Families Rising (formerly NACAC) is seeking presenters to help parents, professionals, and advocates gain skills and knowledge in foster care, adoption, and permanency-related topics at its 2025 conference in Orlando, Florida. Families Rising encourages adoptive and foster parents, child welfare professionals, researchers, adoptees, birth parents, people who spent time in foster care, therapists, and other child advocates to submit workshop proposals.

We ask presenters to spend at least 75 percent of their presentation on solutions and strategies, with minimal time on background. In addition, we ask all presenters to bring a strengths-based approach to their workshops and to use positive language and framing when referring to children, birth families, workers, and others. We also encourage presenters to consider how issues of race, equity, and inclusion affect their topic.

Presenters should ensure that the work they present is their own and that they attribute any other presenters or researchers as necessary. Families Rising is not responsible for verifying the originality of submissions, and cannot be held liable for presenters’ copyright infringements or other ownership rights violations.

Note: if you would like to see the following questions, the text of the proposal questions are posted here: https://wearefamiliesrising.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2025-Families-Rising-workshop-proposal-questions.pdf

The conference will be held October 6-8, 2025. Workshops are 60, 75, or 90 minutes long. Presenters who are Families Rising members will have reduced registration fees if they want to attend any other sessions. Presenters are responsible for their own travel and accommodations and donate their time and expenses as a contribution to waiting children and the adoption and foster care community.

Please submit no more than three proposals. If you submit multiple proposals but have a strong favorite, indicate your top choice in the workshop description. (We cannot guarantee we will select your top choice, but it’s useful for us to know.)

Sessions may have up to three presenters.

You will receive an email confirmation that your proposal was received within one week of submission. If you do not receive a confirmation, please contact us at conference@wearefamiliesrising.org or 651-644-3036. Please add conference@wearefamiliesrising.org to your address book or safe email list so the confirmation doesn't end up in your junk mail or spam folder.

PROPOSAL DEADLINE: Janurary 7, 2025

NOTIFICATION OF DECISION: March 2025

CONFERENCE DATES: October 6-8, 2025

CONFERENCE LOCATION: Orlando, Florida next to Universal Studios

ANY ISSUES OR QUESTIONS: conference@wearefamiliesrising.org or 651-644-3036

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