2.2 Family Group Conferences

AMENDMENT

This chapter was slightly amended in October 2011 in regard to Section 2, Policy: in regard to families who are subject to care proceedings.

What are Family Group Conferences?
Policy
Method of Referring
Step 1: The Referral
Step 2: Preparation for the Meeting
Step 3: The Meeting
Step 4: Reviewing the Plan

1. What are Family Group Conferences?

Family Group Conferences are a decision making forum that focus on the welfare of the child. They are a mechanism that enables the formal state systems to work in partnership with informal family and community systems, recognising the knowledge and expertise of family and informal systems and recognising the knowledge and expertise of professional systems. Family Group Conferences put families in charge of the decision making; the process strengthens families and respects and affirms each families unique cultural experience.

Family Group Conferences operate very differently from existing decision making mechanisms that are dominated by professionals and tend to take away the responsibility for decision making from families and the community and often discourage the participation of the family. Family Group Conferences make sure that power and responsibility is more evenly shared between the family/community (informal) and professional/agency (formal) networks. Family Group Conferences harness and build on the knowledge, strengths and resources in families and communities. They provide a framework for families, the community and agencies to work collaboratively together to safeguard and promote children's welfare.

This framework seeks to:

Institute effective care and protection practices by working with families
Increase and improve community participation in delivery of care and protection services by working with the traditional family structures of the indigenous people
Provide culturally appropriate services
Reduce the number of children in State care
Reduce involvement with the Courts.

2. Policy

To maximise the benefits of Family Group Conferences they must be considered throughout the planning process. Therefore children's services are required to consider families for this service at the following stages:

To families of children who are the subject of care proceedings, including children in need of protection where assessment considers that they may be a useful method of resolving a child care concern or may provide additional information to inform planning, for example, in decision making regarding care proceedings
Where the child of the family is at risk of being accommodated
Where the child/YP of the family has recently been accommodated with the aim of securing a return to their family or planning for permanency in an alternative care setting
In adoption cases where deemed appropriate
In cases where children/YP have been long term looked after and there is the possibility of revocation of an Order or plans to return Home under Section 20 Children Act 1989

3. Method of Referring

Social Worker should contact the Project Manager to request a referral form.

The form will be forwarded electronically to the Social Worker. The Social Worker will then complete the form and return (electronically) to the project Manager. This form will them be emailed to the family group conference provider.

Project Manager

This service is managed by a FGC Project Manager within the Safeguarding and Planning Service. The project Manager has a designated half day a week to network with teams; generate referrals, co-ordinate referrals, linking with the provider and other agencies and seminars/briefings.

Providers

Currently Galton Associates from whom we spot purchase FGCs. This contract is reviewed on a annual basis.

The Family Group Conference Model

Where a family agrees to a Family Group Conference, every effort will be made to appoint an independent Co-ordinator who reflects the family's preference in terms of race, culture, gender and language spoken.

Family Group Conferences will be held at venues of the family's choice and at a time convenient to them. They will be facilitated by an independent Co-ordinator who will be responsible for every aspect of the arrangements.

The family will be given clear information about the nature of the professionals concerns and the range of support available. In so far as any plan devised by a family meets the minimum requirements set out by the involved professional/s for safeguarding and promoting the child's welfare and the plan does not place the child at risk of significant harm, the plan will be accepted and appropriate resources negotiated. The plan will be subject to review.

Timescale:

Family Group Conference from referral to completion is six weeks.

4. Step 1: The Referral

The Social Worker and Team Manager discuss the viability of a Family Group Conference in supervision.

If it appears that concerns could be resolved by the provision of a Family Group Conference the Social Worker will discuss with the family whether they feel that such a meeting would help them make decisions about their children. The Social Worker must ensure that the family understand what is involved. (the term 'family', in the context of Family Group Conferences, refers to both blood relatives and to non-related significant family friends or neighbours).

The referral must be seen and approved by the Team Manager. The completed referral should then be emailed to the FGC Project Manager who will contact the Social Worker direct if there are questions about aspects of the referral. The Project Manager will dispatch the referral to the Family Group Conference provider and negotiate issues that may arise from the referral i.e. timescales.

5. Step 2: Preparation for the Meeting

An Independent Co-ordinator is appointed by the Family Group Conference provider. The Co-ordinator should reflect the race and culture of the family and share the same first language. They will work with the family to set up the meeting. The Co-ordinator will begin by making contact with the family to:

Confirm the information provided on the referral form

Invite, where agreed family members

Arrange a venue chosen by the child and Parent(s) at a time agreed by all parties which may be in the evening or at the weekend

Written confirmation of these details will be given to the Social Worker and Team Manager. Family members who may inhibit the formulation of a plan risk exclusion from the process. Request for an advocate must be made at the earliest opportunity

The Co-ordinator will contact the Social Worker to:

Clarify their concerns
Help them prepare their presentation to the family in a form that is clear and accessible
To establish the absolute requirements for the child/YP safety, which must be contained in the family's eventual plan. It is essential that the be specific so that family members are clear about the departments concerns and expectations
Establish what information has been shared to date.

6. Step 3: The Meeting

Role of the Social Worker

The Social Worker is expected to make a brief presentation at the beginning of the Family Group Conference outlining:

The nature of the social work concerns, explaining where necessary the statutory duties and responsibilities that govern their work
The issues which must be addressed by the family in the formulation of a family plan in order to resolve the professional's concerns
The resources available to support the family

The Social Worker is expected to:

Be able to answer questions put to them by the family on aspects of their report
And take part in any monitoring of the outcome of the Family Group Conference that is undertaken

Family

The Co-ordinator, in conjunction with the child, young person and their immediate Carers identifies the family network which can include close friends.

Family groups should be facilitated to attend an Family Group Conference through financial and practical assistance with travel, the choice of the venue, the availability of interpreter's etc.

When inviting family members, a date, time and venue for the meeting, convenient to the family, is agreed. Preparing family members to participate is a key responsibility for the Co-ordinator at this stage. The Co-ordinator has the right to exclude individuals if absolutely necessary. The grounds for doing so should be explicitly stated (e.g. proven likelihood of violence) and the family member should have the right to appeal and/or contribute in a different manner.

The Co-ordinator meets with the child or young person to discuss who will be their support person or advocate in the meeting. It is important that a child or young person has someone who is there for both expected and unexpected events. Thought need to be given to who should fulfil this role, particularly given the families private time. There may be other people in the family group who will need someone in the conference to support them, and it is the Co-ordinators role to ensure this happens.

Family Time

The Co-ordinator and professionals withdraw, leaving the family to plan in private. The family has three basic tasks:

To agree a plan that meets the needs of the child/young person
To agree contingency plans; and
To agree how to monitor and review the plan.

The Co-ordinator is available during this time should the family need any clarification or additional information. It is an important principle in Family Group Conferences that the family have time to talk among themselves without any Staff from agencies being present. The family should be able to meet for as long as they wish in private. Families value the Co-ordinators belief in their ability to come up with a plan.

Agreeing the plan

Once the family have agreed a plan, the Co-ordinator, the referrer and the key professionals meet again with the family to hear the plan and negotiate resources. It is generally the referrer's task to agree the plan. Good practice suggests that, where the professionals are happy with the plan, it should be agreed in principle, even if there is the need for further agreement or negotiation of resources outside of the meeting. The only reason for not agreeing the plan is if it puts the child at risk of significant harm. This needs to be outlined to the family immediately and an opportunity to address concerns given immediately.

It is important that at this point timescales and names of those responsible for any tasks are clarified. Contingency plans and reviewing arrangements should also be agreed.

7. Step 4: Reviewing the Plan

The level of monitoring will depend upon the reason for the referral. The family will have their own monitoring arrangements, and will need to know about the professional responsibilities for monitoring. The success of the plan will depend upon the family and professionals working together, and informing each other about the progress of the plan.

The way in which the plan is reviewed will depend very much of the needs of the child, young person and family and the statutory responsibilities of any agencies involved. A review Family Group Conference is often recommended and if no date is set, agreeing how family members can initiate the Family Group Conference process is important.

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