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National Center on Family Group Decision Making

What if it were your family?


​Each year there are millions of children and youth who come to the attention of child welfare, juvenile justice, school counselors/social workers, health care providers and other public/private agencies. Traditionally, many systems at best have worked only with the children and their current caregivers to resolve the concerns that brought them to the agency’s attention, and at worse, have excluded or marginalized the voices of caregivers and children.

 

Family group decision making (FGDM)—an innovative social reform championed worldwide since the early 1990s—challenges this paradigm and practice, resulting in an inclusive and participatory process.

 

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Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) recognizes the importance of involving family groups in decision making about children who need protection or care, and it can be initiated by service providers and/or community organizations whenever a critical decision about a child or youth is required. In FGDM processes, a trained coordinator who is independent of the case brings together the family group and the service providers to create and carry out a plan to safeguard children and other family members. FGDM processes position the family group to lead decision making, and the statutory authorities agree to support family group plans that adequately address agency concerns. The statutory authorities also organize service providers from governmental and non-governmental agencies to access resources for implementing the plans. FGDM processes are not conflict-resolution approaches, therapeutic interventions or forums for ratifying professionally crafted decisions. Rather, FGDM processes actively seek the collaboration and leadership of family groups in crafting and implementing plans that meet the child’s/youth’s needs.
 
 
Numerous studies (See annotated research bibliography) show the process, cost and outcome impacts of implementing FGDM. In the field of child welfare, family group decision making has been proven to safely reduce the number of children in foster care, decrease the recurrence of child abuse and neglect and keep children connected to their roots and culture, which provides stability and helps them reach their full potential. With the Kempe Center’s work to expand the scope of FGDM into other systems that serve and support children, youth and families, the knowledge of its impact will grow.

 

FGDM Guidelines  

Historical Timeline of FGDM

FGDM Purpose Values and Processes

Quick Reference Guide to Family Engagement Approaches

FGDM Virtual Town Hall Summary January, 2013

The National Center’s FGDM team has extensive practice and implementation experience with  in multiple meeting models and approaches including family group conferences, family team meetings, case planning conferences, family unity meetings and youth conferences to name a few.  The team has served as supervisors, coordinators, facilitators, training and coaching masters, practitioners, and program implementers in FGDM. 

Our team has developed and provided competency-based training and technical assistance on family group decision making and other family involvement practices to multiple communities in 20 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and England.  Our approach starts with a training needs assessment to help us design and recommend a comprehensive approach from implementation to practice development and sustainability.   

Our service array includes in-person trainings, community forums or presentations, teleconferences, webinars, technical assistance or on-the-job coaching that can occur either on-site or virtually (through Skype). We offer continuing education units (CEUs) for many of our trainings and can tailor each learning opportunity to meet the individual needs of your agency or community. We also regularly contract with communities to develop specific coaching materials and plans, new curricula based on community needs, and train-the-trainer and coach-the-coach models to enhance community capacity and sustainability. 

In order to meet the needs of adult learners, the FGDM training team incorporates into all of its curricula the use of a variety of teaching modalities, including: classroom instruction and exercises, small and large group exercises, re-enactments, and/or video-conferencing and more. Additionally, we promote the use and integration of a continuum of training evaluation techniques, where possible, to assess the quality and effectiveness of training programs.

 Click Here for Details

Click Here to Request a Training for Your Organization

 
 
No Place Like Home
No Place Like Home is a 3-year project of national significance funded by a Family Connections grant from the Children's Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, running from October 2011 through September 2014. This project strategically combines the assets of the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse & Neglect , Casey Family Programs  and three innovative child welfare agencies with mature family group decision making (FGDM) programs to test the effectiveness of FGDM in safely preventing children from entering or re-entering foster care when they are receiving in-home services. The project sites—Larimer County Department of Human Services , Colorado; South Dakota Department of Social Services ; and Texas Department of Family and Protective Services —have over two decades of collective experience in delivering FGDM to children and families who come to the attention of child welfare.
 
                                                   Click Here for More Information 
 
Protecting Children Journals for FGDM

Volume 18, Numbers 1&2, 2003
Volume 19, Number 4, 2005
Volume 21, Number 1, 2006
Volume 22, Number 1, 2007
Volume 23, Number 4, 2008
Volume 24, Number 4, 2009
Volume 25, Number 2, 2010

 

 

Reports & Articles

Family Team Meeting (FTM): Process, Outcome, and Impact Evaluation

A Survey of International Practices, Policy & Research on Family Group Conferencing and Related Practices

Annotated Research Bibliography

 

 

 

  
2013 Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) and Other Family Engagement Approaches Webinar Series
Building on the success of our annual FGDM conference and to complement our training institutes, the National Center on Family Group Decision Making, through American Humane Association, began its FGDM and Other Family Engagement Approaches Webinar Series in 2007. We recognize that some practitioners, coordinators, facilitators, service providers and other interested professionals are geographically isolated, work independently in their communities, or have limited resources to attend skills-based trainings. In 2012, the National Center on Family Group Decision Making and many of its staff moved to the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, located on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The National Center's FGDM team identifies topics for the Webinar Series based on training and conference evaluations and informal dialogues with our FGDM colleagues. We welcome your participation in the 2013 Webinar Series!
 
                                                 Click Here for the Full Brochure
 
Webinar Recordings
Walking Our Talk: The Values of Family Group Decision Making in Action
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Recording: https://student.gototraining.com/23m65/recording/9110044622364388608
 
Paternal Pathways to Family Connections in FGDM
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Recording: https://student.gototraining.com/23m65/recording/6564806046408970752

 

Family Team Conferencing: Activities and Findings from a Federally Funded Experimental Study in Florida
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Recording: https://student.gototraining.com/23m65/recording/1601171854942629888   

 
National Conference on Family Group Decision Making and Other Family Engagement Approaches
The annual FGDM Conference, held in a different area of the country each year, provides the important opportunity for communities to learn from one another about their approaches, policies, and effectiveness. The conference presenters and attendants include people from all over North America and many countries around the globe. Building on the collective knowledge and wisdom gained from past Conferences since 1997, this forum has been created as an opportunity for communities to advance their abilities to develop, implement, and evaluate family group decision making and other family engagement approaches.