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• 2026 Conference Update
• Policy Highlights and Opportunities
• Tell Employers to Hire CFLEs
• Family Science in the News
• Vote in NCFR Elections by March 1 |
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• Free CFLE Conversation: Feb. 25
• Faculty Reviewers Needed
• Students: Apply for NCFR Honors
• New NCFR Research
• Calls for Papers
• >> Job Opportunities << |
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2026 NCFR Annual Conference
Call for Proposals Opens Next Week
Make plans to join us this fall for NCFR 2026 in Minneapolis. This year's theme is Families at the Nexus of Law and Policy: The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Legislating Families and Relationships.
Key Dates:
★ New Opening: Submit proposals beginning the third week of February
★ Deadline for Proposals: April 1, 2026
★ Registration Opens: Early May
★ Proposal Authors Notified: Mid-June
★ Conference Dates: Nov. 18-21, 2026, Preconference: Nov. 17
Our 2026 Program Co-Chairs Brian G. Ogolsky, Ph.D., and Jennifer L. Hardesty, Ph.D., CFLE, are organizing each day of the conference around a subtheme and goals that build upon each other over the course of the week.
We are looking forward to your proposals this year! |
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NCFR Policy Corner
This Week's Policy Highlights
Feb. 12, 2026 | Three-Minute Read
Appropriations Update – After a partial U.S. government shutdown, Congress was able to approve and sign into law last week five appropriations bills. Congress has until midnight this Friday to negotiate the Homeland Security measure, with Democrats requesting stronger restrictions on immigration enforcement.
U.S. Proposed Rulemaking: Reimagining and Improving Student Education - The public is invited to comment by March 2, 2026. Submit a comment here.
OPPORTUNITIES
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COSSA Social Science Advocacy Day, March 23-24: NCFR Members are invited to join the NCFR delegation in Washington D.C., to advocate for social science funding and increase visibility! Early bird extended to Feb. 13! Sign up here.
RESOURCES
SEE FULL HIGHLIGHTS |
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FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION |
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Family Life Education Month
Send a Letter to an Employer
Why Their Next Hire Should be a CFLE
Whether it’s program development, data analysis, or community outreach, a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) brings a systemic, strengths-based family systems approach that enhances programming. Adding a CFLE isn't just a hire—it’s a strategic investment in an organization’s reach and relevance.
This February, show employers and other professionals what Family Life Education (FLE) is and the impact CFLEs can have! A downloadable template to send to employers has been created for you to use using the links below:
DOWNLOAD PDF | DOWNLOAD WORD DOC |
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UPCOMING EVENTS |
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CFLE Conversation
Supporting Basic Needs in Family Life Education
Feb. 25, 2026 / Noon - 1 p.m. CT / Free for CFLEs
Facilitator: Barbara Sweeney, MSW, MPH, CFLE, LCSW
Are you a CFLE supporting families' basic needs such as food, housing, health care, education, or transportation? Join this active conversation to engage in discussion with other CFLEs doing similar work!
Ms. Sweeney is the Coordinator of Food Security Outreach at the University of Rhode Island (URI). In her role, she manages the university’s basic needs pantries, serves as a case manager on the Student Support and Advocacy team in the Dean of Students office, and works to enhance food security policy throughout URI.
LEARN MORE & RESERVE YOUR SEAT
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NCFR Affiliates
Oklahoma Council on Family Relations Annual Conference
Friday, April 10, 2026 / 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. CT / University of Central Oklahoma
Students: $60 / Professionals: $80
The Oklahoma Council on Family Relations (OKCFR) will hold its 2026 Annual Conference on April 10 at the University of Central Oklahoma. The theme is Parenting Across the Family Lifecourse.
Paper and poster submissions are now being accepted for the OKCFR Conference. Abstracts are due Feb. 28, 2026.
SEE FULL DETAILS
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NCFR MEMBER OPPORTUNITIES |
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NCFR Volunteers
Faculty Reviewers Needed for NCFR Honors Program
NCFR's Honors Student Program recognizes the exceptional academic, service, and leadership accomplishments of undergraduate and graduate students in the Family Science discipline.
NCFR seeks member volunteers to serve on a panel and review applications submitted by students in the final term of their degree program. Reviewers must currently serve as faculty in university family programs.
SIGN UP HERE |
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Graduating This Spring?
Students: Apply Now for NCFR Honors
If you are an NCFR member graduating this spring from an undergraduate, master's or Ph.D. program, you may be eligible to apply for NCFR Honors Student Recognition!
Students awarded NCFR Honors will receive a graduation stole, a certificate, and recognition in our NCFR Report member magazine — and it's a great addition to your résumé or CV.
STUDENTS: APPLY BY MARCH 1 |
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NCFR Elections
Meet the Candidates: NCFR Election Council Member-at-Large
All NCFR members are encouraged to vote in the NCFR elections by March 1 at noon CT. (Ballots were emailed to members on Feb. 1, 2026)
This week, you are invited to meet the nominees for NCFR Election Council Member-at-Large (pictured above, left to right, top to bottom). There are two open positions, and members may rank candidates in the order of preference.
- Kristen Benson (Virginia Tech)
- Kale Monk (University of Missouri)
- Robert Reyes, CFLE (Wilmington University)
- Dane Rivas-Koehl (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
- Jocelyn Smith Lee (University of North Carolina, Greensboro)
MEET THE CANDIDATES
On this year's ballot members will also be able to vote on proposed amendments to the NCFR Bylaws. |
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NCFR Grants
Research Grant Proposals Accepted Beginning March 1
NCFR will open the submission period for its two grants on March 1, 2026. All proposals are due by April 1, 2026.
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NCFR Olson Grant: Bridging Research, Theory, and Practice: $10,000 annual grant available to NCFR members working to creatively contribute to the discipline of Family Science by bridging research, theory, and practice in their work. Learn more.
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NCFR Darling Family Life Education Research Initiative Grant: $5,000 biennial grant available to NCFR members and Certified Family Life Educators with the purpose of integrating Family Science research into the practice of Family Life Education. Learn more.
Please note: Application for IRB approval must be submitted prior to submitting the grant application and match the project name. |
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RESEARCH |
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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 NCFR journal research highlighted in the context of current cultural moments:
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Spain's El Diario referenced research from Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science, about challenges and opportunities in using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop relationship interventions.
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Rolling Stone highlighted Journal of Family Theory & Review research about the gendered division of housework in North America.
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The Guardian referenced Journal of Marriage and Family research about estrangement between mothers and adult children.
READ ALL ARTICLES
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NCFR Journals
New Research Out From NCFR's Scholarly Journals
See Articles Published Jan. 25-31
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) — including these open-access articles:
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FR: From signing up to staying in: Exploring factors associated with engagement in parenting programs
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JMF: Premarital cohabitation and intimate partner violence in urban China: Evidence from Beijing
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JMF: Parental loss in early years and adult family formation: Evidence from U.S. cohorts born 1850–1910
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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NCFR Journals
JFTR Call for Papers: Theorizing Families & the State
Deadline Extended: March 15
The manuscript submission deadline has been extended to March 15, 2026, for a special issue of NCFR's Journal of Family Theory & Review (JFTR) themed "Theorizing Families and the State."
Manuscripts are sought that further delineate the ways in which family privilege and oppression are socially structured and reproduced by the state via laws, policies, rules, and regulations in the modern era and how marriage fundamentalism, in particular, operates alongside structural racism, nationalism, sexism, and heterosexism as an axis of power and control.
SEE CALL FOR PAPERS |
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NCFR Journals
FR Call for Papers: Ukrainian Forced Migrants' Transnational Families
Letters of Intent Due April 30
NCFR's Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science (FR) has released a call for papers for a special section with the theme "Ukrainian Forced Migrants’ Transnational Families: New Relationality and Shared Agency."
Letters of intent from interested authors are due April 30, 2026. For authors invited to submit, manuscripts will be due Sept. 30, 2026.
Ukrainian forced migrants’ transnational families are among the most rapidly studied displaced populations, and their circumstances have continued to evolve. This special section will provide a framework for understanding Ukrainian forced migrants’ transnational families; enable practitioners to learn about the specificities that matter in applied work; inform policy; and support intervention.
SEE FULL CALL FOR PAPERS |
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NCFR RESOURCES |
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NCFR Policy Advocacy Toolkit
Whether you want to advocate for families, disseminate research to policymakers and the public, support Family Science and its professions, or get involved with policy in other ways that matter to you, NCFR's Policy Advocacy Toolkit can help you get you started on policy advocacy or lobbying in your U.S. state or at the federal level.
GET STARTED HERE
Have a question about family policy? We'd love to hear from you! Share your comments with NCFR at policy@ncfr.org. |
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NCFR PUBLICATIONS |
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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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BLACK HISTORY MONTH
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Black History Video
Happy 117th Birthday, NAACP!
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on Feb. 12, 1909, as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells.
Today this civil rights organization turns 117 years old! For this week's feature on Black History Month, it seems fitting to look back on how the NAACP first formed and how it continues to pursue justice today.
WATCH VIDEO
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NCFR JOBS CENTER |
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Employment Opportunities
Employers: Get your job opening included in Zippy News by posting it in
NCFR's online Jobs Center! Get started here.
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University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
The Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, in partnership with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is recruiting up to three open-rank faculty members for the National Center for Opioid Research and Clinical Effectiveness (NCOR), a state-launched national center focused on improving prevention and treatment of opioid and substance misuse among infants, children, adolescents and families. Launched in 2024 with a $75 million public investment, NCOR will occupy a new 65,000-square-foot facility opening in 2027. Faculty will build independent, externally funded, interdisciplinary research programs emphasizing translational, community-engaged, and policy-relevant impact.
Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
Required Education: Doctorate
Application Deadline: Open until filled
SEE FULL DETAILS
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Assistant Professor Human Development and Family Studies
University of Alabama
The Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Alabama, seeks a tenure-track assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies with a specialization in addiction science that is broadly defined. Candidates with a background in marriage and family therapy are preferred. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a robust scholarly research program with external support; teach undergraduate and/or graduate courses; advise and mentor undergraduate and graduate students; and engage in professional service at the campus, community, state, and/or national level.
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Required Education: Doctorate
Application Deadline: March 6, 2026
SEE FULL DETAILS |
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