Are Conducted by a Group of Professionals From Various Disciplines Along With the Childã¢â‚¬â„¢s Family.

Children 1st brought the Family Group Meeting (sometimes known as a Family Group Conference) to Scotland in 1998. Children 1st is the largest tertiary-sector provider of FGDM services in Scotland.

Family Group Decision Making can assistance a child's wider family to come up together to concur a family program to support their child, earlier a life-changing decision is made about their futurity. During the coronavirus pandemic Children 1st is continuing to piece of work with families about to develop family plans to inform decisions about their kid'southward future.

What is a Family Group Coming together?

Every family, at some time, needs to make big decisions about their children.

A Family Group Meeting is a style for families to come together to discuss a concern or trouble which involves children or young people in the family unit. Family could include grandparents, aunties and uncles, and even close family friends.

The aim of the meeting is to brand a plan to support that child or young person. The family choose whether, or not, they want to have a meeting.

Children 1st staff organise Family Group Meetings in all sorts of circumstances. This can range from help for a family early on when they are showtime to have difficulties, right up to when families are involved with social work and child protection services and are making big decisions about how to continue a child safe or where a child should live.

Research briefing: Learning from Family Group Conferencing

Dr Mary Mitchell has undertaken inquiry in collaboration with Children 1st and the Centre for Research on Family and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh asking about the contribution that FGC makes to longer- term outcomes for children at gamble of beingness accommodated in Scotland and for their families.

Her research in has identified the importance of giving outcomes identified by children and family members equal value to those identified past professionals.

Download a re-create of the research briefing paper (PDF).

Kelly's story: A Family Group Meeting in activity

(Please annotation: this video was made several years ago and features onetime Children 1st branding which has not been updated).

How to inquire for a Family Group Meeting

For more information about Family Group Decision Making services, please contact Children 1st using the form below.

Quotes from family members

"It cut through all the individual conversations and telephone calls. We all got together as a grouping and said what we needed to say."

"I felt more equal every bit we were telling them what the plan was going to be".

"The Family unit Group Meeting immune the families to piece of work together and strengthened our resolve to make sure the children will now be prophylactic. I felt empowered equally opposed to my input being dismissed."

Quotes from workers

"Information technology was similar half-dozen months work done in one evening because all of the correct people were at that place at the same fourth dimension".

"Before the meeting I was broken-hearted and unsure but as I did not know the extended family and felt at times they were angry at me.  This disappeared as I was able to speak with the family and I felt relieved as they listened."

More information nigh Family Group Meetings

There are three parts to a Family Group Meeting:

• Information sharing: workers who know the family talk with them nearly the strengths that they see and hopes for the family. They also share whatsoever worries they have and anything that they think might make a child unsafe e.yard. contact with a particular person.
• Private family fourth dimension: the family group are left to bring their own thoughts together and talk about the information from workers and make a family plan.
• Agreeing the family plan: the family unit group, coordinator and workers concur on the family unit'southward plan (as long as information technology is a safe plan and meets the child's needs).

• Families are experts on themselves. They are often the best people to brand safe plans for their children.
• It offers a chance to take fourth dimension out from decorated family life, to talk most what is best for the child.
• It's an opportunity for everyone to hear and sympathize one another.
• It's an opportunity for a child's voice to exist heard.
• Children have said they feel special when their families come together to help them.
• It gives families control of decision-making.
• It helps families to find their own strengths and solutions to their problems.
• They are blame-gratis.

• The family unit decides who will exist invited. Family members will discuss and reach an agreement about who should be involved.
• Usually people are chosen who know and care well-nigh the kid. This ofttimes includes parents, step-parents, aunties, uncles, grandparents, side by side door neighbours and close family unit friends.
• The family unit too chooses which workers they would similar to invite to the meeting – commonly those people who can assistance with data, advice or support.
• If a professional worker has suggested a Family Group Meeting so they would normally be invited to attend. This is particularly true when a social worker has requested a Family Group Meeting because they are worried that a child is at hazard of damage.

The meeting is organised past a coordinator, whose job is to make sure that the Family unit Grouping Meeting runs smoothly.

The coordinator is independent. That means that they volition not already exist involved in supporting or making decisions near the child or family.

The coordinator volition work with the kid and their parents or carers to plan the Family Group Meeting.

This will include talking about:

• who the child and family desire to invite
• what they desire to say at the meeting
• where and when the meeting should be
• what food and drinks there will be
• what needs to happen to make the meeting safe and comfy for everyone.

The coordinator will visit anybody who has been invited to help them understand how the meeting will work, how to accept their say and ensure everyone feels respected and included.

Children and young people normally take office in their Family Grouping Coming together. Their thoughts and feelings are very important when decisions are being fabricated near them.

The coordinator volition offer the child or young person the chance to take someone to help them with their Family Grouping Coming together. This person is sometimes known as an advocate or meetings-buddy.

Adults are as well allowed to accept an abet or meetings-buddy.

The family unit group decides if anyone else should receive a re-create of the family program.

The family unit and workers volition work together to put the plan into activeness.

The coordinator arranges a review coming together, unremarkably a few weeks to a few months after the original Family Grouping Meeting.

The review meeting lets the family unit come up together to:

• celebrate what has worked
• brand sure everyone is still following the plan
• make tweaks and changes to the programme
• add new parts to the program.

If anyone is worried that the plan is non working, or if there is a family crisis, they tin can ask the coordinator to organise a review meeting as soon every bit possible.

Download our leaflets

Click on a cover to see useful information that you tin download and print:

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Source: https://www.children1st.org.uk/help-for-families/ways-we-work/family-group-decision-making/

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