The collaboration between Foundations, Coram, Family Rights Group, Daybreak, and Data to Insight will identify methods for routinely collecting data on which families are offered and participate in FGCs at pre-proceedings stage, and their outcomes.
FGCs are family-led decision-making processes, in which wider family members, friends and a community network come together to plan for a child who is at risk of harm or abuse. FGCs ensure a child’s voice is also heard in the process where possible.
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The new project will help build a picture of FGC access across England, which does not currently exist, according to the organisations involved.
It is designed to contribute to improved understandings of what FGC data local authorities currently collect and what monitoring systems they use in a bid to inform the development of options for routinely collecting this information across England.
“This work will be undertaken alongside local authorities and key stakeholders. Families who have participated in FGCs will also be consulted. Recommendations will be co-designed with local authorities and experts, and are due in the middle of this year,” organisers said.
Cathy Ashley, chief executive of Family Rights Group, added: “By galvanising the strengths of families, high quality FGCs can deliver better outcomes for children, including supporting them to remain safely in their family.
“As a partner on this project, we want to see FGCs embedded as a central part of the child welfare system. They should be an offer for all families in need of care and protection.”
Foundations previously partnered with Coram and Daybreak to carry out the first randomised controlled trial (RCT) of FGCs in the UK.
The evaluation showed that children whose families were referred for an FGC were less likely to go into care than those who were not.
It also found that children of families referred for an FGC were less likely to be subject to care proceedings.
As part of the national kinship care strategy, Foundations is working with the government and the sector to encourage all local authorities throughout England to use FGCs when appropriate, highlighting that FGCs are “particularly cost-effective, with a saving of £960 per child referred in the first year”.
