Family Group Decision-Making Approaches

Family group decision-making is a generic term that includes a number of approaches in which family members are brought together to make decisions about how to care for their children and develop a plan for services.

Different names used for this type of intervention include family team conferencing, family team meetings, family group conferencing, family team decision-making, family unity meetings, and team decision-making. Approaches differ in various aspects, but most consist of several phases and employ a trained facilitator or coordinator.

• State and local examples

Building Community Partnerships in Child Welfare. Part Two, Team Decisionmaking Involving the Family and Community in Child Welfare Decisions (PDF - 181 KB)
Annie E. Casey Foundation (2002)
Describes the team decision-making approach used by Family to Family initiatives to involve family members, extended family, and the community in permanency decisions and services for children in out-of-home care.

Family Group Decision-Making: Incorporating Family Strength, Concerns, and Resources in Developing a Safety Plan (PDF - 123 KB)
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
CASCW Practice Notes, 12, 2002
Presents a four-stage framework, outlines roles of different participants, and discusses confidentiality issues. Tips are provided for ensuring the child is heard throughout the process.

Family Team Conferences in Domestic Violence Cases: Guidelines for Practice (PDF - 397 KB)
Family Violence Prevention Fund (2003)
Information to help trained family team conference facilitators address domestic violence issues. Also offers background information and tips for other family team conference participants.

Guidelines for Family Group Decision Making in Child Welfare (PDF - 1034 KB)
American Humane (2010)
Describes the FGDM process and its components, and addresses family referrals, roles and responsibilities of different professionals, following-up after meetings, and administrative support.

Mainstreaming Family Group Conferencing: Building and Sustaining Partnerships
Pennell (1999)
Suggests that the practice of family group conferencing in child welfare has moved away from the initial goal of joint problem solving and toward "systemic goals of maintaining control, meeting regulations, containing costs, and avoiding litigation." Recommends nine steps for building partnerships for initiating and sustaining family group conferencing.

Practice, Policy, and Implementation: An International Annotated Bibliography of Family Engagement Strategies in Child Welfare
American Humane
Summarizes 53 references on family engagement and decision-making in the child welfare system and provides information about the family engagement process, strategies, and outcomes for children.

Promoting the Participation Rights of Children and Young People in Family Group Conferences (PDF - 50 KB)
American Humane (2004)
Describes the use of independent advocates to promote the participatory practice of children and young people in the family group conference process in Wiltshire, England.

Team Decision-Making Protocol/Policy Outline (PDF - 48 KB)
Annie E. Casey Foundation (2003)
Protocol for meetings that include birth parents and youth, to be held before all decisions involving child removal, change of placement, and reunification or other permanency plan.