The National Center on Family Group Decision Making has a new home at the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect in Denver, CO. Previously with the American Humane Association, the Center has a new web site, which can be found at http://www.fgdm.org.
The new site explains, "Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) recognizes the importance of involving family groups in decision making about children who need protection or care, and it can be initiated by service providers and/or community organizations whenever a critical decision about a child or youth is required. In FGDM processes, a trained coordinator who is independent of the case brings together the family group and the service providers to create and carry out a plan to safeguard children and other family members. FGDM processes position the family group to lead decision making, and the statutory authorities agree to support family group plans that adequately address agency concerns."
The National Center on FGDM has been a longtime friend of the IIRP, and worked together in 2004 to produce the Family Voices video, which lets families who have been through the FGDM process, a restorative practice, speak for themselves about the process and the impact it had on their lives.
The Center announces that its next "FGDM and Other Family Engagement Approaches Conference" will be held in Eagle County, Colorado on June 10-13, 2014, with a call for proposals expected in February 2013. An eForum post on the keynote from the last conference can be found here.
