A Brief History of Family Group Conferences

Interest in using family group conferences in England emerged in the early part of the nineties. Six Local Authorities ran pilot schemes to see what they could offer in child welfare. They were seen offering a very successful way of working in partnerships with families to make the best plans for children and other family members. There use has grown across many other places in the UK. They are now being used in a range of contexts, for instance to address situations of domestic violence and to make plans for vulnerable adults.

One of these six places was Hampshire, where our project began.

Daybreak began operations at the start of January 2000. It was established as a company limited by guarantee and as a registered charity.

The agency worked initially with Hampshire County Council, but quickly began to establish and provide other FGC programmes across the central part of England. It pioneered work using FGCs to address situations of domestic violence, and continues to seek innovative and effective new contexts in which to promote this model. It comprises a team of people with a wealth of family group conference experience who work together to promote, manage and develop family group conferences.

Daybreak now provides six programmes across the central southern part of England. Full details can be accessed through our Projects pages. The project's Chief Executive is Marilyn Taylor.

More recently Daybreak has expanded to provide the whole range of Restorative Practices. It has developed a wide range of training around FGCs, and can offer consultation about this process. It is seeking with others to promote the formal accreditation of FGC coordinator training.

The People Behind Daybreak.

Marilyn Taylor B.Sc M.Sc (Voluntary Sector Organisation) CQSW - Chief Executive of Daybreak

Marilyn Taylor is a professional social worker, and has worked as a practitioner, manager and trainer in both the statutory and voluntary sectors. She has worked in England and in Canada.

She has been involved with family group conferences since 1992 as an independent co-ordinator, trainer and manager. She co-founded Daybreak FGC, a registered charity and voluntary organisation which began operations on 1st January 2000. She has been Director of Daybreak since its foundation and became Chief Executive in 2006.

Marilyn has presented at a range of national and international Conferences, for instance in North Carolina, Minneapolis, San Antonio, the Netherlands, Finland and Vienna. She has a particular interest in developing and enhancing the participation of children, family members and communities in all aspects of the work.

Sarah Curl – Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Sarah began working for Daybreak in April 2007.  She came to the post after working as Head of Operations for the Hampton Trust, a voluntary organisation specialising in domestic violence, youth and parenting services, for six years. Her previous posts, in youth work and in the probation service, reflect Sarah’s passion for promoting safety, positive dynamics and unity for children and families.

In her career at Daybreak Sarah hopes to contribute to the organisational structure of an expanding organisation.

Sarah is married to David and they have two children:  Sam (16) and Megan (1).

Joan Pennell, MSW, PhD - Patron of Daybreak

Joan Pennell is Professor and Head, Department of Social Work, North Carolina State University. Through the American Humane Society, she serves as an external evaluator of Family Team Meetings for the District of Columbia Child & Family Services Agency. She previously directed the North Carolina Family Group Conferencing Project, and was a principal investigator (with Gale Burford) for a Newfoundland & Labrador (Canada) demonstration of family group conferencing in situations of child maltreatment and domestic violence.  She co-authored Community Research as Empowerment (Oxford University Press), Family Group Conferencing: Evaluation Guidelines (American Humane Association), and Widening the Circle: The Practice and Evaluation of Family Group Conferencing with Children, Youths, and Their Families (NASW Press).  She has presented on family group conferencing in Australia, Canada, England, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States and is honored to serve as a patron for Daybreak.

Dr Gale Burford, University of Vermont - Patron of Daybreak

Gale is director of the Department of Social Work at UVM and director of the UVM and State of Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services Child Welfare Training Partnership.

He has served as principal investigator and co-directed numerous substantial grants from organizations including the National Institute of Justice, Vermont State Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services and Institute of Social and Economic Research for projects on equity and justice issues, community service, and child abuse in United States, Canada and Newfoundland.

Apart from his extensive research Burford is a prolific author. The forthcoming, "Broken Icons: Perspectives on Child Sexual Abuse," will be his fourth book. He has also written journal articles, individual book chapters, and instructional materials. Burford earned his master's degree and doctorate in social work from the University of Washington and University of Stirling, Scotland, respectively.

Clare Silson - Trustee

Gill Scaife - Trustee

Peter currently works as Director of Academic Development and Quality in the School of Health and Social Care at Oxford Brookes University. His background is in social work as a practitioner and educator, focussing on and working primarily with children and their families and carers. He has been with Daybreak as a Trustee since 2000.