This session will clarify misunderstandings about the Amish and address questions from participants. Special attention will be paid to Amish family life, including gender roles, child rearing practices, and caring for elderly community members. We will consider real situations that involve interactions between Amish families and professionals in law enforcement, the judicial and health care systems, and social and child protective services. A main goal of the training will be to explore ways in which cooperation and relationship building can be promoted. Mark Louden, Ph.D., is a professor of Germanic linguistics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he also directs the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies. A Mennonite and fluent speaker of Pennsylvania Dutch, the main language of the Amish, he serves as an interpreter and cultural mediator for Amish nationwide, working mostly with health care and child welfare professionals.