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NCFR Weekly Zippy News
Friday, Dec. 12, 2025
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• Family Science in the Media
• NCFR Policy Corner
• Congrats Soyoung Lee
• Watch NCFR 2025 Sessions
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• New Special Issue of JFTR
• New Journal Research
• FR Special Section Call
• Video of the Week
• >> Job Opportunities <<
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In the News
Family Science 5: Research & Researchers in the Media
Catch up on Family Science research and researchers featured in the media last month, including these connections to National Family Caregivers Month, recognized in the U.S. each November:
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The Conversation featured research from NCFR's Family Relations journal in a piece for caregivers about helping loved ones with dementia maintain their sense of personhood.
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The Montreal Gazette quoted NCFR Fellow Pauline Boss, Ph.D., in a piece that addresses the experience of caring for someone with dementia.
READ ALL ARTICLES |
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NCFR Policy Corner
This Week's Policy Highlights
Dec. 12, 2025 | Six-Minute Read
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ACTION ITEM: Submit Your Comments on Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a rule to change how immigrants to the U.S. are defined as needing government subsistence (known as “public charge”) beyond just cash assistance that now includes Medicaid and the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). If finalized, this rule will require immigration officials to assess if a person applying for admission to the U.S. or for lawful permanent resident status will use these programs, creating uncertainty and impacting the health and self-sufficiency of millions of immigrant families with U.S.-born children. Comments are due Dec. 19, 2025.
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The Federal Budget Update and Timeline — The federal government reopened on Nov. 13, 2025, after Congress passed a bipartisan funding bill, extending funds until January 2026 and providing longer-term support for programs like Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and backpay for federal employees. Legislation extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits did not pass the Senate on Dec. 11. The House will vote before recess on Dec. 15, 2025 addressing health care costs.
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Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Funding Lawsuit: Twenty states are suing the Trump Administration over changes to the Continuum of Care (CoC) program. Proposed policy shifts funding from permanent to temporary housing, adds service requirements, and allows HUD to deny funds to organizations that recognize transgender or nonbinary individuals.
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SNAP Funding Dispute: The Trump Administration has threatened to withhold SNAP funding from 22 Democratic-controlled states starting Dec. 8, 2025, unless they provide the names and immigration status of recipients.
SEE FULL HIGHLIGHTS |
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2025 NCFR Annual Conference
Watch Sessions You Missed
Conference attendees have access to 11 recorded sessions on demand including:
View all recordings in the Cvent Attendee Hub on your mobile device or web browser. Log in and go to the "On Demand" section.
VIEW ALL SESSIONS
More Postconference Resources
Find Continuing Education Info Here
Download the Schedule PDF
Download the Program Participants Index
Classroom Licenses for Conference Recordings |
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CFLE NEWS |
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Awards & Recognition
Soyoung Lee Receives Dawn Cassidy CFLE Special Recognition Award |
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Soyoung Lee, Ph.D., CFLE, is the recipient of the 2025 Dawn Cassidy Certified Family Life Educator Special Recognition Award
Each year, NCFR honors outstanding contributions made by one or more Certified Family Life Educators (CFLEs) to Family Life Education at the CFLE Reception during the NCFR Annual Conference.
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Degree Programs
Concordia University Wisconsin Receives CFLE Approval for China Degree Program
The Master of Science in family education at Concordia University Wisconsin is the newest degree program to be approved by NCFR as meeting the criteria for the Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) credential.
This online program is offered in China through a partnership with Zijing Education. Classes are taught exclusively in Chinese Mandarin by Concordia and Chinese professors.
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More than 140 degree programs at universities and colleges throughout the United States and Canada have been CFLE-approved by NCFR. Learn more about CFLE Academic Program Approval. |
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NCFR JOURNALS |
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NCFR Journals
New JFTR Special Issue on Critical Intersectional Family Science
Plus JMF Articles Published Nov. 30–Dec. 6
Catch up on the latest research from NCFR's scholarly journals — Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF), Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science (FR), and Journal of Family Theory & Review (JFTR).
In addition to new early-view articles published last week in JMF, a new special issue is available from JFTR, themed "Theorizing and Doing Critical Intersectional Family Science" and guest edited by NCFR Fellow April L. Few-Demo, Ph.D., and NCFR members Veronica R. Barrios, Ph.D., and Dana A. Weiser, Ph.D.
“A decade ago, April Few-Demo argued intersectionality was the 'new' critical approach to utilizing a critical lens within feminist family science,” the guest editors write in their introduction. “This special issue invited interdisciplinary scholars to consider how intersectionality has evolved and expanded, to examine tensions and challenges with applying an intersectional lens, and to address how intersectionality has been utilized in pedagogy, research, and praxis.”
SEE ALL NEW NCFR RESEARCH
If you are an NCFR member subscribed to one of our journals, you can access articles by logging into your NCFR account. You can also sign up for email alerts. |
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FR Seeks Papers for Special Section on CBPR
By Dec. 30: Indicate Your Interest in Submitting
Letters of intent are due by Dec. 30, 2025, to indicate your interest in submitting for a special section of NCFR's Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science (FR) themed "Community-Based Participatory Research to Understand Families and Family Contexts."
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods — which challenge traditional power dynamics by recognizing that research participants are the foremost experts on their own lives — have been gaining momentum in developmental and Family Science, yet remain underrepresented. This special section will provide family practitioners, educators, marriage and family therapists, and interventionists with concrete tools and frameworks for implementing collaborative approaches that are more responsive to the diverse families they serve worldwide.
For authors invited to submit a manuscript, manuscripts will be due June 15, 2026.
SEE CALL FOR PAPERS |
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MEMBER NEWS |
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In Memoriam
Norman B. Epstein
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Norman B. Epstein, Ph.D., passed away on Oct. 17, 2025, at the age of 78.
He was a professor emeritus in the Department of Family Science at the University of Maryland College Park, where he served as a core faculty member of the nationally accredited Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) program for 36 years and held the post of CFT director from 2003 through 2018.
He also maintained a private practice for over 45 years working as a a licensed clinical psychologist and clinical marriage and family therapist. |
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Dr. Epstein was a pioneer in the development of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for couples and families. He authored and edited six foundational books on CBT for couples, helped develop widely-used instruments to assess and treat couples, and widely disseminated his teaching and training across the U.S. and into China and South Korea.
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NCFR RESOURCES |
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NCFR Publications
Second Editions of 2 NCFR Books Available for Purchase
Edited by Wm. Michael Fleming, Ph.D., CFLE; and Michael J. Walcheski, Ph.D., CFLE
$79.99 retail. $69.99 for NCFR members and CFLEs
Useful and informative for seasoned and emerging professionals, as well as for students, this textbook provides a comprehensive examination of the profession from the perspectives of many leading family scholars and educators.
The second edition includes four sections that consider the knowledge and skills needed for the effective practice of Family Life Education (FLE) and chapters on FLE with various populations and relevant issues.
Learn more & purchase >
Wisdom for Parents. Key Ideas from Parent Educators
Edited by Elizabeth A. Ramsey, Ph.D., CFLE
$29.95 retail. $25.95 for CFLEs
Family Science professionals from across the discipline share stories, reflection, and poems in this extensive collection of parenting knowledge that can benefit anyone— teachers, researchers, students, and parents!
A variety of relevant topics on the joys and challenges of parenting are woven together to create a valuable resource both in and out of the classroom setting. This second edition includes updated entries, new contributions, and discussion questions.
Learn more & purchase > |
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Video of the Week
Highlights from NCFR 2025
Thank you to all those that contributed to and participated in this year's annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland! You each made this year's conference a memorable one! Here is a special video showcasing some sights and sounds from NCFR 2025.
WATCH VIDEO
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NCFR JOBS CENTER |
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New Employment Opportunities
Employers: Get your job opening included in Zippy News by posting it in
NCFR's online Jobs Center! Get started here.
No new job listings this week. |
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