Judicial Scholarships

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.

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 February 7, 2024, and
• NCJFCJ’s final date to cancel registration is March 1, 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.

To apply for a scholarship, click the button below.

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.

To apply for a scholarship, click the button below.

TexasBarCLE and the Child Protection Law Section of the State Bar of Texas hosted the Annual Advanced Child Protection Law Course held on March 23-24, 2023 in Houston, Texas which included a 3-hour Child Protection Law 101 Course pre-conference training. Webcast replay for both the 101 Course and the Advanced Course is also available. For more information on both courses, please see the current brochure.

Please note, the registration fees for the courses are waived for Texas judges by TexasBarCLE. Judges wishing to attend the 101 Course or Advanced Course should contact TexasBarCLE directly.

This scholarship is now closed.

Each year, the TexasBarCLE hosts the Advanced Family Law Course, which includes the Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) one-day Workshop. The 2023 CAN Workshop was held on Wednesday, August 9, 2023. For more information and updates, please visit the TexasBarCLE website.

Please note, the registration fee for the CAN Workshop is waived for Texas judges by TexasBarCLE. Judges wishing to attend the Workshop should contact TexasBarCLE directly.

This scholarship is now closed.

The NACC’s 46th National Child Welfare Law Conference was held on August 10-12, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition, a second virtual conference will take place on September 20-22, 2023. Registration to attend the in-person conference includes access to the virtual conference in September. More information about each is available on the NACC website.

This scholarship is now closed.

The Children’s Commission offered up to 10 reimbursement scholarships to judges and attorneys to attend the in-person conference in Minneapolis on August 10-12, 2023.

Attendance Policy:

This event is hosted by the NACC. This scholarship opportunity 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 on the event dates and to provide detailed responses to a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission thereafter.

The reimbursement scholarship of $1,000 will be used to cover registration fees ($475), with remaining funds available for reimbursement of eligible conference-related travel expenses after the in-person event has concluded (up to $525).

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. 

For more information, please visit the Commission's Texas Board of Specialization webpage.