Family Group Conferences

This book assesses the principles and practices of family group conferences in the juvenile justice and child protection systems.

All the chapters emphasise the values which distinguish family group conferences from conventional mechanisms for making decisions about young people who are either in need of card and protection or who commit offences.

In brief, these are: respecting the integrity of the family unit; including the extended family; strengthening family and community supports; sharing power between the state and families; creating opportunities for parents to feel responsible for their children and themselves; and showing sensitivity and respect for families' cultures.

For those family group conferences which deal with young offenders, additional key values are providing opportunities for victims of crime to have a voice: - in how those who have offended against them should be dealt with - to receive redress - for offenders to be held accountable for their actions and - to make amends