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Section 1
The name of this organization shall be the
Connecticut Association for Marriage and Family
Therapy, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as CTAMFT)
-- A Division of the American Association for
Marriage and Family Therapy, Inc (hereinafter
referred to as the AAMFT).
Section 1
The purposes of this
Division shall be:
a. To promote the common professional interests
of those who are marriage and family therapists;
b. To represent marriage and family therapy as a
mental health profession before public and
governmental bodies;
c. To cooperate with other organizations and
agencies in furtherance of these ends;
d. To take legitimate action necessary to
further the foregoing purposes;
e. To carry out the foregoing purposes solely
for the beneficent purposes and entirely without
pecuniary gain, benefit or profit to the
Division, its members, officers or directors.
The Division shall not earn or declare dividends
and no part of its earnings shall accrue to the
benefit of any private individual
Section 1
Any person whose address of record in the
American Association for Marriage and Family
Therapy national office is in Connecticut and
who is a member in good standing of the American
Association for Marriage and Family Therapy,
Inc. is a member of this organization
Section 2
The membership of the Division shall consist of
two (2) categories:
a. Voting Members. The voting membership shall
be composed of Clinical Members;
b. Non-Voting Members. The non-voting membership
shall be composed of Student Members, Associate
Members and Affiliate Members.
Section 3
a. The membership shall be entitled to attend
all regular meetings of the Division. The
classes of members and their respective voting
rights shall be set forth by the Bylaws of the
American Association for Marriage and Family
Therapy, Inc and the bylaws of the Division.
b. Students, Associates, and Affiliates shall be
entitled to attend meetings and may nominate and
vote in their respective categories for their
own member of the Board.
c. Elect the Nominating Committee Members.
Section 4
All members of the Division shall abide by and
be governed by the AAMFT Bylaws and the
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the
Division and all rules and order lawfully made
there under.
Section 5
Any member of the Division shall be considered
to be in good standing until declared to be
otherwise by the Board of Directors.
Section 6
Any member whose membership in the Division
shall cease for any reason whatsoever shall have
no further rights in the Division or its
property.
Section 7
Any member of the Connecticut Association for
Marriage and Family Therapy, Inc. who ceases to
be a member in good standing of the American
Association for Marriage and Family Therapy,
Inc., shall concurrently cease to be a member of
the Connecticut Association for Marriage and
Family Therapy, Inc.
Section 8
All members shall pay both AAMFT and their
division dues.
Section 9
Dues for the Division shall be established by
majority vote of the Division’s Board of
Directors, under policies and procedures
established by the AAMFT Board, except in such
instances where the proposed increase is greater
than ten (10) percent of the previous year’s
dues. In that event, dues shall be set by a
majority of votes cast by voting members within
the Division, voting by ballot under procedures
established by the Board.
Section 1
The Board of Directors of the Division shall
consist of the duly elected officers as well as
the most recent Past President together with
four (4) members, one (1) Student Member, and
one (1) Associate Member elected in accordance
with Article IX of these Bylaws.
Section 2
Each member of the Board of Directors shall be
entitled to one vote.
Section 3
The responsibilities of the Board of Directors
are as follows:
a. Approve, establish, prioritize and evaluate
the programs and services of the association to
be sure they serve the mission of the Division.
b. Help formulate and establish policies in the
best interests of the Division’s members, based
on up-to-date and thorough knowledge of their
needs.
c. Make decisions affecting the Division’s
financial structure and resource allocations and
approve an annual operating budget.
d. Accept specific assignments that result from
action taken at board meetings and support the
policies and programs adopted by the Board.
e. Come to Board meetings fully informed about
the issues to be discussed.
f. Periodically review the Division’s bylaws,
Board policy, code of ethics and other documents
to be sure the objectives and responsibilities
are understood and in keeping with changing
social expectations and government regulations.
g. Be acquainted with past Board business and
policies by reading the minutes of previous
Board meetings.
h. Consider public statements carefully because
remarks may be taken as official policy.
Section 4
The Board of Directors shall meet at the call of
the President at least twice a year upon written
request to the Secretary by no less than three
members of the Board. A quorum shall constitute
no less than one-half of the membership of the
Board at any given time. Board meetings to be
conducted under Robert’s Rules of Order
(revised).
Section 5
If any member of the Board of Directors ceases
to be a member in good standing of the Division
for any reason, and/or fails to attend 80% of
scheduled Board meetings without due cause, that
member’s position on the Board of Directors
shall either be declared vacant or the
President, with approval of the Board of
Directors, can appoint a successor to complete
the remainder of the term, except for the
positions of President and President-Elect. See
Section on Election Procedures.
Section 6
The Board shall exercise all powers of the
Division, except as specifically prohibited by
these bylaws and AAMFT bylaws. The Board shall
be authorized to adopt and publish such
policies, procedures, and rules as may be
necessary and consistent with these bylaws and
AAMFT bylaws, and to exercise authority over all
divisional business and funds.
Section 7
The Board’s legal duty of care and legal duty of
loyalty may be breached if a conflict of
interest arises. Conflicts of interest are not
in themselves illegal; rather, the manner in
which the director acts to resolve the conflict
may be subject to law.
Section 8
Dissolution of assets. In the event of the
dissolution of the Connecticut Division (CTAMFT),
the Treasurer shall remit all assets, after all
bills are paid, to the AAMFT, the Connecticut
Division’s parent organization.
Section 1
The officers of the Division shall be a
President, a President-Elect, a Past-President,
a Secretary and a Treasurer who shall be
Clinical Members in good standing of the
Division.
If any officer ceases to be a member in good
stand of the Division for any reason and/or
fails to attend two consecutive Board meetings
without due cause, that position as an officer
shall be declared vacant by the Board of
Directors.
Section 2
Vacancies in position of an officer (other than
President and President-Elect) of the Division
shall be temporarily filled by appointment by
the President, with approval of the Board of
Directors until such time as election can be
held among the members in good standing of the
Division.
Section 3
Divisional officers shall be assumed to have
resigned from office at such time as they move
outside the divisional geographic boundary. If
any officer ceases to be in good standing by
reason of nonpayment of dues, the Board shall
declare his/her office to be vacant
Section 1
The President shall serve a term of two years,
following a term of two years as
President-Elect. The President shall be the
chief executive officer of the Division and of
the Board of Directors and shall perform such
duties as are customary for presiding officers.
The President shall also serve as an ex-officio
member on all committees except the Nominating
Elections Committee. The President shall make
all required appointments of standing and
special committees with the approval of the
Board of Directors.
Section 2
Term limit for President-Elect is two years. In
the absence of the President, the
President-Elect shall assume the President’s
duties. In the event that the President is
unable to complete the current term of office,
as determined by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the
Board, the President-Elect shall assume the
presidential duties and a special election shall
be called to elect a new President-Elect by the
regular election procedures. In the event that a
President-Elect is unable to complete the
current term of office, as determined by a
two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Board, a special
election shall be called. In either event, the
Board of Directors will determine the length of
the term of office.
Section 3
Term limit for Secretary is two years. The
Secretary shall take minutes of the meetings of
the Board of Directors and circulate these to
Board Members. The Secretary shall circulate
these minutes to Board Members within two weeks
after the Board meeting was held.
Section 4
Term limit for Treasurer is two years. The
Treasurer shall have charge of all funds and
shall pay all expenses with the consent of the
Board of Directors. The Treasurer is also the
Chair of the Finance Committee; prepares the
budget and financial reports to the Board
Section 5
Term limit for Past-President is one year.
Section 6
No officers of the Division shall receive any
remuneration whatsoever for services rendered as
such officers.
Section 7
At the annual meeting, the President and the
Treasurer shall each present a report of the
official transactions during the past fiscal
year, as well as any committee chairpersons who
have relevant reports.
Section 1
The Board of Directors from time to time may
delegate as well as revoke such functions and
powers, as it shall see fit to any appropriate
committee or committees. The chairpersons of
regular standing committees may be invited by
the president to attend meetings of the Board of
Directors but they shall not have a vote. Any
member of the Division, upon written request to
the Secretary, shall be heard by the Board.
Section 2
a. All committees must emanate and be approved
by Board of Directors.
b. They shall have their plans and budgets
reviewed and authorized annually by Board of
Directors. Board of Directors affirms the chairs
of committees but does not select them.
c. Board of Directors annually reviews success
of committees.
Section 3
The standing committees are:
Executive Committee
Consists of the President, Past-President (as
appropriate), President-Elect, Secretary and
Treasurer. The Executive Committee serves to
support and expedite the meeting agendas and the
work of the
CTAMFT Board. The discussion and deliberation
resulting in the recommendations of the
Executive Committee is summarized and presented
to the full Board in the form of oral discussion
and minutes.
Finance Committee
Oversees the management of funds for duly
authorized purposes of CTAMFT; expands the
Board’s understanding and implementation of the
organization’s financial resources and develops
new strategies to increase income and expand
financial services. The finance committee has
six members. We meet two or three times during
the year to propose the annual budget. We also
correspond by e-mail about financial issues. The
Treasurer will be Chair of this committee.
Nominating Elections Committee
Constructs the slate of persons who will run for
all elected offices within CTAMFT. This
committee consists of the President-Elect, in an
advisory capacity, and three elected members.
See “CTAMFT Nominating Elections Committee
Protocol” in the section behind the Bylaws. Term
limits for committee members are staggered – one
member is replaced each year; term limit of
three years.
Section 4
The operating (non-standing) committees are
Advocacy Committee
Heightens the awareness of marriage and family
therapists as clinicians, supervisors, and
consultants to agencies, schools, hospitals,
corporations and other employers in order to
increase jobs for MFTs.
Diversity Committee
Promotes and supports diversity in the field of
marriage and family therapy, the educational and
clinical setting, as well as in positions of
leadership in the division.
Marketing Committee
The “umbrella” committee, which integrates all
CTAMFT committee work into a marketing plan that
positions MFTs as “therapists, employees and
consultants of choice.” Specifically, the
committee is responsible for the design,
execution and analysis of market research to
develop a CTAMFT marketing plan to position
appropriate MFT “products” and convey the value
of these products to the MFT consumer. The
Marketing Committee also designs these products
and disseminates them to CTAMFT members and the
public. Public Relations exists as a
subcommittee of the Marketing Committee.
Professional Development Committee
Responsible for planning, organizing and
executing CTAMFT conferences. Develop and
recommend to the Board of Directors conference
themes that promote the CTAMFT mission. Evaluate
CEU regulations and offer options to Clinical
Members for maintaining licensure.
Section 1
An annual business meeting shall be held and
this will ordinarily be convened during at the
Annual Conference. The President shall have the
power to decide on the date and place of the
annual business meeting.
Section 2
Special meetings of the membership may be called
by the President or by a majority of the Board.
The President shall be required to call such a
meeting upon written request to the Secretary of
at least ten (10) members of the Division.
Section 3
Notice of all annual and special meetings shall
be sent by the Board of Directors to all voting
members of the Division at least 45 days in
advance of the meeting. Action at such meetings
shall be limited to those agenda items contained
in the notice of the meeting. A quorum at all
annual and special meetings of the Division
shall be 10% of the voting membership of the
Division, present in person at the meeting, not
including the officers and directors. No proxies
are permitted
Section 4
All meetings shall be conducted according to
Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised.
Section 1
The Nominating Elections Committee shall make
nomination of Officers, Directors and Members of
the Nominating Elections Committee annually.
Nominees for Officers, Members of the Board of
Directors and the Nominating Elections Committee
are elected solely by Clinical Members, except
for the AAMFT Student and AAMFT Associate
Representatives to the Board of Directors who
are nominated and elected by Student and
Associate Members only for these respective
positions. Discrimination in nominations and
election procedures on the basis of race, color,
creed, gender, age or sexual orientation is
forbidden.
Section 2
The Nominating Elections Committee shall consist
of the President-Elect who shall serve as chair
and three (3) elected AAMFT Clinical Members.
Members of the Nominating Elections Committee
are elected for a term of two (2) years. In
odd-numbered years, two (2) members will be
elected. In even-numbered years, one (1) member
will be elected. No current officer or Board
member of the Division shall be on the ballot
for election to the Nominating Elections
Committee for the following year.
Section 3
a. In odd-numbered years the ballot shall
contain nominees for a two-year term for one (1)
President-Elect, which is followed by two years
as President and one year as Past President;
two-year terms for two (2) Board Members and two
(2) members of the Nominating Elections
Committee; and one-year term for one (1) Student
Representative.
b. In even-numbered years the ballot shall
contain nominees for two (2) two-year-terms for
Secretary, Treasurer, one (1) member of the
Nominating Elections Committee, two (2) Board
Members, one (1) Associate Representative, and a
one-year term for one (1) Student
Representative.
c. As each Student Representative to the Board
completes their one-year position, the Board may
invite them to return for the next year as the
“Student Consultant” to the new Student
Representative. The Student Consultant will not
be entitled to vote.
Section 4
The slate prepared by the Nominating Elections
Committee shall contain a minimum of two names
for each office. In those instances where, after
conscientious effort, only one person can be
found that is suitable and willing to serve,
there will be only one name on the ballot for
this office, but a space shall be left for a
write-in candidate.
The Nominating Elections Committee shall prepare
a slate containing at least two nominees for
each position and shall determine the
eligibility and willingness of each nominee to
stand for election. Write-in voting shall be
allowed, provided the write-in candidates are
eligible for election and have agreed to serve
if elected. The candidate who receives the
majority of votes for each office shall be
elected. Ballots shall be counted by the Board
or by members of the Nominating Elections
Committee.
Section 5
Other rules that apply to elections policy
include:
a. CTAMFT paid staff must wait one year prior to
running for a CTAMFT board position.
b. No person currently serving on the Elections
Committee may write recommendations for those
running for office. Other recommendations must
follow the CTAMFT guidelines.
c. The Past President may run for the Elections
Committee only after resigning his/her advisory
position or at the end of his/her advisory year.
d. No modifications of the written statement of
candidacy may be made by any other person
without prior notification and agreement by the
nominee.
e. Each member may nominate only one person per
position.
Section 6
Nominations of officers, members of the Board of
Directors and Elections Nominating Committee
shall take into primary consideration geographic
representation and distribution of membership in
the development of nominee lists. During the
month of February of each election year the
Nominating Elections Committee shall call for
recommendations from all members by mail. The
Nominating Elections Committee shall send
information regarding elections policies and
practices to all candidates prior to the
election.
Section 7
During the second week of April the Nominating
Elections Committee shall cause the names of all
nominees for each office to be incorporated in
ballots with space also for a write-in vote for
each office. A summary of the professional
background and experience of each nominee shall
accompany the ballot. The election shall be
conducted by ballot. These ballots shall be
returnable in to the Nominating Elections
Committee by May 15th. As soon as possible
thereafter, they shall be opened and counted by
members of the Nominating Elections Committee.
The elected officers and representatives shall
then be notified, and their names made public to
the membership. The results of the ballot shall
be officially declared at the next business
meeting and shall be incorporated into the
minutes thereof.
Section 8
The term of office for Officers and Members of
the Board of Directors, and members of the
Nominating Elections Committee shall be for two
(2) years, except the Student Board Member who
shall serve for one (1) year, and the
President-Elect who shall serve for two (2)
years in that capacity before assuming a two
(2)-year term as President and a one(1)-year
term as Past President. All elected officers,
Board Members and members of the Nominating
Elections Committee shall commence the tenure of
their term on July 1 of the year they are
elected and shall hold office for the tenure of
their office, or until their successors have
been elected and qualified.
Section 9
The Nominating Elections Committee shall prepare
a slate of nominees for all elected positions
and shall oversee the elections of such
positions as provided in these bylaws and in
rules and procedures adopted by the Board for
elections.
Section 1
Dues for the Division shall be established by
majority vote of the Division’s Board of
Directors, under policies and procedures
established by the AAMFT Board, except in such
instances where the proposed increase is greater
than ten percent (10%) of the previous year’s
dues
Section 2
All dues billings, dues collections and dues
disbursements shall be performed by AAMFT.
Section 1
These Bylaws may be amended or repealed by
two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast by the voting
members by a ballot, returned within thirty (30)
days of the date by which the members can
reasonably be presumed to have received the
ballot. Amendments may be proposed by the Board
of Directors on its own initiative, or upon
petition by twenty (20) percent of the voting
members addressed to the Board. All such
proposed amendments shall be presented by the
Board to the membership with or without
recommendation.
The fiscal year of the Division shall
begin January 1st and end on December 31st.
NOTE: Revised 8/29/06; Approved by Membership
5/25/07.
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