Nothing about me without me: Children and young people's experiences with family group conferences

Abstract

Modern social work practice increasingly emphasizes the inclusion of service users in decision making during the service provision process. There is a growing movement within the child welfare system to include parents and the wider family network in decision making. However, children and young people's roles in child welfare system participatory processes where decisions are made about their lives have been understudied. The family group conference (FGC) is one such decisionmaking process, which has been adopted internationally with the expectation that children and young people's voices and perspectives, along with their family members, will be elevated and influence decisions. As part of a 3-year federal project of FGCs in one jurisdiction, this study collected fidelity data from professional and family member participants of FGCs, including children and young people. Descriptive data from a small sample of child and young people participating in FGC suggest differences in their perspectives regarding family empowerment, transparency, and inclusion in decision making, when compared with the perspectives of other family members and professionals for whom data are available. Suggestions for further reflection on FGC practice and additional ways to understand children and young people's perspectives about their involvement are noted.

“They Aren’t Going to Do Jack Shit”: Text-Based Crisis Service Users’ Perceptions of Seeking Child Maltreatment-Related Support From Formal Systems

“…Thus, it may also be necessary for our systems that engage with young people, including the child protection system, to examine their current practices. “Nothing about me without me” is an ideal increasingly lauded in social work practice, including child protection ( Merkel-Holguin et al, 2020 ). However, the experiences reported by the texters in our sample suggest that significant progress is necessary to allow young people’s voices to be heard.…”

Too Vulnerable to Participate? Challenges for Meaningful Participation in Research With Children in Alternative Care and Adoption

“…The importance to children of being seen, heard, informed, and involved is evident, particularly as related to experiences directly affecting their families and futures (Merkel-Holguin et al, 2019). Strong evidence suggests that adults making decisions about children in care do not always make the best decisions, and the consequences may last a lifetime (Atwool, 2006).…”

“…Many studies conducted with children in alternative care and adoption do not consider them as active subjects, and emphasis given to their participation is scarce. Children and young people in care want to be involved in research and consulted regarding other aspects of their lives (Merkel-Holguin et al, 2019;Woolfson et al, 2009). Usually, they wish to be more involved in how decisions are made about them, especially where they live and how often they see family members, and they want to be informed and involved in the process (Cashmore, 2001).…”

“…Usually, they wish to be more involved in how decisions are made about them, especially where they live and how often they see family members, and they want to be informed and involved in the process (Cashmore, 2001). Fortunately, a growing body of interesting studies has developed an interdisciplinary and critical way to address the challenges of child participation in research, including their experience of being in care and adoption (Atwool, 2006;Berrick et al, 2000;Cashmore, 2001;Clark, 2005;Cossar et al, 2016;Mason, 2008;Neil, 2012;Soares et al, 2019;Watson et al, 2018;Zeijlmans et al, 2019, among others) and about their participation in child welfare system decision-making processes (Merkel-Holguin et al, 2019;Vis et al, 2012). However, most of these studies have been conducted in developed countries, and this research is still underdeveloped in Latin America.…”

“…Participation in this field continues to be complex (Cossar et al, 2016;Woodman et al, 2018). Children and young people's roles in child welfare and protection systems' decision-making processes have been understudied (Merkel-Holguin et al, 2019), even though those decisions directly affect their lives. Many studies conducted with children in alternative care and adoption do not consider them as active subjects, and emphasis given to their participation is scarce.…”