Family Group Decision Making

Duke University, Center for Child and Family Policy, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. (2007, September). Improving child welfare outcomes through system of care: Family centered meeting survey report 2005-2006 Alamance, Bladen, and Mecklenburg Counties, North Carolina. Durham, NC: Author.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of system of care and multiple response system principles in four types of family-centered meetings: 1) child and family teams (required for high- and intensive-risk cases to engage families in service planning); 2) team decision making (used to make placement decisions); 3) permanency planning action teams (legally required for cases in which a child is in the custody of social services, in order to demonstrate a reasonable effort for ensuring a safe, permanent home for the child); and 4) shared parenting meetings (required to connect biological and foster parents early in foster placements). The counties that participated were Alamance, Bladen and Mecklenburg. Surveys were given out at meetings with a facilitator present and cases with a rating of high or intensive risk. However, surveys were not given at every meeting that was facilitated. Facilitators completed a meeting summary form at the start of the meeting, which includes meeting type and who did and did not attend. Facilitators gave surveys to each person present at the meeting, when the meeting was finished. Facilitators also provided information on meeting length. In 2005 and 2006, participants reported agreement on the four scales regarding child and family teams and team decision making: 1) the fidelity of the process; 2) feeling engaged in the process; 3) seeing the goals as being met; and 4) participants’ understanding of their roles. With some exception, ratings on these scales tended to improve from 2005 to 2006. Child and family team meetings tended to have higher model fidelity ratings than permanency planning action team meetings. In both years studied, parents gave significantly higher ratings for “participation” at child and family teams than at team decision making meetings, but in the second year, foster parents rated their satisfaction significantly higher in team decision making meetings than in child and family teams. Longer meetings were associated with lower ratings. Participants suggested that meetings could be improved by better attendance of parents and other team members, more preparation of participants, and making other arrangements, such as providing snacks and child care.

Keywords: United States, U.S., North Carolina, child welfare, service delivery, developmental stage, program evaluation, process evaluation, qualitative data, quantitative data

Edwards, M., Tinworth, K., Burford, G., & Pennell, J. (2007, March). Family team meeting (FTM) process, outcome, and impact evaluation phase II report. Englewood, CO: American Humane Association.

This evaluation of the Family Team Meeting Program at the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency focuses on the use of family meetings to rapidly mobilize the family group at the time a child enters placement. Of the 649 children entering foster care between Jan. 1, 2005, and Sept. 30, 2005, 70 percent were members of a family participating in a family team meeting. Using a pre-post design, two comparison groups and interviews, the study reports significant increases in the rate of foster care placements with relative families and significantly higher rates of reunification at discharge for children whose families participated in a family meeting, as compared to children whose families did not. Moreover, no differences in safety, as measured by recurrence of substantiated maltreatment, were found between children whose families participated and those who did not. Stakeholder interviews replicated the findings of the first year evaluation by affirming the value of family meetings and stating that parent rights were being protected. Supporting the latter assertion, no parental appeals of hearing results had been lodged and upheld. Interviewees overwhelmingly endorsed principles of family engagement through family team meetings. The researchers note that after the family plan has been developed, concerns remain about the ongoing engagement and participation of family and community members in implementing and revising the plan and concerns about the extent to which the plan informs the ongoing service plan.

Keywords: U.S., Washington, D.C., child permanency, child placement, child safety, delivery system, developmental stage, outcome evaluation, quasi-experimental design, quantitative data

Falck, S. (2008). Do family group conferences lead to a better situation for the children involved? Oslo, Norway: NOVA (Norwegian Social Research), Ministry of Education and Research.

This study from Norway reports on outcomes for children immediately after attending a family group conference and one year later. Conducted from 2003 to 2006, the study used a nonrandom comparison group, selected by child protection workers, of families who met the criteria for a family group conference referral but were served by other child protection interventions. The level of problem seriousness was similar for the family group conference and comparison groups during the pre-test period. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used, including interviews of parents; questionnaires distributed to child protection workers, conference coordinators, parents, children over eight years old, and teachers; and a review of outcomes based on family group conference action plans, or for the comparison group, child protection plans. Family members reported satisfaction with the process and a high level of father involvement was found. Overall, the study reports positive outcomes for those children who had participated in a family group conference, in terms of their level of problems and their improved care and support. The action plans for the two groups showed greater mobilization of family networks for the family group conference group than for the comparison group.

Keywords: Norway, child welfare, outcome evaluation, quasi-experimental design, quantitative data

Glode, J., & Wien, F. (2007). Evaluating the family group conferencing approach in a First Nations context. In C. Chamberland, S. Léveillé, & N. Trocmé (Eds.), Enfants à proteger, parents à aider, des univers à rapprocher (pp. 264-276). Quebec City, Canada: Presses de l'Université de Québec.

This report highlights early findings from an evaluation of family group conferences with the Mi'kmaw Family and Children's Services in Nova Scotia, Canada. Working with child welfare personnel, the researchers selected 166 families that were thought to be appropriate for a family group conference. From that pool, they randomly selected 50 to approach about participating in the study. Some families declined to participate and they were left with 28 families, who were then randomly assigned to a family group conference or non-family group conference intervention group that they termed the Nova Scotia mainstream provincial approach. Although the early findings focus on implementation and process issues, they indicate potential benefits of family group conferences. Participants positively responded to the family group conference model. Participants saw the benefits of the this model as placing decision making in the control of the families, allowing time for everyone to speak and improving relationships between families and the child protection service. The authors suggested that the process elicit more in-depth and holistic information, which led to better familiarity with the issues in the case and the ability to make more appropriate decisions for the children and their families. Cultural leaders were particularly proud of the revitalization of Mi'kmaw cultural practices. Some of the early implementation issues that were uncovered included the initial lack of familiarity with the process, scheduling issues and acclimating the family group conference model to Mi'kmaw culture.

Keywords: Canada, Nova Scotia, indigenous, experimental design, child welfare, process evaluation, qualitative data

Gunderson, K., Cahn, K., & Wirth, J. (2003). The Washington State long-term outcome study. Protecting Children, 18(1 & 2), 42-47.

This brief article summarizes a long-term outcome evaluation of family group conferences in Washington state. The evaluation involved analysis of administrative data of 70 family group conferences. Conference plans identified the following formal supports: mental health services, substance abuse treatment, behavioral interventions and housing resources. The families also provided a significant amount of support, including transportation, home improvement help, supervised visits, respite care, long-term placements, and financial, emotional and cultural support.

In the family group conferences examined, most families identified a placement plan. When comparing the pre-conference and post-conference data, children were more likely to be living with their parents and less likely to be living with other family or nonrelatives after the conference. The children also had stable placement and a low rate of rereferral for abuse or neglect over time.

Keywords: Outcome evaluation, Washington, United States, U.S., quantitative, child welfare, substance abuse, neglect, permanency, placement

Harris, N. (2008). Family group conferencing in Australia 15 years on (Child Abuse Prevention Issue, No. 27). Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

This article is a synopsis of a 2007 report by the same author that mapped the adoption of conferencing in child protection systems across Australia. Developed from a 2005 workshop sponsored by the Australian Centre for Child Protection, it provides a comparison of the implementation and use of conferencing in Australian states and territories and discusses the implementation of conferencing in Australia relative to the approach as developed in New Zealand. The article makes implications for ways that conferences can better contribute to broader child protection goals.

Keywords: review, Australia, child welfare

Hayden, C. (2004). Family group conferences in education- evaluating outcomes: Executive summary. Portsmouth, England: University of Portsmouth, Institute of Criminal Justice Studies.

The Hampshire Family Group Conferences in Education project in England provides family-led decision making meetings for children and young people with significant problems in school and school attendance. This executive summary reports on a quasi-experimental study. The study involved 41 young people who received family group conferences and 37 young people who received traditional intervention in 2003.

Key informants for the study said family group conferences offered a positive way to address problems in schools. The study found an increased “normality” in young people’s behavior and a sense of reduced “burden” for parents and teachers where family group conferences were convened. The study also found that the control group had better results for school attendance. However, the results need to be tempered since the conference group illustrated more overall problematic behavior than the control group both before and after the conference. The author suggests that family group conferences may not be more effective than other services but may be more appropriate in certain circumstances.

Keywords: outcome evaluation, pre/post-comparison, education, Hampshire, United Kingdom, U.K., England, quasi-experimental

Holland, S., Aziz, Q., & Robinson, A. (2007). The development of an all-Wales evaluation tool for family group conferences: Final research report. Cardiff, Wales: Cardiff University.

This paper provides a comprehensive map of the family group conference intervention occurring in Wales. It pioneers a way to collect basic conference outcome and output data at a national level across disparate projects undertaking family group conference intervention. The project consulted stakeholders to design and pilot a questionnaire to collect basic data across an all-Wales family group conference network. As a national picture, the study found that approximately 200 family group conferences occur each year in Wales, and they include an average of 7.5 family members (including two children) and two professionals. In the main, the conferences aimed to address family support issues. One-third aimed to protect children. The study also found that the participants were broadly satisfied with the objectives met during the family group conference, although the data from the six-month follow-up suggested a more measured rate of satisfaction with meeting the conference objectives in the long-term.

Keywords: Wales, United Kingdom, U.K., child welfare, qualitative

Holland, S., & O’Neill, S. (2006). ‘We had to be there to make sure it was what we wanted’: Enabling children’s participation in family decision-making through the family group conference. Childhood, 13(1), 91-111.

The article represents findings from a small, qualitative study of family group conferencing in Wales. The research explored the notion of empowerment of children and young people within 17 family meetings. Twenty-five children and young people were interviewed within one month of their meetings, and 13 were re-interviewed six months later. Participating adult family members, social workers and coordinators were also interviewed. Although young people positively commented on their participation in the family meetings, the authors argue there are both risks and benefits for children and young people associated with taking part in family meetings. The risks include children or young people not being listened to, their participation being tokenistic and their exposure to family conflict. The young people differentiated between being listened to and feeling influential. While almost all felt they were listened to, only half felt influential after the family meeting. The families reported feeling a sense of “togetherness” once they had reached a plan. The authors found a different prioritization of the purpose of the family meeting: While the adults tended to prioritize practical matters, the young people tended to prioritize bringing the family together and having an opportunity to confront family members and their behavior.

Keywords: child participation, qualitative, child welfare

Holland, S., O’Neill, S., Scourfield, J., & Pithouse, A. (2004). Outcomes in family group conferences for children on the brink of care: A study of child and family participation: Final report. Cardiff, Wales: Cardiff University, School of Social Sciences.

This study reports findings from a small but in-depth qualitative study of family group conferencing in Wales. The research presents findings on the general process of the family group conference and, in particular, explores the role of the child in the process. Twenty-five children and young people were interviewed within one month of their conferences and were re-interviewed six months later. Participating adult family members, social workers and coordinators were also interviewed, and 96 interviews were undertaken overall. The authors suggest that the family group conference provides the potential to democratize family decision making, reducing power differences between professionals and family and within families. The research, however, found that in a number of ways, professionals in practice retained some control over the decision-making process and that there was a demand for this from families. Interestingly, the study found that the use of private family time had a mixed response from families – half indicated they would prefer a professional remained throughout the entire meeting. Positively, men attended the conferences, and most children felt they had a say during the meeting. Some children, however, felt disempowered by family arguments during the conference, and a small number felt they were not heard. The authors suggest that the family group conference, while having a critical role in the making of practical decisions, has emotional and even therapeutic benefits as it provides an appropriate platform for the confrontation of issues. They note that issues of confidentiality and disclosures require careful planning by the facilitators. Overall, almost all family members preferred the family group conference to other social service meetings they had experienced. The report provides the source data for a set of further articles that explore particular aspects of the family group conference (see Holland & O’Neill, 2006; Holland & Rivett, 2008; and Holland, Scourfield, O’Neill, & Pithouse, 2005).

Keywords: United Kingdom, U.K., Wales, child participation, child welfare, qualitative