Membership Requirements 

(The Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, shall admit applicants to Fellows membership.) 

Because CDI stands for excellence in delivering Collaborative Process services, we have Collaborative Divorce Illinois Membership Requirements that demonstrate a commitment to obtaining and maintaining the skills necessary to deliver results in Collaborative cases. 

All Fellows must:

1. Be credentialed in their field, specifically: 

  • Attorney: JD, a current professional license, and member in good standing of your profession. 
  • Financial Neutral: CDFA certification. In addition, the Financial Neutral should have one of the following: CFA, CFP, CPA, ChFC, CMA, MBA, EA, or ten (10) years of work experience in the financial industry (e.g. banking, brokerage, Insurance, etc.). This qualification to be determined on a case-by-case basis and the candidate must be a member in good standing of the profession.
  • Coach: active clinical mental health license in Illinois (LCSW, LCPC, LMFT, license as a psychologist or psychiatrist).
  • Child Specialist: meet all the requirements to be a Coach. In addition, the Child Specialist must have a supervised internship or year-long practice with some work with children, at least two (2) years of full-time experience with children and families or equivalent, three (3) years of professional practice post licensure and twenty (20) hours of specialized education in issues of divorce and children’s adjustment to divorce; and

2. Maintain professional liability/malpractice insurance.

3. Complete an annual application, pay the relevant rates, and commit to abide by the CDI principles. 

  • Affiliate | $225
  • Attorney | $185/new, $285/renewal
  • Financial, Coach, and Child Specialist | $185/new, $285/renewal
  • New Collaborator / Recent Law School Graduate | $0

Membership tiers

1. Practitioner (Attorney, Mental Health Professional, Financial Specialist)

To join, proof of documentation required for the following: 

  • Completed Collaborative Basic Training with any approved Collaborative organization (2 day minimum)
  • 40 hour Mediation Training
  • Current licensure in field (Attorney, Mental Health, Financial)

In addition:

  • IACP membership highly encouraged

2. Affiliate (Anyone who supports the organization)

To join:

In addition:

  • A member spotlight and website profile are not included for affiliates
  • You will have access to all other benefits such as: being part of a collaborative community and highly trained professionals in the field, participating in networking events and volunteer opportunities, attending trainings and attending monthly practice group meetings.

3. New Collaborator/Recent Law School Graduate

To join:

  • There are no requirements

In addition:

  • A member spotlight and website profile are not included for new collaborators / recent law school graduates
  • You will have access to all other benefits such as: being part of a collaborative community and highly trained professionals in the field, participating in networking events and volunteer opportunities, attending trainings, and attending monthly practice group meetings. 
  • You may attend collaborative meetings as note-takers for experience
  • Free membership is granted for Law Clerks and Students to learn about collaborative practice
  • If an individual’s profession allows for eligibility at the Practitioner tier, membership is required at the Practitioner tier.

New Fellows: 

In addition to the criteria above, a new Fellow must provide proof of: 

  • Completion of two-day Basic Introductory Collaborative Practice Training 
  • Completion of Conflict Resolution Skills training in the form of either: 
    • a) a forty (40)-hour mediation training, OR 
    • b) a thirty (30)-hour training in client-centered, facilitative conflict resolution, of the kind typically taught in mediation training (internet-based, narrative, or transformative mediation programs) AND an accumulation or aggregate of fifteen (15) further hours of training in any of the following areas: interest based negotiation training, communication skills training, collaborative training beyond the minimum twelve (12) hours of initial collaborative training, advanced mediation training, or basic professional coach training. 

RENEWING MEMBERS:

In addition to the criteria above, a renewing member must have: 

  • Current licensure in field (Attorney, Mental Health, Financial); this requires discipline-specific CE
  • 5 CE’s per year in Collaborative Practice:  
    • Requirement waived for members with 10+ years of CDI membership and share their expertise by leading one role play exercise or presenting at a Practice Group one time per year. Licensure must be current.
    • CE’s can be earned outside of CDI.  International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) preferred or other leading collaborative groups in the US (Florida, Cincinnati, Minnesota, etc.)
    • New option to earn up to 3 CE’s (to be included as part of the required 5 CE’s): Fulfill 1 CE for every two Practice Group meetings attended and/or Fulfill 1 CE by presenting (50 minutes) at a Practice Group meeting
    • Note: CDI prides itself in being unique from other groups for requiring continuing education and presenting ourselves as experts in the field to the community.  Members are held accountable for being collaboratively trained and continuing their education in the collaborative field.

All members are also encouraged to:

  • Attend Practice Group meetings, many offered each month 
  • Have IACP membership 

Guest Policy 

Members may bring a guest to 3 CDI-related activities (Practice Group meetings, networking, Happy Hour, etc.) before requiring membership dues be paid.

Collaborative Divorce Illinois Membership Requirements
Collaborative Divorce Illinois Membership Requirements