Family Group Conferences in Canada and the United States: An Overview (From Family Group Conferences: Perspectives on Policy and Practice, P 167-179, 1996, Joe Hudson, Allison Morris, et al, eds. - See NCJ-161303)

• NCJ Number: 161311
• Author(s): R Immarigeon
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

Canada and the United States currently have only a few formal programs using principles or procedures associated with New Zealand's family group conferences, which are used for decisionmaking in both child welfare and juvenile delinquency cases.

Abstract

In Canada, family group conference programs exist for child protection and domestic assault in Newfoundland and Labrador and for juvenile delinquency in Manitoba. In Oregon, the Family Unity program is the only fully developed program directly associated with family group conferences. However, Kansas, Michigan, and Vermont have recently taken actions to establish such programs. Little published information on family group conferences is readily available in the United States. In addition, practitioners and policymakers often mistakenly assume that only certain aspects of family group conferencing can be adapted to their procedures or that their current practice is similar to family group conferences. Practitioners and policymakers have not yet examined or explored the full implications of the range of changes achieved through family group conferences in New Zealand, including how professionals' roles have to change. 10 references