CALL FOR PROPOSALS

#Accept, Advocate, Act

Thank you for your interest in being a presenter at the National Federation of Families' 2025 Conference. The National Federation welcomes proposals from professionals, family members, and youth who support the well-being of their loved ones and promote family voice.

The National Federation is looking for 60-minute proposals and a very limited number of 2-hour advanced and intensive workshop proposals for our Workshop Saturday.

The goal of our conference is to offer families and professionals the opportunity to:

Network, become partners, and to learn from each other’s experience.
Learn about ways to improve policy and enhance practices for families whose loved ones have or are at risk of experiencing mental health and/or substance use disorders.
Acquire skills and strategies that will improve outcomes for families and their loved ones.

Gain knowledge of best practices, and latest research in mental health, substance use and related fields.
Enrich understanding of different perspectives and common goals in support of all families and their loved ones.

We welcome proposals that align with our theme, tracks, and National Core Competencies.

Apply to Present

Areas of focus

Accept - Proposals will explore strategies to enhance the acceptance of families and their children of all ages, who are experiencing mental health and/or substance use challenges.
Advocate - Topics will include enhanced understanding of how to effectively advocate for parity in all family-serving systems.
Act - Proposals that tell lived experience stories of moving beyond advocacy into action and accountability for child, adult, and family system transformation.

Tracks

Fatherhood Initiatives

Topics will include a focus on fatherhood, dads as caregivers, and men as Family Peers, with an emphasis on families and their loved ones. The presenter must be able to explain how the attendees can apply the ideas and tools anywhere in the nation.

Supporting Families and their Loved Ones Through the Lifespan

Topics in this track will include family engagement, navigating systems, developing authentic partnerships between families and providers, and the importance of understanding and accepting individuals who experience mental health and/or substance use disorders in all settings—homes, schools, community environments, the justice system, health care, and research. The presenter must be able to explain how the attendees can apply the ideas and tools anywhere in the nation.

Supporting families with Co-occurring Disorders

Proposals in this track should address evidence-based, practice-based, and community-relevant topics that help different groups of individuals understand, discuss, address, and prevent intersecting mental health and substance use disorders. Such groups include families, the workforce that supports families and their loved ones, family-run organizations, and communities. The presenter must be able to explain how the attendees can apply the ideas and tools anywhere in the nation.

Lessons from the Field

Presentations in this track will highlight strategies and practices that are proving successful in supporting, educating, and engaging families and their loved ones of all ages. Innovations, collaborations, and lessons learned will inform participants. The presenter must be able to explain how the attendees can apply the ideas and tools anywhere in the nation.

Youth Workforce Development / Emerging Youth and Young Adult Leaders

Designing pathways for developing leadership skills and qualities in the next generation is essential. This can include programs, organizations, policies, and/or strategies that center youth voices, integrate and support youth as leaders, and promote sustainability by mentoring youth to take the reins on advocacy work. Presentations demonstrating Youth and Family Peers working in partnership to support families are particularly encouraged. The presenter must be able to explain how the attendees can apply the ideas and tools anywhere in the nation.

Workforce Development

The focus of this track is the creation of a strong, healthy, and sustainable workforce to support families and their loved ones. Presentations that focus on peer support, supervising, hiring, retention, wages, peer drift, and moral injury and topics that are freshmen to senior level are encouraged. The presenter must be able to explain how the attendees can apply the ideas and tools anywhere in the nation.

Please be sure to read the Call for Proposal & Presenter Requirements prior to submitting your proposal.

March 1st: Proposal submission deadline.
April 1st: Proposal decisions will be made, and presenters will be notified.
May 1st: Accepted presenters and co-presenters must be registered.
September 12th: All changes to presenter names and presentation descriptions are due.
October 17th: Presenters are responsible for uploading electronic PDF handouts to the conference app or emailing them to conference@ffcmh.org so they can be made available to conference attendees via the conference app.

Prior to completing an application to present at the conference, please be sure that you will be able to commit to the presenter expectations and deadlines.

Note: A unique session link will be emailed to presenters so they may add their bios, edit their session information, and upload presentations materials/handouts.

Important Deadlines to Remember