|
BYLAWS OF
THE CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION FOR MARRIAGE
AND FAMILY THERAPY, INC.
AMENDED 1999
ARTICLE I
NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Connecticut
Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Inc., a Division of the American Association
for Marriage and Family Therapy, Inc.
ARTICLE II
PURPOSE
The purpose of this Division shall be:
a. To promote the common professional interest 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 establish and to maintain professional standards in
marriage and family therapy. This purpose shall be furthered by meetings and by support of
publications, education, training, and research in this field;
d. To cooperate with other organizations and agencies in
furtherance of these ends;
e. To take legitimate action necessary to further the foregoing
purposes;
f. 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..
ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP
Section I
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 II
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 is a member of
this organization.
Section III
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.
Students, Associates, and Affiliates shall be entitled to attend meetings but shall not be
entitled to hold office (except for the Student and the Associate Members of the Board of
Directors) nor to vote, except that Students and Associates may nominate and vote in their
respective categories for their own member of the Board.
Section IV
All members of the Division shall abide by and be governed by the
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Division and all rules and orders lawfully
made thereunder.
Section V
Any member of the Division shall be considered to be in good
standing until declared to be otherwise by the Board of Directors.
Section VI
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 VII
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 VIII
All members, except student members, shall pay both AAMFT and
their division dues.
ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS
Section I
The officers of the Division shall be a President, a
President-Elect, a Past President a Secretary, and a Treasurer who shall be members in
good standing of the Division.
If any officer ceases to be a member in good standing 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 II
Vacancies in position of an officer 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 III
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.
ARTICLE V
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section I
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. The Past President shall serve one (1) year on the Board of Directors
immediately following his or her completion of term of office as President.
Section II
The Board of Directors from time to time may delegate such
functions and powers as it shall see fit to any appropriate committee or committees. Such
delegations of power may be revoked at any time. 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 III
Each member of the Board of Directors shall be entitled to one
vote.
Section IV
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-third of the membership of the Board
at any given time.
Section V
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 two consecutive Board
meetings without due cause, that member's position on the Board of Directors shall be
declared vacant, or the President, with approval of the Board of Directors, can appoint a
successor to complete the remainder of the term.
Section VI
The Board shall exercise all powers of the Division, except as
specifically prohibited by these Bylaws and the 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.
ARTICLE VI
DUTIES AND POWERS OF OFFICERS
Section I
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 a member ex officio on all
committees except the Elections committee. The President shall make all required
appointments of standing and special committees with the approval of the Board of
Directors. The Chairperson of each committee shall be a Clinical Member.
Section II
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 special election, 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 length of the term of office will be determined by the Board of Directors.
Section III
The Secretary shall take minutes of the meetings of the Board of
Directors and circulate these to Board Members
Section IV
The Treasurer shall have charge of all funds and shall pay all
expenses by and with the consent of the Board of Directors.
Section V
No officers of the Division shall receive any remuneration
whatsoever for services rendered as such officers.
Section VI
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 chair-persons who have relevant reports.
ARTICLE VII
MEETINGS
Section I
An annual business meeting shall be held and this will ordinarily
be convened during the month of January. The President shall have the power to decide on
the date and place of the annual business meeting.
Section II
Special meetings of the membership may be called by the
President. 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 III
Notice of al 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.
Section IV
All meetings shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules
of Order, Revised.
ARTICLE VIII
PAYMENT OF DUES
Section I
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 mail ballot under procedures
established by the Board.
Section II
When a members fails to pay dues, they shall be removed from the
AAMFT membership system which is reflected in the report available to the Division each
month. [Section III]
Section III
The Fiscal Year of the Division shall begin January 1st and end
on December 31st.
Section IV
All dues billings, dues collections, and dues disbursements shall
be performed by AAMFT.
ARTICLE IX
NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
Section I
Nomination of Officers, Directors, and Members of the Elections
Committee shall be made annually by the Elections Committee. Nominees for Officers,
Members of the Board of Directors, and the Elections Committee are elected solely by
clinical members, except the Student and the Associate representative 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 II
The Elections Committee shall consist of the Past President, who
shall serve a two-year term, immediately following his or her completion of term of office
as President, and four (4) elected members. Members of the 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, two (2) members will be elected. No current officer or Board member
of the Division shall be on the ballot for election to the Elections Committee for the
following year.
Section III
A. In even-numbered years the ballot shall contain nominees for
two (2) year terms for two (2) Board Members and two (2) members of the Elections
Committee, and for a one (1) year term for one (1) Student Member.
B. In odd-numbered years the ballot shall contain nominees for a
two (2) year-term for President-Elect which is followed by two years as President and one
year as Past President, two (2) year terms for Secretary, Treasurer, two (2) members of
the Elections Committee, two (2) Board Members, one (1) Associate Board Member, and for a
one (1) year term of one (1) Student Board member.
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 IV
The 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 Elections
Section V
Other rules which apply to elections policy include:
- CAMFT paid staff must wait one year prior to running for a CAMFT
board position.
- No person currently serving on the elections committee may write
recommendations for those running for office. Other recommendations must follow the AAMFT
guidelines.
- 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.
- No modifications of the written statement of candidacy may be made
by any other person without prior notification and agreement by the nominee.
- Each member may nominate only one person per position
Section VI
During the month of July of each election year the Elections
committee shall call for recommendations from all members by mail. The elections committee
shall send information regarding elections policies and practices to all candidates prior
to the election
Section VII
During the second week of September, the 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 mail ballot. These ballots shall be returnable in a sealed envelope to the Elections
Committee by October 15th. As soon as possible thereafter, they shall be opened and
counted by members of the 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 VIII
The term of office for Officers and Members of the Board of
Directors, and members of the Elections Committee shall be for two (2) years, except the
Student Board Member who shall serve for one (1) year. The President-Elect shall serve for
two (2) year 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
Elections Committee shall commence the tenure of their term on January 1st of the year
immediately following the year in which they are elected and shall hold office for the
tenure of their office, or until their successors have been elected and qualified.
Section IX
The 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.
ARTICLE X
AMENDMENTS
These Bylaws may be amended or repealed by two-thirds (2/3) of
the votes cast by the voting members by a mail 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 percent (20%) 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. |
.gif)
