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Family Group Conferencing in Child Welfare: Lessons from a Demonstration Project

Hudson, Joe
June 4, 2015

Source: (2000) Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services 81(4).

A child-welfare family group conferencing (FGC) project that served families who were referred for child abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment issues is reported. The stages and mechanisms used to implement the family group conferences are described, and the conferencing processes and outcomes are presented. Findings indicate that FGC is inherently a resource-intensive process, but one that successfully achieves broad participation in child-welfare decisions. The resource demands of FGC, however, also raise questions regarding the use of highly educated professionals to coordinate many aspects of a family group conference. A service-team approach to FGC is offered as one way of making it a viable model for child-welfare service delivery on a larger scale.

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AbstractConferencesCourtsFamiliesPolicePrisonsRestorative PracticesRJ and the WorkplaceRJ OfficeTeachers and StudentsVictim Support
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