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Video Review: Pathways to Permanence: Introduction to Mediation, Family Group Conferencing, and Concurrent Planning.
Child protection cases are frequently addressed in adversarial court processes concentrating on family weaknesses. They can result in children spending years in foster care. This introductory video explores alternatives to this court-based approach, including family group conferencing and mediation.
Produce by Courter Films with support from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. 2000.
Pathways to Permanence: Introduction to Mediation, Family Group Conferencing and Concurrent Planning focuses on alternative child welfare practices that work toward safe, permanent homes for children. The video demonstrates how processes like family group conferencing (also called family group decision-making and family unity meetings) and mediation can bring together all the individuals interested in the safety of a child to find solutions that work for the family. Structured around the events in the life of the narrator, a young woman who spent 10 years in foster care, the video emphasizes how these processes could have been more suitable for her and her brother.
The first segment discusses family group decision-making. Using clips of actual family meetings, the video commentary stresses the difference between the family deficit approach of court proceedings and the strength-based approach of family group decision-making. Social workers and judges describe how this process has changed the way they work and how it has improved the care of children as well as the relationship between social workers and families.
Family group decision-making brings together family members and other individuals interested in the care of a child such as neighbors, pastors, teachers and so on. They discuss what is right in the family (family strengths) and the concerns that must be addressed in order to keep the child safe. A trained facilitator guides them as they explore their ability to take care of their own problems. According to one social worker interviewed, the best part of the process is watching the family discover its own capability for taking care of the child. Another child welfare professional describes the family group decision-making process as a "more human" experience than the court process.
From the discussion of family group decision making, the video moves to the methods of concurrent case planning. While not considered a restorative process, the concurrent case planning approach seeks to place children in a permanent home while working with the parents to make the necessary changes for the child to return to the home. If the parent is unable or unwilling to comply, the child will stay in the one placement. Ideally, the foster parent would work with the biological parent so that everyone is looking after the needs of the child and there is a real opportunity for family reunification.
The final process discussed is mediation. In court-ordered dependency mediation, everyone concerned about the well-being of the child meets to discuss the child's needs. This includes the family, social service workers, educators, and other members of the child’s family. In the court process, social workers become adversaries to parents. At the same time, parents can be intimidated by the court and unable to communicate well. The mediation process creates a space where the family members can express their concerns, their desires and work with the social workers on a plan that will address the needs of the children involved. According to the social workers interviewed, the process has more buy-in from parents and a higher level of compliance with the plans created than does court.
This 30-minute video provides a good introduction to the family group decision-making process and explains how such alternative processes can benefit children and their families. It can be ordered for free from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
Lynette Parker
November 2006
Pathways to Permanence: Introduction to Mediation, Family Group Conferencing and Concurrent Planning focuses on alternative child welfare practices that work toward safe, permanent homes for children. The video demonstrates how processes like family group conferencing (also called family group decision-making and family unity meetings) and mediation can bring together all the individuals interested in the safety of a child to find solutions that work for the family. Structured around the events in the life of the narrator, a young woman who spent 10 years in foster care, the video emphasizes how these processes could have been more suitable for her and her brother.
The first segment discusses family group decision-making. Using clips of actual family meetings, the video commentary stresses the difference between the family deficit approach of court proceedings and the strength-based approach of family group decision-making. Social workers and judges describe how this process has changed the way they work and how it has improved the care of children as well as the relationship between social workers and families.
Family group decision-making brings together family members and other individuals interested in the care of a child such as neighbors, pastors, teachers and so on. They discuss what is right in the family (family strengths) and the concerns that must be addressed in order to keep the child safe. A trained facilitator guides them as they explore their ability to take care of their own problems. According to one social worker interviewed, the best part of the process is watching the family discover its own capability for taking care of the child. Another child welfare professional describes the family group decision-making process as a "more human" experience than the court process.
From the discussion of family group decision making, the video moves to the methods of concurrent case planning. While not considered a restorative process, the concurrent case planning approach seeks to place children in a permanent home while working with the parents to make the necessary changes for the child to return to the home. If the parent is unable or unwilling to comply, the child will stay in the one placement. Ideally, the foster parent would work with the biological parent so that everyone is looking after the needs of the child and there is a real opportunity for family reunification.
The final process discussed is mediation. In court-ordered dependency mediation, everyone concerned about the well-being of the child meets to discuss the child's needs. This includes the family, social service workers, educators, and other members of the child’s family. In the court process, social workers become adversaries to parents. At the same time, parents can be intimidated by the court and unable to communicate well. The mediation process creates a space where the family members can express their concerns, their desires and work with the social workers on a plan that will address the needs of the children involved. According to the social workers interviewed, the process has more buy-in from parents and a higher level of compliance with the plans created than does court.
This 30-minute video provides a good introduction to the family group decision-making process and explains how such alternative processes can benefit children and their families. It can be ordered for free from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
Lynette Parker
November 2006
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Last modified Oct 28, 2006 06:15 AM
