Scholarships

Information about scholarships will be available on this webpage and also through announcements via the Children’s Commission’s Resource Letter for Judges and Attorneys. To receive notice about scholarships to future conferences and trainings, please subscribe below:

The Children's Commission regularly offers scholarships to judges and attorneys to attend state and national conferences. Scholarships typically reimburse attendees for conference registration fees, and occasionally, for travel-related expenses.

For all scholarships, the Children's Commission determines scholarship criteria and deploys an application process that includes pre- and post-conference evaluations to identify or confirm the knowledge gained from the training, new practices which awardees plan to implement, and/or a current practice which they plan to change. Surveys also inquire about additional topics of interest to help inform planning for future training.

Generally, to meet the criteria for attorney scholarships, the applicant must:

currently represent DFPS or currently receive appointments on a child welfare docket;
be in good standing with the State Bar of Texas;
be in good standing with their primary or appointing judge; and
commit to completing and timely submitting a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission, in addition to the pre-event survey portion contained in the Commission scholarship application of their choice.

To be eligible for a judicial scholarship, applicants must handle civil child welfare cases.

Preference may be given to judicial and attorney applicants who have not received scholarships from the Children’s Commission within the past two years. Other considerations include, but are not limited to, the percentage of a judge’s docket or an attorney’s law practice devoted to child welfare cases.

Attendance Policy:

Scholarship opportunities are funded by a federal grant, which is managed by the Supreme Court of Texas Children's Commission. The Children's Commission is responsible for reporting attendance in support of the grant expenses. All scholarship awardees will be expected to participate in the training on the event dates and to provide detailed responses to a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission thereafter.

Please visit the sections below for more information on state and national conferences on child welfare-related issues. For questions about scholarships to this year’s events, please email CCScholarships@txcourts.gov.

Information on scholarships will be available on this webpage and also through announcements via the Children’s Commission’s Resource Letters for Judges and Attorneys. To receive notice about scholarships to future conferences and trainings, please sign up to receive Resource Letters from the Children’s Commission.

Upcoming Scholarships

Annual Advanced Child Protection Law Course (For Attorneys)

TexasBarCLE and the Child Protection Law Section of the State Bar of Texas will host the 6th Annual Advanced Child Protection Law Course (Advanced Course) on April 4-5, 2024. A 3-hour Child Protection Law 101 Course (101 Course) will also be offered as a pre-conference training on the morning of April 4th. Both the 101 Course and the Advanced Course will also be offered via webcast replay.

More information regarding the course and scholarships will be available in early 2024.

Child Abuse and Neglect one-day Workshop (For Attorneys)

TexasBarCLE will host the 2024 Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) one-day Workshop during the Annual State Bar of Texas Advanced Family Law MCLE in August 2024. This one-day training covers current topics of interest to Texas attorneys who practice on the child welfare docket. The Children’s Commission will provide up to 75 registration scholarships to attorneys to attend the 2024 Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) Workshop.

More information about the scholarship will be available in the spring of 2024.

NACC National Child Welfare Law Conference (For Judges & Attorneys)

The NACC’s 47th National Child Welfare Law Conference is scheduled for August 12-14, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Additionally, a second virtual conference will take place in late summer or early fall, 2024. The Children’s Commission will offer up to 10 reimbursement scholarships to judges and attorneys to attend the in-person conference in Salt Lake City on August 12-14, 2024. The scholarship reimbursement of up to $1,000 will be applied to registration fees and eligible travel expenses. For more information about the conference, please visit the NACC Conference webpage.

More information about the scholarship will be available in the spring of 2024.

Past Scholarship Opportunities

ABA Center on Children and the Law National Conferences (For Attorneys)

The ABA’s Center on Children and the Law will host two national conferences in 2024: the Access to Justice for Children and Families Conference and the National Parent Representation Conference. These conferences bring together experienced child and parent attorneys, youth formerly in foster care, parents, judges, child welfare agency representatives, and other key stakeholders to receive not only substantive training, but also tips for returning to their home states to work on ways to improve the quality of legal representation for children and parents.

Please read below for details about scholarships to attend one of these national conferences, criteria for applicants, and a link to apply.

Dates and Locations:

The ABA Center on Children and the Law has announced it will host both national conferences in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia. The Access to Justice for Children and Families Conference is scheduled for April 9-10, 2024, and the National Parent Representation Conference is scheduled for April 11-12, 2024. For more information, please visit the ABA National Conferences web page.

The location for both conferences is:
Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner
1700 Tysons Boulevard
McLean, VA 22102
Hotel Information

Scholarship Details and Criteria:

The Children’s Commission will provide up to ten reimbursement scholarships to attend one of the two national conferences above. The scholarship will be in the form of reimbursement of up to $1,500 for the conference registration fee and eligible conference-related travel expenses to attend one of the conferences. Applicants who meet all of the criteria detailed below will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis for a scholarship. Scholarships are limited and early applications are strongly encouraged.

To meet the criteria for this scholarship, the applicant must:

currently represent DFPS or take appointments on a child welfare docket,
be in good standing with the State Bar of Texas,
be supported by their appointing or presiding judge, and
commit to timely completion of a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission.

Judges with applicants from their jurisdiction will be notified by the Children’s Commission and asked to confirm that the applicant currently represents DFPS or takes appointments on their CPS docket.

Attendance Policy:

This scholarship is funded by a federal grant, which is managed by the Supreme Court of Texas Children's Commission. The Children's Commission is responsible for reporting attendance in support of the grant expenses. All scholarship awardees will be expected to participate in the training and to provide detailed responses to a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission thereafter.

The number of scholarships for this event is limited. Awardees who can no longer participate or no longer need the scholarship in order to attend should notify the Children’s Commission in writing and with as much advance notice as possible so that the scholarship may be offered to another applicant. Please note that awardees who accept the scholarship and subsequently do not attend the training deprive another qualified attorney of the opportunity which may also disqualify the awardee from receiving a Commission scholarship in the future.

Application Link and Deadline to Apply:

Applications will be accepted until midnight on Friday, January 12, 2024. This scholarship is now closed.

Scholarship Notification and Logistics:

The Children’s Commission will notify awardees after the scholarship application period has ended and after we have verified your standing with the Bar and your eligibility with your primary judge. We hope to notify all applicants of their scholarship status by January 19, 2024.

Each scholarship awardee will receive up to $1,500 in reimbursement after the event to cover registration and eligible conference-related travel expenses. A reimbursement form will be provided to awardees and must be submitted to the Children’s Commission within 45 days of travel. For information regarding eligible travel expenses for reimbursement, please review the Commission’s travel reimbursement guidelines.

All scholarship awardees are responsible for securing their own registration, hotel, and travel plans, and awardees must cover these costs before the training. Confirmed scholarship awardees may submit for reimbursement upon return. Please note that the early bird registration rate for both ABA conferences ends on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.

Awardees are also responsible for cancelling their own registration and travel plans in a timely manner, should they become unable to attend. The Children’s Commission is not able to offer reimbursement for those who incur costs and do not attend. Please note that per the ABA, the final date to cancel registration is April 5, 2024. If cancelled by 04/5/2024, ABA will charge a $50 cancellation fee and refund the remainder.

All scholarship awardees are responsible for monitoring notices and emails from the event organizer.

The Children’s Commission is not affiliated with the event and may not be aware of notices issued by the event organizer regarding cancellation policies, CLE notices and reporting rules, notices or policies regarding COVID-19, etc. The Children’s Commission is not responsible for applying for or reporting out of state CLE credit to the State Bar of Texas on behalf of individual attendees.

Helpful Links:

ABA National Conferences web page
Hotel Information

NCJFCJ Annual Conference (For Judges)

The NCJFCJ 87th Annual Conference will be held on July 21-24, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona. This conference generally features sessions on domestic relations, juvenile justice, child welfare, family violence, and emerging issues. More information about the conference is available on the NCJFCJ website.

The Children’s Commission is offering reimbursement scholarships for qualifying Texas judges to attend the in-person 87th Annual Conference. Please note, this is a reimbursement scholarship and confirmed awardees will be required to cover their expenses up front in order to attend. Please read below for scholarship criteria, logistics, and a link to apply.

SCHOLARSHIP CRITERIA:

To be eligible for a scholarship from the Children’s Commission, applicants must handle civil child welfare cases. Preference is given to judges who have larger percentages of their docket dedicated to child welfare cases. Additionally, all scholarship recipients must agree to complete a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission.

This scholarship takes the form of reimbursed registration fees and allowable conference-related expenses, such as travel, lodging, and meals, up to $2,000 total. Any additional expenses must be covered by the scholarship recipient.

SCHOLARSHIP NOTIFICATION AND TRAVEL LOGISTICS:

If you are awarded a scholarship, the Children’s Commission will notify you by December 15, 2023. Awardees will need to register themselves for the conference and make their own travel arrangements, including hotel reservations. Confirmed scholarship awardees may submit for reimbursement of eligible expenses upon return. For information regarding eligible travel expenses, please review the Commission’s travel reimbursement guidelines.

Please also note the following important dates:

The early bird registration rate ends on June 5, 2024, and
NCJFCJ’s final date to cancel registration is June 30, 2024 and an administrative fee may be incurred.

Scholarship awardees will be responsible for monitoring the NCJFCJ’s cancellation policies and cancelling their own registration and travel plans in a timely manner, should they become unable to attend. The Children’s Commission cannot offer reimbursement for those who incur costs and do not attend. More information on NCJFCJ’s cancellation policies is available under their registration webpage.

All scholarship awardees are responsible for monitoring notices and emails from the event organizer. The Children’s Commission is not affiliated with the event and may not be aware of notices issued by the event organizer regarding cancellation policies, CLE notices and reporting rules, notices or policies regarding COVID-19, etc.

For questions regarding this scholarship, please contact the Children's Commission at CCscholarships@txcourts.gov.

APPLICATION LINK AND DEADLINE TO APPLY:

Applications will be accepted until midnight on Thursday, December 7, 2023.

The application period for this scholarship is now closed.

NCJFCJ National Conference on Juvenile Justice (For Judges)

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) will host the 2024 National Conference on Juvenile Justice on March 17-20, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. The conference features plenary and breakout sessions on juvenile justice, trafficking, child welfare, court best practices, and innovative solutions. More information is available on the NCJFCJ website.

The Children’s Commission is offering reimbursement scholarships for qualifying Texas judges to attend the in-person 2024 National Conference on Juvenile Justice. Please note, this is a reimbursement scholarship and confirmed awardees will be required to cover their expenses up front in order to attend. Please read below for scholarship criteria, logistics, and a link to apply.