In 2026 the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) will hold the 2026 National Conference on Juvenile Justice from March 15-18, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The NCJFCJ’s 89th Annual Conference will be held July 19 – 22, 2026, in Nashville, TN.
The NCJFCJ Curriculum Committee is now accepting conference proposals for 60 minute breakout sessions for EACH conference (Please note: if your session is selected, it will be chosen for only ONE of the conferences). The committee is looking for sessions focused on current theories and promising practices for juvenile and family courts, as well as subject matters of professional interest to bench officers, court managers, and probation officers. We will prioritize those sessions which include a judicial officer as co-faculty.
The audience is composed of primarily juvenile and family court judges (both state and tribal courts), as well as probation officers, court professionals, attorneys, and community affiliates.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR BOTH CONFERENCES:
October 10, 2025
The conference will offer a variety of sessions on cutting-edge topics, current research, and innovative practices. The committee is looking for proposals on a broad range of topics impacting state and tribal courts such as:
- Court and community reform efforts for court involved families
- Juvenile justice – emerging topics, as well as ‘essential’ topics
- Family violence — emerging topics, as well as ‘essential’ topics
- Child welfare systems improvement efforts
- Crossover youth, young adult
- Anti-shackling and detention alternatives
- Access to justice, procedural justice
- State and tribal court partnerships
- Unique tribal court interventions for families and children
- Domestic child sex trafficking
- Racial and ethnic disparity
- Implicit bias and decision-making
- Brain science, child development, trauma science
- Mental health aspects for juveniles and adults
- Juvenile and family drug treatment courts
- Judicial leadership
- Judicial ethics
- International family and juvenile topics, Hague
- UCCJEA, PKPA issues
- Case law updates national
- Children testifying in court
- Interviewing children
- Technological advances in courts
- Collaboration within court systems and among community stakeholders
- Intimate partner violence
- Elders abuse
- Custody and parenting time
- Financial aspects of divorce
- Access to justice
- Procedural justice
Letters reflecting the Curriculum Committee’s decisions will be sent out after January 1, 2026. Should you have any questions, please reach out to Emma Schiller Carpenter, Conference and Events Manager, eschiller@ncjfcj.org. Thank you!