Democratising the Family and the State? The Case of Family Group Conferences in Child Welfare

Sally Holland · Jonathan Scourfield · SEAN O'NEILL · Andrew Pithouse

70 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Social Policy

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Child Welfare and Adoption Social Work Education and Practice Social Sciences and Policies

Abstract

This article discusses the potential of family group conferences to act as a liberating intervention for families traditionally controlled by the state welfare system. Family group conferences are interventions designed to remove control of decision making from professionals and allow family groups to make decisions about the welfare of one or more of their members. Using data from a qualitative evaluation of family group conferences in Wales, this article examines ‘imposed empowerment’ and social control, and the feasibility of treating ‘the family’ as a unit for state intervention. The authors propose that the family group conference approach not only has the potential to shift the balance of power between the state and client families, but that it may have the potential to democratise decision making within families. However, it is also noted that such interventions can be seen to be maintaining social control through subtle and possibly unintentional means. The article engages with sociological research and theory on democracy in the family.

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References

1987Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists 1988Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists.1992The Transformation of Intimacy 2003Negotiating Family Responsibilities 1997The Normal Chaos of Love.1980The Policing of Families 2016Working together to safeguard children 2002The changing experience of childhood: families and divorce

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2010Family decision making in child welfare: challenges in developing a knowledge base for practice 2011Voice, power and discourse: Experiences of participants in family group conferences in the context of child protection 2011Family participation in child protection practice: an observational study of family group meetings 2012Engaging fathers in child protection services: A review of factors and strategies across ecological systems 2014Assessing parental capacity to change when children are on the edge of care: an overview of current research evidence 2014Private and public voices: Does family group conferencing privilege the voice of children and families in child welfare?

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