WA AFCC

Advanced Update Training for Title 26 Guardian Ad Litem 

Spokane Training 2016

 

The Washington Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts is a non-profit charitable educational organization that serves the interdisciplinary needs of judges, attorneys, mental health professionals and others who work with child custody and parenting cases.

As part of our service to the community, the WA AFCC Speakers Bureau has developed a one-day six-hour training event that provides update advanced training for GALs. The program has been submitted to WSBA for continuing legal education credits.

The registration fee is being significantly reduced ($40) with an optional $10 fee for reporting the CLE attendance. Training materials will be posted on the WA AFCC website in PDF format for download.

It is necessary to pre-register in order to ensure that we have sufficient space for those who wish to attend, as space is limited. Course evaluation and program evaluation forms will be utilized for gathering feedback and for meeting continuing education requirements.

For 2016, the program will be offered on Monday, July 25^th in Spokane at the Spokane Falls Community College, Lounge A. The location for September 19th Olympia session will be announced. These are regional programs seeking to provide outreach to large sections of the state. Watch for more details in the coming weeks.

Program Schedule, Topics and Trainers

8:00 to 8:30-- Registration

8:30 to 10:00-- Shared Parenting and Attachment Issues -- Dr. Lynn Fainsilber-Katz

10:00 to 10:15-- break

10:15 to 11:45-- Decision Making for Thorny Issues (DV, Alienation, Addictions)-- Dr. Daniel Rybicki

11:45 to 1:00—Lunch on your own

1:00 to 2:30-- Parenting Plans for Young Children -- Dana Dean Doering, ARNP, Michele Unsworth, M.Ed.

2:30 to 2:45-- break

2:45 to 4:15 -- How to Avoid Common Pitfalls: Professional Ethics and Roles -- Frances Kevetter, J.D.

4:15—Wrap Up and Course Evaluations

 

 

Register Now! 

Program Details

The Pros and Cons of Shared Parenting: Current Research and Implications for Practice

Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D.

When parents separate, children typically enter into new living arrangements with each parent in a manner determined by parents and with recommendations and decisions by attorneys, therapists, evaluators and the courts.  Increasingly, legal and mental health professionals are considering parent’s requests for equal or near equal parenting time.  Shared parenting is a controversial topic in family law, with strongly held and divergent opinions.  The purpose of this presentation is to provide participants with an overview of issues involved in determinations of shared parenting.  In the first part of this presentation, participants will learn about current research related to living arrangements after divorce, father involvement and their associations with child psychosocial adjustment. In the second part of the presentation, shared parenting as it relates to infants and young children (0-3 year olds) will be outlined.

Learning Objectives -- Participants will:

1.  Understand historical trends underlying current parental interest in shared parenting time with their children.

2.  Gain knowledge about current research findings related to shared parenting

3.  Learn about current thinking about shared parenting in infants and young children (0-3 years old).

Thorny Issues in Family Law: Investigating Allegations of Domestic Violence, Alienation and Addictions Daniel Rybicki, Psy.D.

Systematic and research-guided investigation is the key to productive GAL parenting evaluations. Complex cases often bring allegations of domestic violence, alienation and addictions. Using a decision-tree model and checklists, this session will provide streamlined and thorough investigation methods to enhance the quality of data collection and case analysis. Methods of assessment and intervention will be addressed along with drawing distinctions between family system concerns and 191 limitation factors.

Learning Objectives-- Participants will:

1. Recognize essential components of systematic investigation methodology and relationship to demonstrating logical nexus from data to recommendations.

2. Acquire outlines of key domains of investigation.

3. Increase understanding of conceptual pitfalls and risks for bias or distortion when systematic investigation methods are not employed.

Attachment Considerations in Parenting Plans with Young Children for Family Law Practitioners 

Dana Dean-Doering, ARNP, and Michele Unsworth, M.Ed.

There is a great deal of interest and a great deal of confusion in the field regarding attachment issues with young children and how those impact overnight visitation. This program will define and describe attachment concepts in the context of family law and parenting plans. There is an emerging consensus among the experts on the question of overnights with children 0-48 months. This presentation will review those points and outline considerations for determining optimal post-separation overnight care of children aged 0–3 years (through the 3rd year 36 months).

Learning Objectives -- Participants will be able to:

1. Define attachment

2. Identify what is required for healthy attachment and consider implications for family law

3. Understand consensus and differences among the experts, Warshak and McIntosh, Pruett and Kelly and utilize table: McIntosh, Pruett, and Kelly/parental separation and overnight care of young children.

How to Avoid Common Pitfalls: Professional Ethics and Roles

Frances Kevetter, J.D.

Guardian Ad Litem carry a heavy professional burden when attempting to evaluate issues in a parenting investigation. With limited time and resources, GAL are expected to quickly determine what information is needed, how best to consider different data points, how to weigh conflicting information, and how to provide the Court with recommendations which meet the best interests of the children. Ethical challenges emerge in the course of practice which may limit the utility of the investigation and which may allow bias and error to confound the process. This presentation will rely on an interactive approach to outline common concerns and to share and discuss various approaches to avoid such pitfalls. This presentation should be enjoyable as well as informative.

Using case studies, attendees will:

• learn to identify ethical issues;
• learn statutory and legal authority in guiding ethical behavior; and
• learn ethical responsibilities in working with mental health professionals. 

Program Faculty:

 Lynn Fainsilber-Katz, Ph.D.

Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D., is a Research Professor in Child Clinical Psychology and Developmental Psychology at the University of Washington, and Associate Director of the University of Washington’s Child and Family Well-Being Center.  Dr. Katz has 24 years of experience working with children and families on issues relating to marital conflict, parenting and family relationships.  She has been conducting research on the effects of marital and family conflict on children’s adjustment.  Dr. Katz has written extensively in the area of marital conflict, and has authored numerous publications including Domestic Violence, Emotion Coaching and Child Adjustment; Buffering Children from Marital Conflict and Dissolution; and Patterns of Marital Conflict Predict Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior.  Her book on parenting, Meta-Emotion:  How Families Communicate Emotionally, received widespread attention both locally and nationally.  Most recently, she developed a parenting intervention for survivors of domestic violence.

Dr. Katz is nationally recognized as a leading expert in the area of family relations.  She has received over $10 million of funding from the National Institutes of Health for her work on domestic violence, parenting, childhood aggression, adolescent depression and family adjustment in the context of pediatric cancer.  She has lectured extensively on the effects of marital conflict on children, and on parenting qualities that buffer children from marital dissolution.  She has also taught courses on child and adolescent behavior disorders and on children’s social development at the University of Washington.

Daniel Rybicki, Psy.D.

Dr. Rybicki has over 29 years of experience as an expert witness and evaluator for family, criminal, civil, and dependency court cases. He has served in multiple jurisdictions including those in Illinois, Indiana, California, Oregon and Washington. He has conducted over 450 parenting evaluations and provided psychological testing to GAL’s and other evaluators in over 250 cases. He specializes in complex custody cases such as high conflict or relocation cases and cases where there are allegations of alienation, personality disturbance, sexual abuse, substance abuse, or domestic violence.

Dr. Rybicki has a Diplomate in Forensic Psychology. He has specialty skills in psychological testing and he has conducted over 3,000 full psychological batteries. He provides critique and review services of other professional's child custody evaluations and he serves as a rebuttal witness or consultant for depositions and trials. He is on the editorial board for the Journal of Child Custody and he is the Founding President of the Washington Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

Dana  Dean-Doering, ARNP

Dana Dean Doering is a leading national educational consultant and child and adolescent psychiatric mental health specialist who has dedicated a 35 year career to helping children, adolescents, young adults and families improve their lives. She has also distinguished herself as an international child advocate, parenting coordinator, and children's book photo illustrator. She helps children, adolescents, young adults and parents explore creative options for educational planning. Her goal is to uplift a child and student's life and bring new possibilities, strategies and solutions to bear, as well as providing comprehensive assessment and consultation for critical moments of evaluation and decision-making in a student's and family's life.

              She believes in optimizing a child's future, talents and capacities. She and the team build recommendations from a strength based approach centered on child, adolescent, young adult and family development. With over 13 years of college and advanced graduate studies at University of Texas, Johns Hopkins University and University of Washington, Dana continues to be an informed and valued contributor in her field. Dana has served in both academic and research positions, as well as in many decades of private practice. Dana is also involved in volunteer work, community development and community philanthropy.

Michele Unsworth, M.Ed.

Michele Unsworth, M.Ed., is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor/Supervisor.  Prior to relocation to Olympia she contracted with then was employed by the Idaho Supreme Court (December 2006-June 2015) as Coordinator/Manager of Family Court Services for the six southwest counties of the Idaho Third Judicial District to: Develop, implement and oversee court-based services for families; Supervise and train Family Court Services providers and staff including Court Assistance, Domestic Violence Courts, Guardianship and Child Protection Courts, Mediation, Parent Coordination, Parenting Time Evaluation, and Court Involved Therapy; Provide administrative support, research and education to Family Court judges; Promote least intrusive and most effective alternative, non-adversarial methods of dispute resolution, child development and parenting apart education; Assist families and courts with developmentally sensitive parenting schedules and other resources for families.

Michele received her B.A. and M.Ed. in Counseling from Whitworth University in Spokane. Her background includes twenty five years in various capacities in Washington and then in Idaho as an adoption specialist, school counselor, psycho/education treatment group facilitator and mental health clinician approved to provide supervision for counselors.  Michele has been an Idaho Supreme Court approved Child Custody Mediator since 1999 and an active member of the Conflict Resolution Center of the Inland Northwest since 2014.  She is committed to assisting families in finding peaceful ways to settle their disputes outside the court system, when possible. 

Frances Kevetter, J.D.

Frances Kevetter is an attorney at law working in King County and Pierce County. She is part of the King County Alliance Against Domestic Violence Workshop and provides continuing education through this community service platform. This workshop group began with a D.V. Screening event in 2010.  The group has membership by invitation only and Frances was invited to participate as part of their recognition of her service to the community.

Frances has served as a Guardian Ad Litem in Pierce County for many years and she is recognized as a professional who is deeply devoted to providing insightful investigations and working diligently to capture key family dynamics. She has been instrumental in getting articles published about the Special Master Parenting Coordinator concept and she is working to facilitate a judicial task force to develop statutory guidelines and Rules of Court for Family Law Special Masters.

For More Information, contact Dr. Daniel Rybicki at (253) 509-0922 or by email at info@wa-afcc.net