AAMFT Division Charter Agreement
Governance Documents
Preamble
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (hereafter referred to as AAMFT)
is the professional organization representing the practice and profession of marriage and family
therapy in North America. AAMFT bylaws allow the Board of Directors of the Association to
charter divisions. The purpose of this document is to serve as an agreement between AAMFT
and the Alabama Association for Marriage and Family Therapy—A Division of the American
Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (hereafter referred to as the Alabama Division).
Charter Agreement
The AAMFT Board of Directors formally recognizes the Alabama Division as a Division of the
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. The following sections outline the
responsibilities of the Division to AAMFT and AAMFT to the Division. A copy of this
document, the Division's Articles of Incorporation and its bylaws must be maintained in the
Alabama Division's files and the AAMFT's files for the Alabama Division. If the Division's
Articles of Incorporation or bylaws are renewed or changed, a copy of the revised document
shall be forwarded to AAMFT in accordance with this document.
AAMFT's Responsibilities to the Division
AAMFT, as the parent organization of all divisions, will perform the following functions:
- collect dues on behalf of the Division;
- inform the Division of all new and revised policies of the Association;
- consider program and policy suggestions offered by the Council of Division Presidents that
are designed to benefit divisions; the Council of Division Presidents is the governance
communication vehicle between the grassroots member and the AAMFT Board;
- provide programs of technical consultation and assistance to divisions;
- assist the Division in promoting the profession of marriage and family therapy through the
statutory regulation of the profession and the development of materials designed to help
members market their services to the public and to health care providers, in accordance with
other policies and programs of the Association;
- and fulfill other obligations as outlined in this document, AAMFT's bylaws and in the
policies, rules and orders of the AAMFT Board of Directors.
Name and Relationship
The name of this organization shall be the Alabama Association for Marriage and Family
Therapy (ALAMFT)—A Division of the American Association for Marriage and Family
Therapy (or any other name deemed appropriate by the Alabama Division, the state or provincial
government and AAMFT).
The geographic boundaries of the Alabama Association for Marriage and Family Therapy as
determined by the AAMFT Board of Directors are the State of Alabama. The Alabama Division
shall have 1 vote in the election of the Chair of the Council of Division Presidents who also
serves as a member of the AAMFT Board.
The Alabama Division is responsible to the duly elected Officers and Board of Directors of the
AAMFT and all rules and orders lawfully made thereunder.
At the time of the signing of this document, the policies that the Division shall be specifically
responsible for are policies relating to financial reporting (see Fiscal Policy for Divisions),
legislation and advocacy (see AAMFT Legislative Policy), advertising and the use of the
AAMFT name and logo (see AAMFT Advertising Policy for Divisions), ethics (see AAMFT
Code of Ethics and the AAMFT Procedures for Handling Ethical Matters) and the Model Bylaws
for Divisions. The Division shall be notified of any changes in these policies and shall continue
to abide by them and by all policies, rules and orders of the AAMFT Board of Directors.
Bylaws for the Division
The Alabama Division shall adopt bylaws to provide for the administration and regulation of its
internal affairs, which shall be substantially similar to the AAMFT Model Division Bylaws. The
Alabama Division's bylaws shall be approved by AAMFT before formal adoption by the
Division; and amendments to those bylaws must also be approved by the AAMFT before formal
adoption. Amendments to the Division’s bylaws that are not approved by the AAMFT may be
voided at the discretion of AAMFT.
The Alabama Division's bylaws must include the following Articles and Sections of the AAMFT
Model Division Bylaws in order to be in conformity with AAMFT's bylaws:
Article III -
Membership. The Division shall conform to all sections of this article.
Article IV - Officers. The Division shall conform to Sections 7 and 8 of this article. Terms of
office, however, shall be determined by the Division.
Article V -
Board of Directors. The Division shall conform to Section 2 of this article.
Article VI – Committees and Task Forces. The Division shall conform to Sections 3, 4 and 8 of
this article. If the Division includes an Ethics, Finance or Membership committee
as a standing committee of the Division, the Division shall conform to Sections 5,
6 and 7. Terms of office, however, shall be determined by the Division.
Article VIII - Meetings of the Membership. The Division shall conform to Sections 3 and 5 of
this article.
Article IX - Nominations and Elections. The Division shall conform to all sections of this
article. If the Division does not have a position for Student-Associate
Representative to the Board of Directors, all references to this position shall be
deleted from Section 1. Terms of office, however, shall be determined by the
Division.
Article XI - Amendments. The Division shall conform to this article.
Membership
The Alabama Division shall not accept as members any individuals who have not been accepted
by AAMFT as members and shall not create its own membership categories.
Dues
Dues for the Alabama Division shall first be established by majority vote of the voting members
of the Alabama Division conducted by ballot.
All dues billings, dues collections and dues disbursements shall be performed by AAMFT.
Revisions to division dues amounts 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, this increase must be accepted by a majority vote of the voting members of the Alabama
Division conducted by ballot.
While divisions may increase dues by ballot for special functions, such as advocacy efforts or
public relations activities, any further assessments beyond dues billings issued by the Alabama
Division or any of its affiliates shall be considered voluntary assessments and shall be presented
to and collected as such from the membership by the Division. The Division shall collect all
voluntary divisional assessments.
Officers and Directors
The Officers and Directors of the Alabama Division shall be determined within the scope of the
Division's bylaws. The Officers and Directors shall perform their duties in accordance with the
Division's bylaws, AAMFT's bylaws, this document and all policies, rules and orders of the
AAMFT Board of Directors.
The President and Chairpersons of standing committees of the Alabama Division shall present an
annual report of official transactions to the membership during the annual meeting of the
membership. A copy of the Division's annual report shall be forwarded to the AAMFT
headquarters office and retained in the Division's files in that office.
Committees
The standing committees of the Alabama Division shall operate in accordance with the
Division's bylaws and all rules and orders made thereunder.
The Membership Committee and Task Forces of the Alabama Division shall not evaluate or
issue judgments regarding applications for membership in AAMFT but shall assist individuals in
the completion of their applications and shall answer general inquiries regarding AAMFT's
membership requirements. This Committee shall assist the AAMFT in the recruitment and
retention of members.
The Ethics Committee of the Alabama Division shall not conduct investigations or consider
allegations of violations of ethical principles made against members, nor shall it issue or render
advisory opinions on ethical matters but shall refer such matters to the AAMFT Ethics
Committee. The Ethics Committee of the Alabama Division shall function in accordance to the
guidelines established by the AAMFT Procedures for Handling Ethical Matters.
Local Chapters
Local chapters of the Alabama Division may be formed at the discretion of the divisional Board.
Such chapters must agree to a formal charter with the Division. Regarding chapters of the
Division, the Divisional Board of Directors has the authority to:
- Charter chapters;
- Create rules and orders regarding chapter activities and policies which are consistent with
divisional or AAMFT's bylaws or any policies created thereunder;
- Remove a chapter's charter;
- Delegate authority to components of the division, including chapters;
- Revoke authority delegated to components of the division.
Specifically, the Alabama Division has the following responsibilities regarding the chartering of
chapters:
- The Division shall establish the geographic boundaries of the chapter.
- All members of chapters shall be members in good standing of AAMFT and of the Alabama
Division. The chapter shall not establish its own membership categories.
- The chapter shall submit a financial statement to the Alabama Division treasurer. Chapter
financial statements shall conform to the policy outlined by the AAMFT Board of Directors
for divisional financial statements. No funds may be disbursed to a chapter until a financial
statement has been received and accepted by the Division Treasurer.
- Membership in chapters of the Alabama Division shall be considered voluntary. Chapters may
assess fees from members, but such assessments shall be considered voluntary and shall be
advertised as such to the membership. Members of the Division who do not pay chapter
assessments shall not be considered members of the chapter and shall not enjoy any rights of
membership in the chapter. Chapters shall collect all chapter assessments.
- The Division shall ensure that its chapters do not use the AAMFT name and logo nor hold
themselves out to the public as being or representing AAMFT. Chapters may, upon approval
from the Division's Board of Directors, use the divisional logo and name if that logo is
different from the AAMFT logo. Chapters must represent their affiliation solely in terms of
the Alabama Division, not AAMFT.
- Each chapter of the Division shall be formally chartered by the Division and shall have its
own bylaws. The Division Board of Directors shall review chapter bylaws prior to formal
adoption by the chapter to ensure that they are not in conflict with divisional or AAMFT
bylaws or policies.
- The Division shall ensure that its chapters follow any policy guidelines, rules or orders
established by the AAMFT Board of Directors. All such policies, rules or orders will be
published by AAMFT and distributed to all Division Presidents. Division Presidents are
responsible for distributing such information to the chapter leadership.
Membership Meetings
The Division shall have an annual meeting of the membership.
Nomination and Elections
The nomination and election of officers, directors and members of the Elections Committee shall
be conducted in accordance with the Division's bylaws.
The election of officers, directors and Elections Committee positions, dues votes, bylaw/charter
votes and other votes and elections of the Alabama Division shall be conducted by ballot by the
voting members of the Division. The Student-Associate Representative to the Board shall be
elected by the non-voting members of the Division by ballot.
Fiscal Operations
The Alabama Division shall establish and practice sound fiscal policy. The treasurer or other
duly authorized individual shall be responsible for the accounting procedures of the Division and
shall maintain proper receipts and expenditure records.
Member Services
There shall be no limitation on the Alabama Division or its affiliates which might curtail the
creation of member services. However, all applicable state, local and federal laws shall be
followed. Furthermore, all relevant policies, rules or orders of AAMFT, especially those policies
regarding ethical standards and advertising, shall also be followed.
The Alabama Division shall not enter into contractual sponsorship arrangements without
consultation with AAMFT.
Divisional Policy Handbook
The division recognizes that as a chartered affiliate of the AAMFT, the AAMFT Board of
Directors has the authority and responsibility to enact policies in addition to those outlined in this
Charter Agreement with which divisions must comply. The overarching goal of these policies is
to guide the Divisions in best association practice and to keep them in alignment with AAMFT.
To accomplish these goals, as well as to oversee and monitor division functioning in fulfilling its
fiduciary responsibility, the AAMFT publishes a Divisional Policy Handbook (copy attached to
this Charter Agreement). Divisional leaders shall consult and comply with this Policy Handbook
as it is attached and amended by the Board of Directors.
Complaints Against the Division
Any member of the Alabama Division, the Council of Division Presidents, AAMFT Board of
Directors or other interested party as determined by the AAMFT Board may file a formal
complaint against the Division for violations of this document, the Division's Articles of
Incorporation or bylaws or AAMFT's bylaws or policies. Complaints shall be handled in
accordance with the procedures for handling complaints against divisions.
Revocation of this Charter
The charter granted to the Alabama Division and all of the rights and obligations created
thereunder and hereunder shall remain in full force unless revoked by the AAMFT Board of
Directors.
The AAMFT Board of Directors shall have the authority to revoke the charter granted to the
Alabama Division if the AAMFT Board finds the conduct of the Division to be in violation of
this charter, the Division's bylaws, AAMFT's bylaws or any rules, orders or policies made
thereunder.
The procedures to be followed in the event of the revocation of the Division's charter shall be
determined by the AAMFT Board of Directors in consultation with the Council of Division
Presidents. Said procedures shall be published to all Division Presidents upon approval by the
AAMFT Board of Directors.
If any portion of this agreement shall be declared invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the
remainder of the agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall not be affected thereby.
Indemnification
The Alabama Division shall indemnify and hold harmless AAMFT, its officers and directors,
and employees from and against any and all claims, damages, losses and liabilities, including
reasonable attorney's fees and costs, arising out of the sole negligence of the Alabama Division.
However, as to any claim, damage, loss, demand or liability which may be alleged or brought
against the Alabama Division by a member, officer or director, or employee of AAMFT, the
Alabama Division shall not by this indemnity agreement have waived or been construed to have
waived any defense which the Alabama Division may have to such claim, damage, loss, demand
or liability.
In witness whereof, the parties have signed this agreement.
Agreed to this -- day of August, 2012.
Signed Date
_____________________ _____
Division President
Signed Date
______________________ _____
AAMFT President