Family Group Decision-Making: Implementing the Family Group Conference

Julie Treinen & Michele Schmidt - Children's Bureau

Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM) is a widely used term referring to the engagement of a family (broadly defined) to participate in the planning, actions, and assessment of decisions that impact child safety, permanency, and well-being. Many different approaches and models to FGDM have been developed and implemented within child welfare agencies and organizations.

This podcast gives listeners an overview of how Arizona Kinship Support Services implements the Family Group Conference (FGC) model, developed by the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. Arizona Kinship Support Services, part of Arizona's Children Association, was awarded a Children's Bureau grant in 2015 to explore FGDM. Listeners are also provided details about the rigorous evaluation criteria and what early program indicators are telling the evaluators about the types of families more likely to engage in Family Group Conferencing.