Family Group Conferences

Family Group Conferences have been at the forefront of family decision-making and effective partnership arrangements between families and statutory agencies for many years. The model is culturally respectful, works to a family’s strengths and enables increased participation in decision-making and planning for children, young people and vulnerable adults.

As an indication of the increasing recognition of the value and contribution of Family Group Conferences, Local Authorities are now required under the Public Law Outline to have considered and facilitated a Family Group Conference prior to any planned initiation of legal proceedings concerning children. From our experience, Family Group Conferences have been successfully used in planning for children, in addressing issues of concern, for family finding and in sharing responsibility for safeguarding children with the wider kinship and social networks.

Commonly used in situations of high risk, Family Group Conferences are a cost-effective way of keeping children safe. The use of FGCs will achieve measurable outcomes in five key areas:

• The avoidance of the need to instigate Care Proceedings
• The prevention of an admission into Local Authority care
• The progression of plans for the rehabilitation of children and young people to parental or kinship care
• The progression of Child Protection Plans
• The identification of alternative family network carers

F4F is highly committed to encouraging a young person’s participation in the process, and full participation of as many members of the family group as possible.

All F4F FGC Co-ordinators are fully trained and qualified in the use of the FGC model. In order to enhance future practice, F4F also has experience in the organisation of Service User’s Forums aimed at obtaining feedback of people’s experiences of participating in the conference process.

Forward4Families is a member of the Family Rights Group.