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The use of Family Group Conferencing in Foster Care and Institutional Care

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Maintain contact with foster cares or. residential care workers. Case Studies ... foster care agency. The parents stopped their threatening phone calls ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The use of Family Group Conferencing in Foster Care and Institutional Care


1
The use of Family Group Conferencing in Foster
Care and Institutional Care
  • Paper presented at Association of Childrens
    WelfareAgencies Conference.
  • 18 -20 August, 2008
  • Sydney Patricia Kiely
  • pkiely_at_burnside.org.au

2
About UnitingCare Burnside
  • Innovative and quality programs to break the
    cycle of disadvantage
  • 80 programs which operate in NSW include
  • early intervention
  • family support programs
  • home visiting
  • fathers support services
  • youth programs
  • out-of-home care programs including foster care
    and residential care.

3
Family Work Program
  • Family and childrens counselling
  • Group programs for children and families
  • Consultation and support for other agencies
  • Professional training
  • Family Group Conferencing
  • Develop resource materials for health and
    welfare workers such as group work manuals,
    posters etc.

4
Childrens Experience of Meetings
  • Meeting too large
  • Children feeling they could not talk freely
  • Not liking to be in the spotlight
  • Feeling ignored
  • Finding the proceedings boring
  • Being unable to trust those at the meeting

5
Family Group Conferencing
  • Pre-conference preparation
  • Conference - Information Sharing
    - Private family time -
    Discussion and ratification of the Action
    Plan
  • Post conference
  • Review meetings

6
The use of Family Group Conferencing in Foster
Care and Institutional Care
  • The needs of children in alternate care
  • The opportunities that Family Group Conferencing
    can offer children, young people, families and
    carers
  • Case studies

7
The Needs of Children in Alternate Care
  • Connections with others
  • Emotional needs
  • Power and agency to exercise choice and
    make decisions

8
The opportunities that Family Group Conferences
can offer children, young people, families and
carers
  • 1. Care planning at the point of entry into care
  • Maintaining contact
  • Resolution for the parents
  • Participate in decisions
  • Children have adequate information
  • More family ties can be maintained
  • The biological family might be able to provide
    some supports and resources
  • Connections with siblings
  • Restoration planning
  • Provides evidence about whether parents are ready
    to have their child restored
  • More integrated approach to planning

9
2. Case Planning at critical points
throughouttheir Journey in Alternate Care
  • Everyone has a voice at critical points along
    the care continuum
  • Access to appropriate supports
  • Non adversarial approach for discussing issues
  • Focus on positive and healthy functioning
  • Strengths based approach
  • Voice of the child heard
  • Changes in case plan
  • Advocates
  • Action Plan is clear and contains factual
    information

10
3. Planning for Independent Living when Young
People leave Care
  • Reconnect with family
  • Establish themselves outside care
  • Continue support they need
  • Modify entrenched patterns of relating
  • Managing pregnancy in aftercare
  • Contacting the father of the baby and his
    family
  • Carers resolving issues
  • Maintain contact with foster cares or
    residential care workers

11
Case Studies
  • The Family Group Conference process changed
    the situation
  • The parents became more co operative with the
    foster care agency
  • The parents stopped their threatening phone
    calls
  • They voluntarily stopped having contact with
    their son
  • They agreed to go at their sons pace
  • Police no longer required
  • Changed the dynamics of the case conferences,
    made them safer
  • More functional family members played a
    positive part in the changes in the family

12
Case Study 1 Working With the Biological Family
  • The Family Group Conference process changed the
    situation
  • It allowed the parents to understand their
    childs perspective
  • Slow down the process of contact and
    restoration
  • Develop strategies to make it easier for the
    child
  • The carers were able to come on board with
    the process
  • Everyone participated, was heard and respected
  • Acknowledged the goals of the contract
  • Developed the plan together
  • Incorporated the familys ideas

13
Case Study 1.
  • Action Plan Questions
  • What steps will each of us take to encourage
    Sam to participate in positive and safe
    contact visits with Amy and William?
  • How will we know when Sam is ready to have
    contact with Amy and William?
  • What are some ways that we can ensure that the
    contact feels safe and positive for Sam?
  • What are our realistic short-term and long-term
    goals for contact between Sam, Amy and
    William?
  • What is the first step that we will each take
    to start this process?

14
Case Study 2. Restoration Plan
  • The Family Group Conference allowed them to make
    viable plans to remain drug free by
  • Attending DA counselling
  • Regular urinanalysis
  • Attending parenting classes
  • Having regular contact with their children

15
Case Study 2. Restoration plan contd
  • The Action Plan set out clearly
  • What was expected
  • What the statutory needed to assess adequate
    progress
  • It held the Statutory and other workers to
    account for their promises
  • Presented what was not possible
  • It also allowed the child to retain ties to her
    wider family

16
Case Study 3.
  • The Family Group Conference was called to
    plan the restoration
  • Brought the wider family together
  • Enabled the family to deal with Ginas sexual
    abuse
  • The whole family offered support to care for
    the children
  • Statutory service offered establishment funds
    to enable Gina to have the children returned
  • The family showed the strength of their
    commitment to the children
  • The family reclaimed their power as a family.

17
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