Thank you so much for your feedback. I know this is a difficult issue and we
have struggled with this - which is why I reached out here. Our "standards"
are tied to membership in our "Standards for Membership" and I understand that
IACP has standards in its "Standards for Practitioners" that are not tied to
membership - and we have considered separating these issues to allow for a more
"open" membership. But you are right that our goals need a great deal of focus
as well.
I think that for those in our group that advocate for a more "open" membership
model, the goal is that our collaborative community should be "inclusive" and
not exclude others - that this feels more collaborative and holistic to this
process. And ultimately that even with our membership requirements there may
be collaborative practitioner that do have all the requirement and training but
are still not great collaborative practitioners and who you choose for a team
will ultimately be decided by who you know and trust rather than who qualifies
for membership. I don't think anyone has really advocated for our group to
move toward more "networking", but you point has certainly resonated with me
and I thank you for this perspective.
Thank you for this.
Pam
On Jan 31, 2011, at 5:50 PM, Sherri Slovin wrote:
Pamela- I am concerned that there is still confusion around definitions.
Your definition is very different than Kevin’s and this will likely cause
confusion. Is the question who are the Collaborative Professionals that are
part of a team or who is it more focused on the composition of a Practice
Group?
With regard to the Professionals, the IACP does have standards, found at the
www.collaborativepractice.com detailing the basic requirements for a
professional to hold herself/himself out as a practitioner who satisfies IACP
Standards for Collaborative Practice in family related disputes. These
standards speak to training, credentialing, etc… . When a practitioner
meets the criteria, he/she can hold themselves out as meeting the IACP
standards. The standards do not prevent teams from working with
professionals that are do not meet the standards (mortgage brokers, etc..)
but do prevent those professionals from holding themselves out as meeting the
IACP standards when they do not. These do not relate to who belongs to the
IACP, but related to standards of practice.
With regard to the Practice Group, as you think about the group requirements,
you might want to give very careful consideration to the goals and objectives
of your Practice Group. If the goal is study and the creation of trust
relationships, you might have a different view than if the goal is
networking. While the two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, you might
be less effective in meaningful relationship-building and discussions of
tough Collaborative issues among Collaborative Professionals with a group
focused on networking.
Regards,
Sherri
Sherri Goren Slovin
30 Garfield Place, Suite 920
Cincinnati, OH 45202
T: (513)241-9844
Fax: (513)241-9908
sgslovin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.slovinlaw.com
Ohio State Bar Certified Family Law Specialist
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From: CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf ;
Of Pamela Freeman
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 4:15 PM
To: CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [CollabLaw] Re: Open Membership
Hi:
For our state organization ... when I use "open" I mean no standards for
membership. Currently you need to be a licensed attorney, a licensed mental
health professional (with listed licenses on our standards), or a licensed or
certified financial professional (also listed licenses and certification).
Our standards under our Standards for Membership do not allow a professional
- like an executive coach who is not a licensed mental health professional to
become a member.
IACP has an "open" membership in that it allow anyone to join (if trained
etc.) and do not limit it by profession.
We are exploring what moving towards a more open membership model -- where
membership is not limited by profession -- would look like and I thought it
would be really helpful to reach out and see what that looks like.
Thanks for your help!
Pam
--- In CollabLaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Kevin R.Scudder <kscudderlaw@...> wrote:
Closed = Practice Group not open to new members absent invitation per the
"rules" or bylaws
established by the group.
Open = anyone is free to join the meetings without invitation. There may be
some basic
qualifications such as IACP membership and a minimum of 40 hour mediation
training, but anyone is
free to join.
Kevin
Kevin R. Scudder
Law Offices of Kevin R. Scudder
9706 4th Avenue NE, Suite 320
Seattle, WA 98115-2157
(206) 524-7828 Phone
(206) 524-1302 Fax
On Sun Jan 30 22:17 , 'Aaron Welt, Ph.D.' <awelt@...> sent:
Could you explain what you mean by "closed" and "open" groups?
Aaron Welt
Kevin R.Scudder wrote:
Hi Pam.
It sounds like you have a good handle on the issues you face and your
questions are good ones.
They require more time then I currently have to give input on but I
will say that there is an IACP Practice Group Comm that is working on
sharing different practice group structures and experiences. The work
is not done
yet, but is in process.
Personally, I think there is no practice group structure that is one
size fits all. I am in two closed practice groups and one open
practice group, Cascadia.
http://www.cascadia-collaborative-divorce.com/index.html
I like all three for different reasons.
The open group is filled with wonderful practitioners, new and
experienced, and we have a $120 annual dues req. due to the fact we
have a website on which we can post our names and information. The
only rule is that
to be on the web site each member cannot miss more than three meetings
a year. We rotate the Chair and often have co-chairs. In each meeting
we generally have a case de-brief and some educational topic, and at
least one social a year.
Given that most of the members also are part of closed groups we do
not feel overt pressure for by-laws and too many rules. We simply want
a place to be supported, to welcome new practitioners, and to continue
our
training.
Kevin
Kevin R. Scudder
Law Offices of Kevin R. Scudder
9706 4th Avenue NE, Suite 320
Seattle, WA 98115-2157
(206) 524-7828 Phone
(206) 524-1302 Fax
On Sun Jan 30 18:20 , 'Pamela Freeman' pamelafreeman@...
sent:
Hello All:anyone know of any practice group, or similar collaborative
Is anyone a part of a practice group that has open membership? Does
organization, that has an open model for their membership, different
from - or in
addition to - IACP's model? It would be really helpful to see how
other states or organizations approach membership in a collaborative
practice organization. It would be particularly helpful to be able to
see the by-laws
and any standards (for membership, practice, practitioners, ethical
conduct etc.) that have been developed for an organization with an
open membership model.
have experienced with open membership. I would also welcome any
I would also like to know about any problems or challenges that you
thoughts or advise from any organization that has successfully travel
this
path toward open membership already.
significant time over the years discussing a number of ideas - in a
Our group (I am part of the Membership Committee) has spent
number of different directions - for changing our membership
requirements. Many
of these ideas are really interesting and inspiring (although
sometimes contradictory). I feel certain that many collaborative
practitioners and organizations have considered, and struggled, with
many of these same ideas
and concerns (the thread about certification certainly felt familiar).
has spent a great deal of time exploring some of these issues. Carl
I am part of a small group, from a few different committees, that
Michael was kind enough to join us during one of our meetings to
discuss these
issues and we very much appreciated his thoughts and his time. Even in
this small group, however, there are some strong feelings and opinions
in many directions on this topic. Additionally, any change in our
membership requirements will likely require a change in our by-laws
and, therefore, a vote from not just the Board of Directors, but also
the entire membership.
planning and was, at times, a very sensitive and combustible issue.
Past changes to the membership requirements required a great deal of
Because of this, our small group hopes to move forward on this issue
in an
informed and thoughtful way. Please let me know if you are part of a
collaborative group that has open membership or if you can point me in
the right direction.
Thank you so much,
Pam
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