1. Neutrality on Trial: When Evaluator Assumptions Shape Best Interest
The “best interests of the child” is the cornerstone of custody decision-making, and evaluators are tasked with translating these factors into practice. This workshop examines how assumptions about parenting, credibility, and stability shape how considerations regarding best interests are applied in real cases. Through interactive activities and case examples, attendees will reflect on how evaluator assumptions can influence evaluation outcomes. The session provides practical tools to strengthen objectivity and accuracy, helping evaluators to make recommendations that are both defensible and responsive to the diverse realities of family systems.
Chioma Ajoku, JD, PhD, ABPP, Forensic Psych Solutions, Brooklyn, NY
Terry S. Singh, PhD, ABPP, Alberta Family Psychology, Calgary, AB, Canada
Robin M. Deutsch, PhD, ABPP, Newton Centre, MA
2. SLIC: Setting Limits and Imposing Consequences for Parents and Professionals
A new technique for setting limits and imposing consequences will be presented and discussed in depth. Professionals will learn how to teach this approach to clients and use it themselves—as mediators helping parties negotiate agreements with built-in consequences; as judges imposing consequences on uncooperative litigants; and as lawyers and therapists setting limits in high-conflict cases. This session will be based on the speaker’s new book SLIC Solutions: Setting Limits and Imposing Consequences in 2½ Steps.
Bill Eddy, MSW, JD, High Conflict Institute, San Diego, CA
3. A Conversation from the Frontlines: A Rookie Meets a Veteran
Feeling overwhelmed by forensic work? You’re not alone—and you don’t have to go it alone. Join a seasoned pro and a newer clinician as they share beginner’s pitfalls, real-world tips, evidence-informed strategies, and confidence-building insights. Learn how to quiet the fear, find your footing, and connect with the circle of professionals who have your back. Whether you’re just starting out or wondering how to mentor others, this session delivers practical tools, honest encouragement, and a reminder: support is out there—you just have to be willing to ask!
Christy Bradshaw Schmidt, MA, LPC, Coppell, TX
Julie L. Futrell, PhD, Dallas, TX
4. Beyond the Black Box: How to Use AI to Build Public Trust
Family courts can set up artificial intelligence (AI) projects that deliver value without eroding trust in those services. The panelists will demonstrate methods for implementing practical guardrails and processes (from scoping and governance to evaluation and sunsetting), transparent approaches to address data use, and ways that openness, through sharing methods, AI models, and easy to understand documentation, builds goodwill.
Hon. Tom Altobelli, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Sydney, NSW, Australia
Simon A. Goodrich, BA, Portable, Collingwood, VIC, Australia
5. At the Intersection of Ethics, Morality, and Legality: Navigating the Provision of Care for LGBTQQIA+ Youth from Hostile Environments
Helping professionals continue to be negatively impacted by the current socio-political climate that is attempting to curtail the provision of mental health care for LGBTQQIA+ youth. Helping professionals have an obligation to ensure the protection of LGBTQQIA+ minor clients while also being aware of minor consent laws, confidentiality laws, mandatory reporting laws, the parameters around court mandated communication with parents, and state and federal laws intertwined by HIPAA privacy. As such, helping professionals may find themselves in a bubble of uncertainty and doubt as to how to proceed when there are so many “gray” areas when working with complex cases. In this presentation, the participants will conceptualize challenging case studies and develop an action plan while considering how to balance the demands of ethics, personal morality, and legal compliance, particularly when there are state laws that seek to limit care to this population.
Omar Troutman, EdS, PhD, The Chicago School, Lexington, SC
Ruth Ouzts Moore, MEd, PhD, The Chicago School of Professional Psychological, Savannah, GA
6. SAFeR Enhanced
The National Legal Center for Children and Domestic Violence updated the SAFeR approach to specifically screen and address coercive control in child custody decision-making cases. SAFeR: Enhanced has specific worksheets that take a closer look at how coercive controlling tactics impact the protective parent, the children, and the parenting of the abuser with recommended responses that specifically account for coercive control.
Tracy Shoberg, JD, Battered Women’s Justice Project, Saint Paul, MN
7. Family Lawyer as Peacemaker: Cultural Fluency, Innovation, and Family Resilience
How can family law professionals truly meet families where they are? Presenters explore culturally responsive, peace-centered approaches to family conflict. Drawing from their forthcoming ABA book, this session blends practical tools, real-world case insights, and cross-disciplinary strategies for working with families across faiths, languages, and traditions. Participants will learn to integrate peacemaking habits, process design innovations, and cultural humility to support lasting, dignified outcomes.
Forrest S. Mosten, JD, La Jolla, CA
8. Family Court and Cross-Border Reunification: Legal Barriers and Solutions
This interdisciplinary workshop addresses the intersection of immigration status and family court systems, focusing on the often-invisible forces affecting family transitions in custody disputes and reunification efforts. With one in four US children having at least one foreign-born parent, many families face unique challenges related to immigration status amid legal proceedings. The session will bring together legal and social work professionals to share case studies, explore the impact of immigration on parental rights, and identify resources for supporting families in transition.
Elaine Weisman, MSW, MPH, International Social Service - USA, Baltimore, MD
Rachel Konrad, JD, Casey Family Programs, Seattle, WA
9. It's Just a Phone, or Is It? Managing Technology to Reduce Co-Parent Conflict
Mobile devices may appear harmless, but in two-household families experiencing high conflict, they can become powerful tools for manipulation and control. This interdisciplinary presentation introduces the concept of technological triangulation—when a parent uses digital communication to pull children into adult conflicts, or to extend control in the other parent’s home, to the detriment of co-parenting. With case examples and practical strategies, family law professionals will learn effective legal and therapeutic interventions to this challenging problem.
Natalie J. Malovich, PhD, Aspen Mediation, Salt Lake City, UT
Samuel J. Sorensen, JD, Hawkes Quam & Sorensen, Salt Lake City, UT
10. Aligning Professionals: A Guide to Roles in Parent-Child Contact Cases
This workshop introduces a practical written guide for aligning legal and mental health professionals’ strategies for working with families experiencing parent-child contact problems. Participants will explore how differing ethical duties and advocacy roles can be coordinated to promote child well-being and family stability. Through case examples and collaborative frameworks, the session demonstrates how professionals can integrate diverse perspectives, improve communication, and avoid working at cross-purposes. Attendees will gain concrete strategies for fostering shared goals and unified, interdisciplinary approaches to complex family dynamics.
Premela G. Deck, JD, PhD, SD Family Services, Inc., Canton, MA
Patrick A. Fleming, PhD, Northampton, MA
Hon. Claudine T. Stoudemire, Hampden Probate and Family Court, Hampden, MA
Marsha Kline Pruett, PhD, ABPP, Smith College, Northampton, MA
11. Interviewing Traumatized Children
Traumatized children present unique challenges to professionals who interview them. The presenters will look at the impact of trauma on the developing brain, including children’s cognitive and emotional processing, and use that information base to explore how to establish rapport, how to construct questions, and how to prevent re-traumatizing these children. This workshop is intended for family law professionals who interview children as part of their role and practice.
Mindy F. Mitnick, EdM, MA, Uptown Mental Health Center, Minneapolis, MN
Jordan L. Hart, PhD, St. Louis Park, MN
12. Looking in the Mirror: Five Questions for Ensuring Optimal Custody Evaluations
Experienced evaluators are familiar with wishing they could turn back the clock on how they assessed a particular family. Challenging cross-examination experiences that amplify procedural weaknesses can intensify feelings of regret. A proven peer model will be distilled into five incisive questions that evaluators can be asked or can ask themselves at each stage of developing, executing, and testifying to facilitate reliable, valid, and defensible assessments. Considerable emphasis will be placed on adaptability during assessments, preparation for testimony, and post-trial self-critique.
Jeffrey P. Wittmann, PhD, Albany, NY
Eric Y. Drogin, JD, PhD, ABPP, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA
13. The Hidden Truth: The Things Your Clients Don't Say
In family law, what clients don’t disclose — hidden assets, private communications, and past conduct — can be more damaging than what they do. Whether they omit, minimize, or just simply lie, this presentation will discuss what to do when a client's secret surfaces, how to reframe the narrative, and preserve credibility. This is a discussion into how to coax clients into sharing the details that the devil may be in, how to prepare them for potential exposure, and how to identify gaps in the narrative before opposing counsel exploits it.
Scott Friedman, JD, Friedman & Mirman Co., LPA, Columbus, OH
Kathleen McNamara, PhD, Fort Collins, CO
14. Parenting Plans and PPE Recommendations-Drafting with Specificity and Accountability
What do parenting plans, parenting plan evaluation (PPE) recommendations, and court orders all have in common? Although different, these documents have varying degrees of detail. In a high-conflict case, none may be specific enough to avoid future disputes. Parents who are guided by parenting plans or custody orders with accountability provisions may experience more successful coparenting. This workshop will provide attendees with concrete ideas for drafting detailed provisions that create accountability and that are easily interpreted, implemented, and thereby enforced.
Michèle M. Bissada, JD, CFLS, Signature Resolution, Silicon Valley, CA
Ariella Goodwine Fisher, MS, LMFT, San Mateo, CA
15. Mind the Gap: Generational Shifts in Understanding Children in Family Courts
Family court professionals, predominantly from Baby Boomer and Generation X cohorts, apply frameworks developed decades ago to serve Generation Z and Alpha children who navigate fundamentally different developmental contexts. This presentation examines how generational gaps create invisible barriers to effective practice, then provides immediately implementable solutions. Participants receive modified assessment protocols, updated interview frameworks distinguishing coached language from genuine social-emotional competency, generation-bridging communication templates, and contemporary parenting plan provisions. Through interactive exercises and case analysis, attendees gain practical tools for adapting established practices to reflect today's digitally-native, autonomy-aware children while honoring foundational clinical wisdom.
Jennifer Harrison, PsyD, ABPP, Therapy Partners of the Peninsula, Burlingame, CA
Leslie M. Drozd, PhD, Seattle, WA
16. Nuts and Bolts of Relocation Child Custody Evaluations
This workshop will provide a comprehensive review of child custody relocations, from the legal underpinnings to existing literature, through the entire evaluation process, and then to the key rules governing relocation evaluation reports. With California law as the example, participants will hear both the legal and mental health perspectives on this critical issue.
Michelene Insalaco, JD, San Francisco, CA
Kenneth B. Perlmutter, PhD, Palo Alto, CA
Frank W. Davis, Jr., PhD, Berkeley, CA
17. Practical Tools for Professional Objectivity in Mental Health Interventions
What does professional objectivity really look like? Families can be adversely affected when professionals fail to consider the full range of factors influencing their functioning or apply mismatched interventions. Increasing polarization, both within professional discourse and amongst families, contributes to divergent definitions of appropriate procedures and inconsistent practice. This presentation examines the meaning of professional objectivity and its implications for ethical and effective service delivery. Presenters will offer practical tools for recognizing and minimizing bias, maintaining balanced perspectives amid complex family dynamics, and providing services with professional objectivity.
Lyn R. Greenberg, PhD, ABPP, Los Angeles, CA
Shely Polak, PhD, AccFM, Mackenzie Clinic, Vaughan, ON, Canada
18. A Decision-Making Model for Including Children in Parenting Coordination
This workshop introduces an application of decision-making for child inclusion in parenting coordination (PC) using an expanded version of the Child-Centred Continuum Model. Considering the varied presentations of parents in combination with child inclusion, participants will examine the value, weight, timing, safety and type of feedback to parents and decision-makers. Participants are invited to review a practical decision-making tool for use in their PC practices.
Lorri A. Yasenik, PhD, International Centre for Children and Family Law, Calgary, AB, Canada
Jonathan M. Graham, LLB, International Centre for Children and Family Law, Sydney, NSW, Australia
19. High Stakes, Broken Bonds: Gambling, Separation, and Family Law
This workshop examines how gambling addiction contributes to marital breakdown, financial instability, and custody challenges. Presenters will explore the psychological, relational, and legal complexities that arise when a gambling disorder intersects with divorce, including its impact on custody evaluations. Attendees will be presented with tools to recognize signs of gambling problems, assess risks to children, and support families in transition. The session integrates current research with practical strategies for family law professionals, offering a framework to address one of the most hidden but impactful addictions affecting divorcing families.
Martin E. Friedlander, JD, Brooklyn, NY
Eric E. Friedlander, MS, PsyD(c), Woodmere, NY
20. Reframing the Paradigm: Parenting Plans in the Context of DV & Family Court
This session explores safety focused parenting plans when domestic violence is present. Presenters will discuss Ohio’s model as it answers the following questions: How do the danger/lethality factors intersect with the best interest factors? How does the presence of domestic violence and the use of coercively controlling behavior detrimentally impact the meaningful allocation of parental rights and responsibilities and the enforcement of parenting time arrangements? Are there specific interventions that should be considered when crafting parenting plans?
Hon. Diane M. Palos, Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court, Cleveland, OH
Alexandria M. Ruden, JD, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH
21. Truth, Lies, and Identity: How Narratives Shape Children's Well-Being
The stories we tell children about their situation fundamentally shape their identity and mental health. When parents separate, children face a crisis of meaning: Which version is true? How do they integrate competing narratives from beloved caregivers? What happens to their identity when the foundational story of their family changes? Learn tools to manage the delicate balance between protection and transparency, understand when silence harms, when truth heals, and how to craft age-appropriate narratives that preserve children's psychological integrity
Phil S. Watts, MApp Psych, PhD, South Perth, WA, Australia
22. Therapeutic Justice in the Family Justice System: From Ideal to Practice
Internationally, there have been broad shifts towards a non-adversarial, problem-solving, and multidisciplinary approach that focuses on the family’s well-being. The Family Justice Courts of Singapore have formally adopted the overarching philosophy of therapeutic justice (TJ), giving consolidating language to the international trends. Five years after the formal adoption of TJ, presenters explore how TJ has been translated from an ideal to practice from the perspective of the judges, family law practitioners, and family law academics.
Tricia Ho, LLM, LLB, Univ. of California-Berkeley School of Law, Berkeley, CA
Kai Yun Wong, LLB, Dentons Rodyk, Singapore
Hon. Yarni Loi, Family Justice Courts, Singapore
Grace Yim, MSA, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore
23. Considerations for Military Families in the Juvenile and Family Court with NCJFCJ
This panel from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges discusses the unique needs and special considerations of military-connected families involved with juvenile and family courts. Courts often must navigate complex cases due to multiple deployments or families living with traumatic injuries, as well as addressing jurisdictional issues for youth offenses committed on a military installation, and cross-enforcement of civil and military protection orders. Collaboration needs to increase between state courts and military installations to resolve case processing issues and to enhance delivery of services to military service members and their families.
Hon. Kathleen Quigley, Pima County Superior Court, Tucson, AZ
Hon. Terri B. Jamison, Franklin County Domestic Relations & Juvenile Court, Columbus, OH
Cheri M. Ely, MA, LSW, NCJFCJ, Reno, NV
Martha-Elin Blomquist, PhD, NCJFCJ, Reno, NV
24. Unmasking Coercive Control: Defining Patterns of Abuse in Practice
The subtle, cumulative, and often invisible nature of coercive and controlling violence (CCV) makes it difficult to define and address in both legal and mental health contexts. The panelists will review current legal understandings of CCV and introduce a novel framework of CCV which operationalizes its specific factors and permits practitioners to distinguish between various CCV sub-types. The presentation will conclude with practical application of the CCV framework to specific case studies, to demonstrate the process of identifying particular sub-types of CCV.
Terry S. Singh, PhD, ABPP, Alberta Family Psychology, Calgary, AB, Canada
Melissa Hendry, PhD, Alberta Family Psychology, Calgary, AB, Canada
Traci Bannister, LLB, Calgary, AB, Canada
25. Testing, Testing…1-2-3: What Those Cups Don’t Tell You About Child Custody
Family courts often rely on drug testing to assess parental fitness, yet results are frequently misunderstood or overvalued. A positive test may not indicate unsafe parenting, and a negative one doesn’t ensure recovery or stability. This session debunks myths about addiction, explains what testing actually reveals (and what it doesn’t), and translates science into courtroom-ready insights. Attendees will learn when testing helps—or harms—and how to craft child-centered parenting plans that reflect science, empathy, and the realities of recovery.
Stephanie Tabashneck, PsyD, JD, MRPL, Cambridge, MA
Steven Paymer, MSW, Trumbull, CT
26. Building Resilient Families Through Trauma Informed Parenting Coordination
This workshop addresses trauma-informed parenting coordination as a vital post-separation intervention for high-conflict families. The panelists will examine the neurobiological impacts of trauma on family dynamics while offering evidence-based strategies for implementation within existing frameworks. Drawing from international research, the panelists will demonstrate how trauma-responsive approaches can address dysfunctional patterns, non-compliance, and parent-child contact problems. Key components include trauma screening protocols, child-inclusive practices, reflective supervision, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Participants will gain practical assessment tools, intervention strategies, and outcome measurement methods to create safer environments for children.
Christine A. Profito, PsyD, National Cooperative Parenting Center, Bradenton, FL
Debra K. Carter, PhD, The National Cooperative Parenting Center, Bradenton, FL
Anne-Marie Cade, LLB, LLM, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
27. Unavoidable and Vicarious Emotional Risk in Family Conflict Resolution
Families in crisis often present as raw, emotional, and out of control, relying on their lawyers, clinicians, and financial advisors to restore balance and function. This workshop explores the emotional toll of that responsibility through the lenses of compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma, examining how these dynamics manifest, impact professional boundaries, and affect care. Through discussion and shared experiences, participants will gain tools to recognize, manage, and contain these challenges, fostering resilience, collaboration, and sustainable practice within AFCC’s mission of family conflict resolution.
Beth F. McCormack, JD, Beermann LLP, Chicago, IL
Carrie W. Rosenbloom, JD, LMFT, Ann Arbor, MI
28. Will Child Support Ever End? Family Life in the Time of Delayed Adulthood
With changes in the economy and changes in parenting styles, more adult children are emotionally and financially dependent on their parents for longer than past generations. A family lawyer and family therapist will examine the legal and psychological impact of the modern-day phenomena of delayed adulthood.
Alyson G. Jones, MA, West Vancouver, BC, Canada
Karen F. Redmond, BEd, LLB, West Vancouver, BC, Canada
29. Demography Matters but Media Can Mislead: Population Trends and Family Court
Headlines about trends in families are ever present. Whether it’s changing gender roles, teenagers and social media, the uptick in older parents, or the decrease in teen pregnancies they sometimes serve to explain but often mislead to command our attention. This workshop explains the research underlying demographic headlines (including limitations) and will improve media literacy of family-related news headlines. A panel of AFCC members with diverse professional perspectives will then explain how news trends relate to family court caseloads and evolving family case dynamics.
Lilly D. Munro, LCSW, CADC, Family Court Services, Chicago, IL
Alexandra Crampton, MSW, PhD, Marquette Univ., Milwaukee, WI
Hon. Randall Fuller, Delaware County Common Pleas Court, Delaware, OH
Chioma Ajoku, JD, PhD, ABPP, Forensic Psych Solutions, Brooklyn, NY
30. The Role of Mental Health Professionals and Hague Convention Abduction Cases
This workshop will explore the role of psychological evaluations and testimony in Hague child abduction litigation. The panelists will review a Hague case involving the legal systems of Turkey and the United States in an alleged abduction of a six-year-old Turkish boy to New York by his mother. They will also review the case of alleged retention of three young children from Israel to the United States by their father. The presentation will include a demonstration of a cross-examination of a forensic expert.
William H. Kaplan, MD, Great Neck, NY
Richard H. Min, JD, New York, NY
Alberto A. Yohananoff, PhD, NYC Forensics, New York, NY
Brett S. Ward, JD, Blank Rome LLP, New York, NY