Massachusetts Association of Guardians ad Litem
About Us Who We AreMAGAL is a professional organization of mental health professionals, attorneys, family service officers, judges, and academics who work in and with the Probate and Family Courts that are charged with resolving disputes over the custody of children. MissionOur primary mission is the education of our members and the family law community about best professional practices and relevant policies governing their work. MembershipMembers of MAGAL include judges, attorneys, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, mental health counselors, visitation supervisors and family service officers. Membership, is by application, subject to board approval, is open to professionals with a practice or interest in child custody. |
Education and Ongoing Events
Upcoming EventsMAGAL will be presenting a two part conference about trauma in forensic cases on the following dates at Waltham Woods Conference Center: Part 1: Wednesday October 29, 2025 Keynote speaker: Viola Vaughan-Eden, Professor and PhD Program Director at The Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work, Norfolk State University in Virginia. Part 2: Tuesday May 12, 2026 Keynote speakers: Phil Stahl, Ph.D. and Rebecca Stahl, Ph.D., LLM, authors of Representing Children in Dependency and Family Court: Beyond the Law, More information to follow as these two conferences take shape. Weekly ActivitesOngoing weekly events and groups for any of our members. Membership in either MAGAL or AFCC-MA is required to join the meetings below Wednesdays at Noon (Weekly)
Every Wednesday at noon we host a zoom discussion called the GAL discussion group. Click the link below to join. Fridays at 1pm (Monthly)
Magal in conjunction with AFCC hosts zoom consultation discussions for those who work at Parenting Coordinators (PC) and those working as therapists with members of court involved divorced or divorcing families (CIT). Each meeting is moderated by an experienced practitioner. Starting in January 2025, each of these consultation groups will meet once a month. For parenting coordinators, the 2025 meeting dates are 1/3, 2/7, 3/7, 4/4, 5/2, 6/6, 7/11, 8/1, 9/5, 10/3, 11/7, and 12/5. Click here to join the meeting: PC Discussion Group For Court Involved Therapists, the 2025 meeting dates are 1/17, 2/21, 3/28, 4/18, 5/16, 6/20, 7/18, 8/15, 9/19, 10/17, 11/21, and 12/19. Click here to join the meeting: Court Involved Therapists | Resources CHIEF'S OFFICE UPDATESOn August 9th, Governor Healey signed into law the Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA). Many substantial changes to 209C have gone into effect on January 1, 2025. New and revised Probate and Family Court parentage forms can be found here: www.mass.gov/probate-and-family-court-forms-parentage
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