Up front and personal: confronting dynamics in the Family Group Conference

The Family Group Conference is a participatory model of decision making with families in child protection. It is a legal process that brings together the family, including the extended family, and the professionals in a family-led decision-making forum. Bringing together extended family and professionals to discuss child protection concerns can create a highly charged dynamic. Workers are challenged by family, family are challenged by workers, and family members challenge each other. Practice is also exposed to wider scrutiny as professionals also challenge the work. This article briefly describes the development and practice of family group conferencing as a family-centred legal process in Aotearoa, New Zealand. It then examines the findings of a study exploring the dynamics emerging from family group conference practice from the perspective of the coordinators who convene them. Family group conferencing as a family strengthening practice is discussed.