A presentation by Charlene Berquist, PhD, and Heather Blades, MA, with the Center for Dispute Resolution at Missouri State University. This presentation overviews the Family Group Conferencing programs provided by our Center for at-risk youth and parents in recovery for drug and alcohol abuse. We provide community programs and offer basic and advanced training in family group conferencing. This presentation was provided at the Association for Conflict Resolution 2013 National Conference in Minneapolis.
VarSeq 2.6.0: Advancing Pharmacogenomics and Genomic Analysis
Family Group Conferencing - Creating New Normals for At-Risk Families
1. Family Group Conferencing:
Creating New Normals for At-Risk Families
A presentation by
Dr. Charlene Berquist & Heather Blades
The Center for Dispute Resolution
at Missouri State University
www.MissouriState.edu/CDR * CDR@MissouriState.edu * (417) 836-8831
2. Agenda
What is family group conferencing (FGC)?
Our experiences with FGC
Overview of the FGC process
Research on FGC
Discussion of applications of FGC in your work
4. What is Family Group Conferencing?
Family group conferences bring a family together with their
relatives, friends, and other supportive people in their lives
to develop a plan to support an individual in the family who
is facing challenges or difficulties, or to address a specific
concern or issue.
Family group conferences create “new normals” for families
in a variety of ways
5. J. Nice, Family Unity Project
“Family Group Decision Making (FGC) is more a family
gathering to which service providers are invited, than an
agency meeting to which family members are invited.”
6. History of FGC
Moari Tribe -“PUAO-TE-ATA-TU (DAY BREAK)
Federal legislation in New Zealand -1989 Children, Young
Persons, and their Family Act
Spread to Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, and
United States
First U.S. model is the Family Unity Model –begun in Oregon
apx. 15 years ago – models of practice vary
Currently implemented in over 35 states across the U.S.
7. Contexts Where FGC is Used
Child protection and child welfare
Juvenile offending
Addiction recovery
Re-integration of juveniles/adults after
detention/incarceration
Child mental & physical health support
Others?
8. Our Experiences with FGC
FGC with female adolescent offenders (Networks for Girls)
Collaborative partnership with Greene County Juvenile Office
Program began 2010
Funded by Title II Grant from the Missouri Department of Public Safety and the
Missouri Juvenile Justice Advisory Group from funding provided by the U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
FGC with parents in recovery (Regional Partnership Grant)
Collaborative partnership with Alternative Opportunities/Carol Jones Recovery Center
Program began in 2012
Funded by a federal grant funded by the Children’s Bureau
FGC Training and Support
Regularly provide training for volunteers, court and child welfare personnel, and
mental health and recovery professionals
Have applied for Federal Healthcare Innovation Grant as a collaborative partner
providing Family Group Conference training and ongoing teleconference
communication and conflict management support - notification date January, 2014
10. Human “Bean” Debrief
What is your reaction to this exercise?
How has your family coped with one of these situations?
11. FGC vs. Traditional Practice
FGC
Traditional Practice
Family Meeting
Agency Meeting
Family’s choice
Families are mandated
Families are defined broadly
Families are narrowly defined
More family representatives
More Agency Representatives
Meeting begins with strengths
Meeting is problem focused
Private family time
Agency representatives present for entire
meeting
Family members are the experts
Agency representatives are the experts
Family creates the plan
Agency representatives create the plan
Family is responsible for follow
through
Agency monitors family compliance with the
plan
12. The Values and Beliefs of FGC
1. Families have strengths to solve family concerns in times of
need.
2. Family members know their family best and should be the
primary decision-makers for their family.
3. Families should be respected.
4. Children are best raised in families.
5. Empowering people is preferable to controlling them and
empowering families will lead to families controlling their
lives
6. Mistakes are opportunities for growth and development.
14. Benefits of FGC
Creates quality plans
„Family is invested in the plan.
„Family often makes plans more strict and detailed than agency plans.
„Creates more stable living arrangements .
„Creates better futures for children
„Saves time and money
Offers cost neutrality or savings
Saves time by frontloading
Decreases court involvement
Reduces placements and intensive services
Empowers families and allows them to resolve concerns in a safe
environment
Creates more resilient families
Others?
15. Voices of Our Participants
“I think it has shown her what strengths she has and what kind of
person she is and she is stronger than she knew.”
“…I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that I can speak to my family
about any problems we have.”
“Great experience. Really enjoyed being able to voice my thoughts and
opinions in a place where they wouldn’t be un-noticed. Hearing what
her concerns were helped me realize how she felt about everything.
“This was really amazing and this helped me out a lot. I’m proud and
love myself now more than ever and I love my family.”
“This really helped us figure out who is able to be there for support.”
“I am very glad this group happened.”
17. The Four Stages of FGC
1. Referral
2. Preparation
3. The Family Group
Conference
4. Follow Up
18. The Referral
Process will vary depending on program
Role of referring worker
Introduces FGC to primary family
Explains agency’s concerns
Explains FGC values
Referral information
19. Role of the Facilitators/Coordinators
Professional vs. volunteer
Are impartial architects of the FGC process
Prepares family for the FGC and conducts the FGC
Protects the process
Keeps a safe space
Responds to changes and crisis
Facilitates beginning and end
Assists in evaluation of the plan
20. Principles Guiding the Preparation of
Families
Family groups are entitled to information because of their
decision-making role.
Process should be transparent – no surprises.
Family groups must be adequately prepared.
Information is shared with everyone – not the “keeper of
secrets”.
21. Preparing Family & Others
Information is shared with family members
What is FGC
Why the family is involved
What to expect
Family asked key questions
Who to include
Safety concerns
Family culture
Strengths and concerns of family
Logistics
Commitment
Others at the table
22. Stages of the FGC
Welcome
Introduction phase
Sharing of strengths and concerns
Information sharing
Private family time
Plan finalization
23. Current Research in Family Group
Conferencing
Focus of current research
Participant satisfaction
Attitudes of system participants
Plan content
Perceptions of and placement of children
Limited implementation and follow-up research
Gaps in the research
Comparison of program types
Limited understanding of specific features of process
Differences between types of cases and impact
Perceptions and experiences of different participants and
facilitator/coordinators
Long term outcomes
24. Our Family Group Conferencing
Research
Quantitative and Qualitative
Program comparisons
Participant comparisons
Pre-and Post Surveys
Observational data
Focus Group Interviews
Longitudinal outcomes
25. Application
How might this program
format be useful for you?
Are there collaborations you
might draw upon?
How could you solicit
volunteers and program
support?
What challenges might you
face in implementing this
type of program?
27. To Learn More
The Center for Dispute Resolution
at Missouri State University
Phone: (417) 836-8831
Email: CDR@MissouriState.edu
Web: www.MissouriState.edu/CDR
Dropbox with Handouts:
http://tinyurl.com/meffu9f
Editor's Notes
Debrief as a large group What is compelling about each of these values/beliefs?How are these values/beliefs present or absent in your agency?Are there changes you could make in your everyday work to further embrace these values/beliefs?
To learn more about the Center for Dispute Resolution please explore our website or contact us by phone or email! We’ll look forward to hearing from you.