PLENARY Juvenile and Family Law Q Cancun Underwater Museum Q International Alchemy Conference
PRE CON Courting a Virtual Audience
EVENT: The National Conference on Juvenile and Family Law, sponsored by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), a nonprofit organization founded in 1937 to improve the juvenile-justice system 2011 MEETING (MARCH 27–30): The 2011 conference will be held at John Ascuaga’s Nug- get resort–casino in Reno. NCJFCJ is expecting more than 600 participants and 70 exhibitors for the four-day meeting, which will offer approxi- mately 70 educational sessions. CHALLENGES: Prior to 2006, nearly half of at- tendees were court-related personnel, such as probation officers and case workers, while the remainder were judges and court administra- tors, said Diane Barnette, CMP, NCJFCJ’s director of conference planning and marketing. But as a result of the economic downturn and cuts in state funding, over the last two years atten- dance by court-related personnel has dropped to 6 percent. That’s a problem, because non-
judge personnel are working on the front lines in the juvenile-justice system. Barnette said: “There is a lot of crossover between juvenile and dependency cases,” the latter of which include child-abuse and -neglect cases. Although finding the money to pay for regis-
tration is partly to blame for lower attendance by this member group, there are also the issues of increased workloads and state furloughs, which make it tough for court employees to take time away from their jobs. “That would reduce services to children and families in the system,” Barnette said. “And it’s just not ac- ceptable for there to be too many delays in the justice system.” INITIATIVES: NCJFCJ is finding ways to deliver content to people who can’t make it to the meeting. For starters, some of the conference content will be webcast. NCJFCJ also will broad- cast a pre-conference webinar — its first — and Barnette is launching a blog on the organiza- tion’s website that will feature contributions from dozens of experts in the juvenile-justice field. And NCJFCJ plans to concentrate some of the most crucial conference content into a “mini-program,” in the hope that some attend- ees can come for just one day or afternoon. “We are moving from a traditional confer-
ence format,” Barnette said, “... toward a format that provides an interactive learning environ- ment that provides learning opportunities for all stakeholders.” n
— Barbara Palmer
SYSTEMS APPROACH: NCJFCJ goes beyond the courts to improve juvenile justice.
THERE’S A MEETING FOR THAT? Spirits in the Material World
INTERNATIONAL ALCHEMY CONFERENCE (IAC): Produced by the International Al- chemy Guild and the Modern Mystery School, the IAC is “a high-energy, hands-on, in- teractive event that supports and promotes education, spiritualism, and peace.” The 2010 IAC, held at the Long Beach Convention Center on Oct. 1–4, included an inter- natonal peace prayer offered under the Golden Pyramid of Peace (1–3), a bookstore with an assortment of texts and products (4), and a variety of keynotes, breakout sessions, and workshops. For more information, visit www.alchemyconference.com.