What is a Family Group Conference?

A family group conference allows family members to meet along with professionals who may be involved with a child, where problems have arisen in caring for a child or safeguarding concerns have been raised. The conference allows for a plan to be established to combat the difficulties faced and allows for professionals and family members to discuss these in an open forum. A conference may be suggested by any professionals who believe that a family will benefit from a conference and a referral will then be made for one to be arranged; a referral may also come from a family member itself.

After a referral is made, the independent coordinator will contact the person who made the referral to discuss the concerns and will then meet with the family to determine if they agree to a conference going ahead. A conference will only go ahead if those that have Parental Responsibility for  the child agree and if the child agrees, if they are at an age that they understand what the conference would discuss. The child can be present in the meeting if they wish to be and if it is appropriate to discuss the concerns in their presence. A child may also be offered an advocate to speak on their behalf.

A family group conference will then be arranged by the independent coordinator and family members and professionals will be invited to attend; the family decide who they would like to attend the conference. A family member may be excluded from attending in exceptional circumstances such as if they are a known to be violent etc. Professionals that may be invited could include any specialist agencies which work with the family such as the Youth Offending Service, Health Visitor, school as well as Children and Family Services (CFS). A family group conference may be arranged alongside a child protection conference or during the course of care proceedings by the CFS.

The independent coordinator will ensure that a neutral location is sought for the meeting to go ahead and will speak to everyone who is invited to explain the reason for the meeting. They will also ensure that the meeting runs smoothly and without any conflict. The conference will be undertaken in the first language of the family, if this is not English. A bottom line will be discussed and usually if a conference is arranged by Children and Family Services the bottom line may be that if a safe plan is not made, it is likely that the Local Authority will apply to the Family Court for an order with regards to the child/children.

A conference allows the family to formulate a plan after listening to the concerns raised by the professionals and what services and support may be offered to them; this allows the family members to have their say and be involved. Family members may feel that they believe they know what is best for a child and this may allow for cultural and religious practices to be involved in the plan. The family will then be given time privately without the professionals or the coordinator present to discuss the issues raised and see how they would like to address them. Once a plan has been formulated, the referrer must agree the plan if they believe it may assist in the difficulties or concerns that have been raised. In addition, any professionals involved in the conference will then agree to the plan and will then assist the family into putting it into action. A contingency plan may be drawn up if the original plan does not work. A review family group conference will be offered to the family to address any issues with the implementation of the plan and to address how to overcome these issues if required.

A family group conference differs from a family meeting in that it is led by the family with support from the independent coordinator as opposed to being led by the social worker (if involved) or other professionals.

If you’re having issues with your family and you currently have Children and Family Services involvement then please contact Emery Johnson Astills and ask for the Care Team on 0116 2554855 to discuss how we may able to assist you.