FGCs involve family and friends in the planning of support for children at risk of being taken into care and can involve extra help being provided or identifying kinship carers who can step in.
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Research: Use of family group conferences in domestic violence and abuse cases
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Feature: How family group conferencing has been used in North Somerset Council
A randomised control trial involving 2,500 children carried out across 21 council areas found that children referred for an FGC before care proceedings were 8.6 per cent less likely to go into care compared to those who were not.
This could mean more than 2,000 children a year could avoid going into care, according to the study, saving an estimated £150m within two years.
The trial was carried out by the charity Coram and has been published by what works centre Foundations.
“We now have evidence that family group conferences have a higher success rate of keeping families together than going straight to care proceedings does,” said Foundations chief executive Jo Casebourne.
Today we publish findings that show that providing family group conferencing at pre-proceedings can keep children with their families and out of care.
— Foundations (@FoundationsWW) June 13, 2023
Find out more: https://t.co/Rs026HXZxi
with @Coram pic.twitter.com/6AMbfFMEYS
“They empower families, they help keep families together, rather than getting kids to go straight into care.
And 12 months after an FGC, we found that children were less likely to go to court, they were less likely to go into care, and those that did go into care, were more likely to spend less time in care. So it's kind of triple good findings in a way,” she added.
Casebourne urged local authorities to embrace the use of FGCS, saying: “We think that FGCs should be provided to all families before care proceedings begin and where local authorities aren't using them, they should start.
“We're really keen to work really closely with government, to support the rollout of FGCs and to see what we can do to make sure that local areas are properly incentivised to use them and to enable delivery in local areas, and then to track the use of FGCs over time, so we make sure that they really are being used more and more.”
Family group conferences charity Family Rights Group (FRG) says the study shows “definitely” that the conferences “help families resolve concerns, keep children safely within their family network and avoid children entering the care system”.
The study also highlights the need for government investment in ensuring they are available “across the country”, adds FRG.
“This important new research adds to a mounting body of evidence that family group conferences help children to live safely and thrive within their families, avoiding the need for care proceedings,” said FRG chief executive Cathy Ashley.
“At a time when there is a record number of children in care, it is now beyond doubt that all families should be offered a family group conference before their child is taken into care.”
Kevin Makwikila is among parents to take part in a family group conference. He said that because of the meetings family members were able to provide temporary housing and further support for him and his son.
“As a father, I often felt like the ghost in the room when children’s services were involved with my family,” he said.
“When my family were able to be together in one room during the family group conference, it was so much easier to see who could help with what and it was clear and easy for me to understand what and whom I could rely on in any given situation.”
Family group conferencing originated in New Zealand and the approach was developed in the UK around 30 years ago.
