As I write this article, I've just returned from my long Fourth of July weekend. NCFR staff are in full swing preparing for the upcoming NCFR Annual Conference, Nov. 2–5, 2016. The proposals have been submitted and reviewed, the authors have been notified about their presentations, and people are beginning to plan for their conference experience. NCFR's conference program planning committee and Conference Program Chair Lee Ann De Reus, Ph.D., did a fabulous job of planning an excellent conference. The 2016 conference theme is "Families and Human Rights: Promise and Vulnerability in the 21st Century." You'll find many phenomenal sessions throughout the conference, including pre- and postconference workshops, both within and outside the theme. Visit NCFR's conference website (ncfr.org/ncfr-2016) for a full list of conference activities.

As you prepare, I want to highlight some of the many policy sessions and activities that will occur during the conference. Be sure to check out the conference program for a full list of policy sessions, including the many policy-related posters not listed here.

Tuesday, Nov. 1

• A policy preconference workshop, "Promoting Family Policy Through the Legislative Process: An Interactive Skill-Building Workshop," with Susie Brown, public policy director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (separate registration required).

Wednesday, Nov. 2

• "Foster Care," a lightning paper session with nine papers. Implications for family policy will be discussed.
• "Promise for Incarcerated Parents and their Families: The Policy and Programmatic Interface," a live-streamed symposium with four papers and discussion. Specific policy initiatives will be addressed.
• "IPV and Human Trafficking from an International Perspective," a paper session with five papers, cosponsored by both the International and the Family Policy sections. Information on advocacy efforts to decrease human trafficking will be shared.

Thursday, Nov. 3

• The Family Policy and Family and Health sections are combining their section meetings this year. Sure to be a thought-provoking time!

Friday, Nov. 4

• "Emerging Trends in Adoption Openness and Birth Family Contact," a live-streamed symposium with four papers and discussion. The session will highlight how adoption openness practices have changed and the resulting policy implications.
• "Innovations for Using Research to Build Better Public Policy," a live-streamed special session. This all-star lineup of presenters will discuss how to influence family-related policy in a nonpartisan way.
• "Feminist Perspectives on Family Violence: Relational, Generational, and Community Experiences," a lightning paper session with six papers, cosponsored by the Feminism and Family Studies, Family Therapy, and the Family Policy sections. Suggestions for policy changes to improve family court practices will be provided.
• "Linking the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Family Science: Curricular, Research and Policy Implications and Applications," a live-streamed special session.

In addition to the family policy sessions, the four plenary sessions scheduled throughout the conference are sure to inspire those interested in family policy to critically think about family policy implications. As you listen to the plenaries, ask yourself, "How can the research and information provided in the plenaries be used to critically analyze family policies or other policies from a family perspective?" Here is a list of the four plenary sessions with dates and times.

Wednesday, Nov. 2: Opening plenary session with Alicia Garza, Black Lives Matter, will discuss state-sanctioned violence and police brutality, violence against black domestic workers, and violence against transgender or nonconforming people of color. This session will be live streamed.

Thursday, Nov. 3: Plenary session with Mary Burke, Ph.D., will discuss human trafficking and family law. This session will be live streamed.

Friday, Nov. 4: Plenary session with Lisa Sun-Hee Park, Ph.D., "Families on the Verge: Migration, Rights and Environmental Privilege." This session will be live streamed.

Saturday, Nov. 5: Closing plenary with Saida Abdi, LICSW, MSW, M.A., "Promoting Resilience and Reducing Risk Among Refugee Youth in the U.S.: The Role of Parents, Practitioners, and Communities." This session will be live streamed.

Finally, sections other than the Family Policy Section also have sponsored papers that discuss policy implications. This is an example of how family policy affects us all, including those outside the Family Policy Section. Here are just a few examples.

Wednesday, Nov. 2

• "Diverse Pathways to and Experiences of Motherhood," a poster symposium with six posters and discussion, sponsored by Feminism and Family Studies. One poster will demonstrate the impact of policy on lesbian known-donor family formation.
• "Adolescent Development in Global Contexts," a lightning paper session with eight papers, sponsored by the International Section. Implications of China's one-child policy will be discussed.

Thursday, Nov. 3

• "Communicating Research to Inform Practices and Policies on Incarceration," a symposium with three papers, sponsored by the Education and Enrichment section. Part of this session will share how collaborative partnerships enabled changes in policy.
• "Social Justice Strategies to Address the Elephant in the Classroom or the Family Room: Race and Racism in America," an Inclusion and Diversity Committee special session cosponsored by eight of the 10 sections, including Family Policy. Engaging roundtable discussion titles will include "African American Families and Incarceration or Police Brutality," "Latino Families and Immigration," "Muslim Families and Islamophobia within North America," Native American/Indigenous Families and Historic Trauma," and "White Families and White Privilege."
• "Relationship Education as Prevention," a paper session with four papers, sponsored by the Education and Enrichment section. Implications from at least one paper will inform policy.

Saturday, Nov. 5

• "Academic Expectations of Hispanic Youth," a paper session with four papers, sponsored by the Ethnic Minorities and Advancing Family Science sections. Results from one study demonstrate the need for educational policy changes.

The conference is sure to be thought provoking, inspiring, and full of opportunities for growth and development in and outside of family policy. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Speaking of Policy . . .

A quick update on the NCFR's research and policy briefs.

In case you missed it, NCFR now has a research and policy briefs webpage, which contains information about the briefs and author guidelines for writing a brief. Please complete the provided webform to contact the editor, Joyce Arditti, Ph.D., if you are interested in writing a timely, research-based research or policy brief. Briefs are currently being commissioned, while others are being submitted for possible publication. All briefs will undergo a double-blind peer review. I encourage you to contact Dr. Arditti if you are interested in writing a brief. 

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