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Family Group Conference, created in New Zealand, has been introduced to all continents. The Nordic countries have had projects on the topic since 1995. Research and developmental work has been done in various settings. Results have been reported and experiences exchanged in Nordic conferences (2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006).
The results are very promising and the feedback from the clients, from their private network (relatives and friends) and from the professionals (social workers and other participants from the multi-agency system) is positive. Nevertheless, the method does not seem to be rooted in the child welfare practices without special efforts. This interesting paradox needs to be evaluated.
A Nordic Project on Family Group Conference
The leaders and researchers of FGC- projects in the Nordic countries have worked together since 2000. Two conference publications have been produced on the basis of conference presentations (only in Scandinavian languages). The first common project application was made in 2001.
Family Group Conference – What the new method has brought to social work in the Nordic countries
In 2002 the Nordic Council financed efforts to collect results from the developmental projects and research carried out in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) and to compare the findings. The project had close co-operation with organisations responsible for research, development and education in the area of social work as well as with grassroots FGC- networks in each country. The project's home organisation was STAKES and it was led by Tarja Heino. National "knowledge bases" and a project publication ('Family Group Conference in the Nordic Countries. Experiences, Research Results, Reflections') were produced in the project (only in the Scandinavian languages).
Family Group Conference from a child perspective – A nordic research project 2003-2005
In 2003 the project received further financing from the Nordic Council for planning, co-ordinating and assembling a Nordic Research study that examines Family Group Conference from a child perspective. The study tracks the child's experiences in the process of FGC and the effects of FGC on the child's situation (changes observed by different participants and experienced by the child). The central questions to be addressed are whether Family Group Conference can be seen as a child-oriented way of work and whether the child's best interest is fostered from the child's perspective too.
Although separate national studies are to be done in all Nordic countries, the central questions, focus groups and methods are comparable between the countries. This design enables both extensive data to be gathered and a many-sided research group to be set up to analyse the results. Through the national studies and their joint examination on the Nordic level, it is possible to analyse what Family Group Conference brings to Nordic social work in child protection from a child perspective.
The national research reports are available:
Åkerlund, Eva-Marie (2006) Barn och familjerådslag. Barns syn på sin delaktighet i socialtjänsten. FoU-Södertörn. Summary
Mortensen, Birgit (2007) Børneperspektivet i familierådslagning. Styrelsen for Specialrådgivning og Social Service. Odense. http://www.servicestyrelsen.dk/wm139819
Árnadóttir, Hervör Alma (2006) Vill einhver hlusta á mig? Rannsókn á fjölskyldusamráði frá sjónarhorni barna. ('Does anyone want to listen to me? A study on family group conference from the child persepective'). Reykjavík: Háskóli Íslands. [University of Iceland].
Freysteinsdóttir, Freydís Jóna & Árnadóttir, Hervör Alma (2007) Family group conferences: A report on Family group conference research which took place in Iceland, and is part of a Nordic research on the child perspective. January 12th, 2007. Summary.
Omre, Cecilie & Schjelderup, Liv (2008) Barn i barnevernet - En studie om barns deltagelse og styrkeprosesser i familieråd, Tapir Akademiske Forlag ('Children in Child Protection - A study of Children´s Participation and Processes of Strengths in Family Group Conferencing') In print.
Reinikainen, Sarianna (2007) Läheisneuvonpito lapsinäkökulmasta. ('Family Group Conference from the Child's Perspective'). STAKES Reports 7/2007. Summary
For more information please contact:
Finland
Tarja Heino, Project Manager, Senior Researcher, THL
+358 20 610 7245 firstname.lastname@thl.fi
Juha-Pekka Vuorio, Project Manager, The Co-ordinator Bank in the Capital Area
+358 9 3106 1715 juha-pekka.vuorio[at]hel.fi
Denmark
Birgit Mortensen, Consultant, UFC Børn og Unge, Aabenraa
+45 7 363 0208, +45 5137 8303 (mobile)
bmo[at]ufc-bu.dk
Iceland
Hervór Alma, Social worker, Student
+354 551 7466 hervora[at]fel.rvk.is
Norway
Liv Schjelderup, Associate professor, Høgskolan i Stavanger
+47 5 183 4222 liv.schjelderup[at]uis.no
Cecilie Omre, Assistant professor, Høgskolan i Stavanger
+47 5 183 4100 cecilie.omre[at]uis.no
Sweden
Eva Nyberg, Research Director, FoU-Södertörn
+46 8 530 62185 eva.n.nyberg{at]telia.com
Eva-Marie Åkerlund, Researcher, FoU-Södertörn
+46 8 550 66097 emakerlund[at]spray.se
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