The Children’s Commission is offering up to 10 reimbursement scholarships to qualified judges and attorneys to attend the in-person National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) 45th National Child Welfare Law Conference on August 22-24, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. More information about the conference is available on the NACC website.
The scholarship will take the form of reimbursement of up to $1,000 for the conference registration fee and eligible conference-related travel expenses to attend the NACC Conference. The Children’s Commission will pay conference registration fees directly to NACC for each recipient, and NACC will register all Commission scholarship awardees.
To meet the criteria for a scholarship, attorney applicants must currently represent the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) or take appointments on a child welfare docket and be in good standing with the State Bar of Texas and with their primary or appointing judge. Additionally, qualifying attorneys must receive a letter of support from their primary or appointing judge. Judges with applicants from their jurisdiction will be notified by the Children’s Commission and asked to respond regarding the applicant’s suitability for the NACC scholarship. Judicial applicants must primarily hear civil child welfare cases.
All applicants must also commit to timely completion of a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission. Applicants who meet all the criteria will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis for a scholarship, until all 10 spots are filled. Preference may be given to attorneys who have not received scholarships from the Children’s Commission in the past 1-2 years. Early applications are strongly encouraged due to the limited number of scholarships.
The scholarship application period for the NACC Conference will close at midnight on Friday, June 17, 2022.