Family
Stories
Once
you have read this page you may like to look at our Stories
page about families who have had a family group meeting along with feedback about their experiences.
What
is a Family Group Conference?
What
is the FGC Process?
The
Role of the Co-ordinator
What
Research Shows
The
Essential Values and Principles
Results
and Achievements
Respecting
Families' Culture
What
is a Family Group Conference?
Family group conferences are a meeting of the extended family and friends
to make decisions and plans for resolving problems around a child, young
person or other family member.
This may involve, for instance, support for a lone parent, families struggling with alcohol or drug abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, offending or potential offending behaviour of a young person, or problems with school attendance or behaviour.
The
Meeting is in Three Parts:
The first part is chaired by the Co-ordinator who welcomes everyone and asks
the professional people to share their information. The family can ask questions
and discuss the situation with them.
Then the family is left by itself for the most important part of the meeting, the private family time, when it will make a plan to help the child or young person. Nearly always these plans are far more creative and wide ranging than any made by a group of professionals who do not have the intimate knowledge and life-time commitment of Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc and close friends. The third part of the meeting is when everyone comes back together to agree the plan and formalise the commitment to it. Nearly all plans are agreed by everyone at this stage. The family arranges a time to meet again and assess how well the plan is going and any changes that may need to be made. The meeting is nearly always held in a neutral place, where the family wants it to happen and feels most comfortable. This can be in a community centre for instance. There is always a meal, which indicates both the importance and significance of the meeting and is a normal and positive way in which families celebrate being together. |
 |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
HOME | CONTACT | NEWS & EVENTS | LINKS | ABOUT
DAYBREAK | VALUES STATEMENT | ABOUT
FGCs www.daybreakfgc.org.uk The website of Daybreak Family Group Conferences. Charity no. 1077607 Company no. 378026. The
name 'Daybreak' is translated from the Maori word 'Puao-te-ata-tu'. Photographs courtesy of Stock.xchng www.sxc.hu and copyright of the individual creators © 2009 |
|||||||||||||
