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The Minnesota Council on Family Relations (MNCFR) published a new edition of the Ethical Thinking and Practice for Parent and Family Life Educators booklet last fall and is now preparing presenters for 2017–18 workshops. Hard copies and digital versions of the booklet are available to be ordered at the Minnesota Council on Family Relations' website. This year marks the 25th anniversary of MNCFR’s initiative to study and describe ethical behavior for family professionals. The resulting multiperspective approach, list of ethical principles, and case-study analysis process are included in the booklet. The workshops include practice sessions using the material to address sample case studies and to identify the distinctions between challenging practice situations and ethical dilemmas.

MNCFR Board Members are actively reaching out to offer the workshops to a variety of parent and family educators at school districts and universities as well as at agencies where related professionals in social work and mental health have found this training relevant in the past. Traditionally, the material is well received across these family service and education fields. Our current goal is to renew the profession’s focus on ethics with both the booklet and a half-day workshop with peers. This collegial process helps all family professionals strengthen their approach to managing challenging situations and ethical dilemmas.

In 2009 the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) adopted the MNCFR ethical principles as the foundation for the official Code of Ethics for Certified Family Life Educators (CFLEs). Applicants for the CFLE are required to sign a statement that they will adhere to these ethical principles. Many NCFR members and CFLEs teach the ethical process with their students and regard it as a helpful resource. Interest has been expressed in revising the ethical principles used with the case study ethical process to apply to a broader audience of family life practitioners beyond parenting education. A small group of MNCFR and NCFR members are working together on this revision of the principles for use by CFLEs.