MO-AFCC Spring Conference

The Missouri Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (MO-AFCC)
​Co-Sponsored by MARCH Mediation

MO-AFCC Spring 2020 Conference-Cancelled

April 2-3, 2020, at the St. Louis Zoo

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM KEVIN CHAFIN, PRESIDENT, MO-AFCC- 3-13-20
​Each Spring, I look forward to gathering with colleagues to consider how we can continue to improve the services we provide to families. In the past few years we have looked at a variety of topics including Teaching Effective Co-Parenting Skills and Techniques, Creating Child-Focused Parenting Plans, and digging into our cognitive bias by Exploring Decision-Making Process in Family Law Cases. Of course, I have been eager for this year's conference and our opportunity to spend time with the always fascinating Dr. Robert A. Simon as he talked to us about a variety of topics.

Unfortunately, the current novel coronavirus pandemic has intervened in our plans. We have canceled the Missouri Chapter of AFCC Spring Conference scheduled for April 2 and 3, 2020. This was a difficult, but obvious, decision given the situation. It is important to us that we help protect the health and safety of all participants.

The volunteers in our chapter who helped plan this event will continue to work to bring you our next conference. As soon as we have a plan for that event, we will let you know.

Those who have already registered for the Spring 2020 conference will receive direct contact. We will work quickly to refund monies to all registrants. We appreciate your continued support and participation. 

​Thank you for all you do to help families resolve conflict more effectively.

Kevin Chafin,
Missouri Chapter, President

Agenda

About Dr. Simon
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Pre-Conference Institute (12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
  • Noon -1:00 p.m. - Registration and Welcome at River Camp, St. Louis Zoo
  • 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. - Never Married Parents – Unique Challenges in Custody and Counseling with Dr. Simon - One size doesn’t fit all…modern times includes modern families.  Parents who have never been married and who may have never had a relationship let alone cohabited are increasingly common.  How are these families similar to the “traditional” family and how are they different?  What does this mean for the work we do?
​
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Conference (4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.)
  • 4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. - Ethics: Dealing with Difficult Professionals – When Attorneys and Therapists mimic their High Conflict Clients with Dr. Simon and additional panelists
  • 5:15 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. - Social  
 
Friday, April 3, 2020
Conference (8:30 a.m. – 4:50 p.m.)
  • 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. - Registration and Welcome at River Camp, coffee/rolls
  • 8:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. - We Specialize in Difficult Clients, Are We Prepared for Our Own Specialty?  with Dr. Simon -  “We have met the enemy and they are us.”  Sometimes professionals mirror the dysfunction of the clients.  What makes people difficult and what can we do to assure that we don’t mirror their behavior when we work on their cases?
  • 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. - Annual Meeting (Elections and Ellen Cowell Award) & Lunch
  • 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. - Our Footprint on Families and the Unintended Consequences with Dr. Simon - What do we really know about the outcome of our cases?  What do we know about the efficacy of the various interventions we recommend and order?  What happens when professionals wish to help but when doing so leads to harm?  Less can sometimes be more.  
  • 4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. - Judges Panel-TBA
  • Closing​​
​Robert A. Simon, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized leader in forensic psychology consulting.  Based in San Diego, CA, and Maui, HI,  Dr. Simon is retained by attorneys throughout the country to consult on custody cases and provide expert witness testimony.  Dr. Simon is an immediate past member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Family & Conciliation Courts and serves on the editorial board of the Family Court Review.  He is a member of the Board of  Directors of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Chair of the Board of Fellows of the National Center for Juvenile Justice.  He is the chair of the International Board of Directors of the World Congress on Family Law and Children’s rights and a member of the Executive Committee of the California Bar Court.  He is formerly a member of the Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct of the California Bar Association  and formerly a senior member of the Ethics Committee of the California Psychological Association.  Dr. Simon does a great deal of international consulting, teaching and lecturing.  He has provided training to mental health professionals, attorneys and judicial officers in America, Australia, Singapore and Italy.  He was invited by the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia to be a lead trainer in their 2016 national conference of the court’s Family Consultants.  He is the co-author of the book "Forensic Psychology Consultation in Child Custody Litigation: A Handbook for Work Product Review, Case Preparation and Expert Testimony".  In the coming year in addition to a busy teaching and lecturing schedule in the United States, Dr. Simon will be teaching and lecturing in Germany, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore and South Africa.  Dr. Simon has also published articles in scholarly journals. 

Continuing Education Credit 

​AFCC maintains responsibility for the program and its content. Annual conferences provide CE credits for attorneys, social workers, and psychologists.   As the program is approved by APA, Missouri Bar and Missouri Committee for Social Workers, this page will be updated to reflect the credit granted.

Cancellations

​Cancellations received more than 30 days before the date of the program  will be issued  a credit which can be applied to  next year's program.  ​NO REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED.