Center for Excellence in Family Court Practice

In collaboration with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

The Domestic Violence and Family Courts Project was co-sponsored by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and revolved around a think tank of 37 leaders in from family court, family law, domestic violence advocacy and academic communities.  The think tank focused on issues of differentiation in domestic violence. 

The Wingspread Conference led to a commitment of participants to continue working together in groups on issues related to terminology, screening and assessment, interventions, outcomes (i.e., parenting plans) and education. A special issue of Family Court Review, featuring articles co-authored by writers from different professional and ideological backgrounds, was published in July 2008.  Many of the co-authors presented together at the AFCC 45th Annual Conference in Vancouver. 

In the years following, several Wingspread participants provided training and presentation for numerous organizations.  There has been strong collaboration between AFCC, NCJFCJ and key leaders in the domestic violence advocacy community (notably the Battered Women’s Justice Project and Praxis International) and AFCC continues to collaborate with these partners on issues related to domestic violence and family court.