Medway Family Group Conference Service
Adult Family Conference leaflet (PDF)
Child Family Conference Leaflet (PDF)
Is part of Medway Mediation and has been set up to deliver family group conferences for children in need on behalf of Medway Council. The service operates independently of the local authority aiming to “help families support children”.
Referral process
Referrals are made by social workers, health visitors or teachers who may be concerned about the welfare of a child and are looking for a solution that doesn’t involve a long court process. The emphasis is on resolving the issues with the help of the child’s family or network of close friends. Once a referral is received it is allocated to one of our experienced convenors who will then contact the referrer to discuss the issues surrounding the case.
The convenor’s role
The convenor will contact the child and their parents to arrange a visit which will be used to explain about the Family Group Conference (FGC) process and to obtain details of any family or friends who may be willing to offer some support and attend the conference. The convenor will then proceed to visit family/friends to explain about the FGC process and encourage them to attend the conference.
The Family Group Conference
There are three parts to the conference;
Public time; this part of the conference is chaired by the convenor with the family and friends in attendance as well as the referrer. The referrer raises the issues the family need to resolve
Family time; only the child and their family attend this part of the conference where they work together to produce a Family Plan which finds solutions to the problems raised in the first part of the meeting. The plan identifies the roles each family member will play and who is going to take responsibility for ensuring the plan operates.
Negotiation time; the Family plan is presented to referrer who helps the family identify services which might help them in resolving the issues. The referrer also has to ensure the plan safeguards the child.
