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2.1.1 Family Group Conferences

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The Criteria for a Family Group Conference Referral
  3. The New Procedure


1. Introduction

The Family Group Conference Service is required to make revisions to the service it provides both in terms of threshold criteria and the procedure for referring a family. Not all children's circumstances will meet the threshold for an Family Group Conference and the manager of the referring team will be expected to chair a family meeting instead.


2. The Criteria for a Family Group Conference Referral

Criteria for accepting an Family Group Conference referral will be:

  1. During the course of Care Proceedings (including pre proceedings cases
  2. To promote rehabilitation
  3. To prevent family breakdown (e.g. as part of a Child Protection Plan)


3. The New Procedure

  • If you believe a family would benefit from a Family Group Conference (FGC), you will need to consult the FGC manager in the first instance. This can be done via telephone or email. You will need to give the FGC manager information regarding the need of the FGC and the status of the child;
  • The FGC manager will make a decision as to whether this family should be referred for an FGC. If it is felt that the family do not meet the criteria for a referral for an FGC this will be explained to the social worker and their team manager will be informed. The team manager will be required to facilitate a family meeting instead. If the team manager does not agree with the decision they can discuss further with the FGC manager. Disagreements can also be resolved through the Operational Manager of the referring team and the Operational Manager, Safeguarding and Quality Assurance;
  • If the decision is made to have an FGC, the social worker will then need to discuss with the family the option of having an FGC. If the decision is made to have a family meeting instead of an FGC then the social worker will need to explain this option to the family;
  • If the family agree to the FGC then the SW will need to fill out the FGC referral form;
  • The completed referral form is to be emailed to the FGC manager. The FGC manager will then meet with the SW to discuss the referral and to support them to write the social worker's report (information for the family);
  • The FGC will then be co-ordinated by the FGC manager or by a sessional co-ordinator as necessary;
  • If the family are offered, and agree to, a family meeting chaired by the team manager, then this needs to be arranged between the social worker and their team manager. The FGC manager will track the progress of family meetings for monitoring and evaluation purposes.

End