use a Zoom account that is registered in someone else’s name, your attendance will not be recorded and AFCC will not be able to issue you a certificate of attendance. To ensure you receive proper credit, use a Zoom account associated with the same email address used in your AFCC profile. You can sign up for a free Zoom account at zoom.us/signup.

Continuing Education Credits

The Safety First: Family Violence in the Context of Family Law training program is eligible for 15 hours of continuing education for psychologists. AFCC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. AFCC is recognized by the New York Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0190. AFCC maintains responsibility for the program and its content. AFCC will make an application for continuing education credits for social workers through the National Association of Social Workers. AFCC has an application pending for ACEP status through NBCC in an effort to also make credits available for professional counselors. AFCC will also make applications for CLE to Minnesota and Vermont and reserves the right to add additional applications during the registration period. A certificate of attendance will be provided to all attendees. Attendees may use the AFCC Certificate of Attendance to verify attendance and apply for continuing education in their jurisdiction. Each attendee’s certificate will reflect the training hours viewed live only. Other professionals may opt to apply for continuing education credits in their discipline in their jurisdiction by providing their Certificate of Attendance, the brochure, and any training materials directly to their accrediting body. Attorneys may apply for CLE in their jurisdiction on their own, but AFCC cannot guarantee that credit will be awarded.

Limitations and Content Access Policy

AFCC strives to offer a wide range of training highlighting different research, advocacy positions, policies, practices, programs, and ideas. Some aspects of this training may be evidence-based, while other aspects may report on innovations still in development, emerging practices, or policy initiatives. The goal of this training is to enhance learning while encouraging respectful inquiry, discussion, and debate consistent with AFCC organizational values. AFCC does not necessarily endorse or support the opinions of the presenters and recognizes there may be differing opinions and/or alternative interventions that are not addressed in this specific program. These live presentations, recordings, and associated materials are licensed for your personal, non-transferable use only. Downloading, copying, sharing, text/data mining, or using any portion for AI training or prompts is prohibited. By registering for, attending, or accessing any AFCC content, you agree to the Content Access Terms found at afccnet.org/Content-Access-Terms and Code of Conduct found at afccnet.org/Professional-Conduct-Events.

Cancellation Policy

Transfer of registration to another person may be made once, at any time, without a fee. All cancellation and refund requests must be made in writing. Written notice of cancellation received by email or postmarked by September 15, 2026, will be issued a full refund minus a $100 USD service fee. No refunds or credits will be issued after September 15, 2026. AFCC reserves the right to make changes to the program, including (but not limited to) changes to the content and speakers in the published event schedule, or canceling sessions, should unforeseen circumstances arise.

More Information

AFCC strives to highlight different research, advocacy positions, policies, practices, programs, and ideas. Some programs may be evidence-based, while others may report on works in progress, emerging practices, or policy initiatives. The goal of the training is to enhance learning while encouraging respectful inquiry, discussion, and debate consistent with AFCC organizational values. AFCC does not necessarily endorse or support the opinions of presenters. For program and registration inquiries, contact AFCC at 608-664-3750 or [email protected].