Family Group Conferencing: A Restorative Approach to Family Violence

Source: (2003) Social Policy Times. 3(2). Research Center on Societal and Social Policy. Downloaded 2 March 2004.

Family group conferencing has been used to address a number of concerns ranging from various youth crimes to adult crime and neighborhood conflicts (Pennell, 2000). More recently, this approach has branched out to address issues related to family violence. Pennell (2000) presents a model based on the New Zealand approach in child welfare but adapted to address family violence in the Newfoundland and Labrador Project of Canada. The model was also used to set up the North Carolina Family Group Conferencing Project in the United States. The focus is on building partnerships within the family as well as with the agencies and community groups involved in protecting the family. The family, relatives, and other close supports cooperatively develop a plan to address the issues concerning the family, which then needs to be approved by the mandated authorities to ensure safety and provision of resources before the plan is implemented (Pennell, 2000). (excerpt)