The Children's Commission regularly offers scholarships to qualifying attorneys to attend state and national conferences. Scholarships are typically in the form of reimbursement to attorneys for conference registration fees, and occasionally, for travel-related expenses.

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

  • currently represent DFPS or be actively receiving 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 contained in the relevant Commission scholarship application.

Preference may be given to attorneys who have not received scholarships from the Children’s Commission in the past 1-2 years. Other considerations may include, but are not limited to, the percentage of an attorney’s law practice devoted to child welfare cases and whether the applicant has support from their primary or appointing judge.

For all scholarships, the Children's Commission determines scholarship criteria and utilizes 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.

Please visit the sections below for more information on state and national conferences in child welfare. Please note, the Children’s Commission may not offer scholarships to every training listed. For questions about scholarships, please email CCScholarships@txcourts.gov.

Information on scholarships will be available on this webpage and also through 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.

Scholarships

TexasBarCLE and the Child Protection Law Section of the State Bar of Texas will host the 5th Annual Advanced Child Protection Law Course (Advanced Course) on March 23-24, 2023 in Houston. TexasBarCLE will also offer a 3-hour Child Protection Law 101 Course (101 Course) as a pre-conference training, on the morning of March 23rd. Both the 101 Course and the Advanced Course will also be offered via webcast replay. For more information on both courses, please see the current brochure.

The Children’s Commission is offering a limited number of registration scholarships for qualifying attorneys to attend the live events or webcast replays. Please read below for scholarship criteria, attendance policy, and a link to apply.

Dates and Locations:

Advanced Child Protection Law Course:

LIVE Advanced Course (in-person) 
March 23-24, 2023  
Hilton Houston Post Oak by the Galleria  
2001 Post Oak Blvd  
Houston, TX 77056 

Webcast Replay (virtual) 
May 2-3, 2023 

Child Protection Law 101 Course (pre-conference):

LIVE 101 Course (in-person) 
March 23, 2023  
Hilton Houston Post Oak by the Galleria  
2001 Post Oak Blvd  
Houston, TX 77056 

Webcast Replay (virtual) 
May 1, 2023 

Scholarship Details and Criteria: 

This scholarship will be awarded in the form of waived registration fees to attend the live course(s) in Houston or the virtual webcast replay(s). The Children’s Commission will work with the State Bar of Texas to register scholarship awardees directly for the 101 Course and the Advanced Course.

Applicants who meet all of the criteria detailed below will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis for either scholarship. To meet the criteria, the applicant must: 

  • currently represent DFPS or take court appointments on a child welfare docket, 
  • be in good standing with the State Bar of Texas, 
  • be supported by their primary judge, and 
  • commit to completing a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission. 
  • Additionally, for the 101 Course, attorney applicants must be new to the practice of child welfare law, with no more than 5 years of experience.

Preference may be given to attorneys who have not received scholarships from the Children’s Commission in the past year. 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 child welfare docket. 

Attendance Policy: 

These events are hosted by the State Bar of Texas. 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.

Applicants to virtual trainings will be asked to verify their commitment to participate in the training in a timely manner to the Supreme Court of Texas Children’s Commission. If awarded a scholarship, awardees will be asked to verify their attendance to virtual events. 

Scholarship recipients to virtual trainings are required to participate and submit a completed post-event survey within 30 days of the event, regardless of any extended access to the training. 

All awardees are required to notify the Children’s Commission in writing and in advance if they can no longer participate or if they no longer need the registration scholarship. Please note that awardees who accept the scholarship and do not attend may deprive someone else of the opportunity to attend the training and may also disqualify the awardee from receiving a Commission scholarship in the future. 

Application Link: 

The application period is now closed.

Notification and Logistics: 

This scholarship will be awarded in the form of waived registration fees. If you are awarded a scholarship, the Children’s Commission will notify you after the scholarship application period has ended and 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 no later than the week of February 27.

Please note, the hotel room block ends on March 5: Hilton Houston Post Oak by the Galleria.

The Children’s Commission will work with the State Bar to register all awardees directly. Awardees do not need to register themselves for the 101 Course or the Advanced Course. Please note that the Children’s Commission is not able to reimburse attorneys who pay the State Bar of Texas for the courses.

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 Texas District and County Attorneys Association (TDCAA) will host the 2023 Crimes Against Children Conference on April 11-14, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. The Conference will feature a 12-hour child welfare track over two days on April 12-13, 2023. More information about the conference is available on the TDCAA website.

The Children’s Commission is offering up to 28 registration scholarships for attorneys who currently represent DFPS in child welfare cases to attend the full conference. Please read below for scholarship criteria, attendance policy, and a link to apply.

Dates and Locations: 

Crimes Against Children Conference (in-person) 
April 11-14, 2023  
Westin North
9821 Colonnade Boulevard
San Antonio, Texas 78230

Scholarship Details and Criteria: 

This scholarship will be awarded in the form of waived registration fees to attend the full conference. The Children’s Commission will work with TDCAA to register scholarship awardees directly.

Applicants who meet all of the criteria detailed below will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis for a scholarship. To meet the criteria for this scholarship, the applicant must: 

  • currently represent the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) in child welfare cases, 
  • be in good standing with the State Bar of Texas, 
  • be supported by their primary judge, and 
  • commit to completing a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission. 

Preference may be given to attorneys who have not received scholarships from the Children’s Commission in the past year. Judges with applicants from their jurisdiction will be notified by the Children’s Commission and asked to confirm that the applicant currently represents DFPS on their child welfare docket.

Attendance / Cancellation Policy: 

This event is hosted by TDCAA. This scholarship opportunity is funded by a federal grant, which is managed by the Supreme Court of Texas Children's Commission.

If awarded, scholarship recipients are required to notify the Children’s Commission before March 24, 2023 if they can no longer participate or if they no longer need the registration scholarship. If awardees cancel their registration after this date, and the Commission incurs fees, they may be disqualified from receiving a scholarship from the Commission for the next two years. Please also note that awardees who accept the scholarship and do not attend may deprive someone else of the opportunity to attend the training.

Application Link: 

The application period is now closed. 

Notification and Logistics: 

This scholarship will be awarded in the form of waived registration fees. If you are awarded a scholarship, the Children’s Commission will notify you after the scholarship application period has ended and 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 no later than the week of March 6.

The Children’s Commission will work with TDCAA to register all awardees directly. Awardees do not need to register themselves for the Crimes Against Children Conference.

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 Texas District and County Attorney’s Association (TDCAA) and Children’s Commission collaborated to create the “Fundamentals of Child Welfare Law” online course in January 2022. This six-part online course is designed for less-experienced child welfare prosecutors and covers the fundamental skills needed to represent the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from pretrial to final outcome of a child welfare case. More information about the online course is available on the TDCAA website.

The Children’s Commission is offering up to 14 need-based scholarships for qualifying attorneys who currently represent DFPS in child welfare cases. Scholarships take the form of reimbursement of registration fees after the online course has been completed. Interested applicants must apply for the reimbursement scholarship and will receive notice of their selection prior to registering for the online course. Please read below for scholarship criteria, attendance and reimbursement policies, and a link to apply.

Scholarship Details and Criteria:

Scholarships for this online course are limited and are intended for attorneys new to the practice of child welfare law, with up to three years’ experience, or who have limited knowledge of the online course topics. The entire online course qualifies for 5.25 hours of MCLE.

Applicants who meet all of the following criteria will be considered for a scholarship. To meet the criteria for this scholarship, the applicant must:

  • currently represent DFPS in a child welfare ,
  • indicate a financial need,
  • be in good standing with the State Bar of Texas,
  • commit to registration and completion timelines (see Attendance Policy below), and
  • commit to complete a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission.

Please note: preference will be given to attorneys who have up to three years’ experience representing DFPS in child welfare cases.

Proof of registration and completion of the course within the time allotted are required to receive reimbursement. See the Reimbursement Policy section below for more details.

Scholarship Notifications and Logistics:

The TDCAA online course has an open enrollment. This scholarship application will remain open until August 30, 2023 or until the maximum number of awardees (14) is reached. Pending applicants should wait to hear from the Children’s Commission before registering for the course.

If awarded, this scholarship will take the form of reimbursed registration fees ($175) after the training has been completed. Awardees will be required to pay for the course up front and to adhere to the attendance and reimbursement policies below.

Please note: the Commission can only reimburse an individual attorney for registration fees and CANNOT reimburse an office or a county that pays for an attorney’s registration. 

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.

If awarded a scholarship, awardees must register within 30 days of receiving notice of the scholarship. Additionally, all scholarship awardees must participate in the training within 30 days of their registration date. Failure to adhere to these timelines may result in forfeiture of the scholarship.

All scholarship recipients are required to complete a post-event survey from the Children’s Commission upon completion of the training.

Awardees who can no longer participate or no longer need the scholarship  should notify the Children’s Commission in writing so that the scholarship may be offered to another applicant. Notice may be sent to CCScholarships@txcourts.gov.

Reimbursement Policy:

Scholarship awardees may submit for reimbursement of registration fees ($175) after the training has been completed. A reimbursement form with instructions for submission will be provided to awardees. Forms must include the following supporting documentation in order to receive reimbursement: 

  • Proof of payment for registration, including date of purchase
  • A copy of the certificate of completion provided by TDCAA upon completion of the training.

The Children's Commission requires the certificate as proof of attendance only and does not submit CLE for scholarship awardees. Please refer to the TDCAA website regarding MCLE reporting.

If you have any questions, please email CCScholarships@txcourts.gov.

Application Link:

To apply for a scholarship, click the button below.

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 will be held on Wednesday, August 9, 2023. For more information and updates, please visit the TexasBarCLE website.

Scholarship information for this conference will be announced through our Resource Letters and posted on this webpage the first week of May 2023. Please check back at that time for details and a link to apply.

The National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) will host the 46th National Child Welfare Law Conference on August 10-12, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NACC will also offer an online-only conference on September 20-22, 2023. More information about the past conference and the upcoming conference is available on the NACC website.

Scholarship information for this conference will be announced through our Resource Letters and posted on this webpage the first week of May 2023. Please check back at that time for details and a link to apply.

The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Center on Children and the Law typically hosts two national conferences every other year in Washington, D.C. 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.

The next conferences will be held in Spring 2024. For more information, please visit the ABA National Conferences web page.

State Certification Reimbursement

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