“They feel like it’s all based around the offender”: Professionals explore how victim participation in family group conferences can be enhanced

INTRODUCTION: The Family Group Conference (FGC) is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most innovative features to emerge in the Oranga Tamariki Act (1989). It was designed to address the harm caused by youth offending, as well as set the scene for reconciliation to allow victims to heal. However, victim participation at such conferences remains low.METHODS: This study focused on a 6-month pilot project in 2019 between the agencies of New Zealand Police, Oranga Tamariki and Victim Support, that aimed to increase victim participation at FGCs within the Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) area. Rates of victim participation were tracked and six professionals were interviewed for their observations on the pilot.FINDINGS: Victim participation in FGCs increased during the project and interviewees identified that there had been more collaborative efforts between the professionals involved. Thematic analysis highlighted issues with 1) Agency processes and systems (with more training and resources needed, and more streamlined processes between the three agencies called for); 2) Information (youth justice information and cases were “too complicated,” and tended to be offender-focused, not necessarily understanding victim’s perspectives nor getting feedback from them); and 3) Timing (improved processes were needed around timely police referrals and there were effects of timeframes overall on victim participation).CONCLUSIONS: Participants recommended building on this exploratory pilot to increase and maintain better outcomes. The importance of victims being well-prepared for FGCs, feeling well-supported in making an in-person submission, in culturally appropriate ways, needs timely collaboration between well-trained and well-resourced professionals from the agencies involved.

KAKO ZAKONSKI REGULIRATI OBITELJSKU GRUPNU KONFERENCIJU U HRVATSKOJ?

HOW TO REGULATE THE FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCE IN CROATIA Taking into account the proclaimed aim of the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy 2019 − 2021, namely, social empowerment and protection of families, children and young people through enhancing family protection and supporting families at risk as a preventive measure of institutionalisation, this paper seeks to discuss the question of how law and legal forms can be used to strengthen families at risk, activate their resources, create a family group network and plan to address family law conflicts of interest and problems. This is done through determining and analysing the procedure and principles of a family group conference, as an alternative to the administrative and/or judicial one in matters of family law and social protection of children and families. For the purpose of reflection and projection, de lege ferenda, on the family group conference in the field of (administrative and judicial) family law and social protection of family members in Croatia, the New Zealand family group conference model, as a starting point for the development of this procedure, and certain European comparative law systems and good practices (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway) are analysed and discussed in the paper. In particular, open questions about the »right« to the family group conference, the assessment and criteria for referring family members to the conference, including the fact of initiation of the court procedure or if the proceedings are already pending, as well as the legal force or effectiveness of the plans achieved in the family group conference will be discussed. Key words: family group conference; child, family; social welfare center; court

Ungenutzte Chance: Der Familienrat als professionelle Haltung und veränderte Netzwerkperspektive in der ambulanten Kinder- und Jugendhilfe

Um Netzwerkarbeit in der ambulanten Kinder- und Jugendhilfe gelingend gestalten zu können, ist eine professionelle Haltung und Umsetzung notwendig, welche die Partizipation, Selbstermächtigung und Verantwortungsübernahme der Familien in den Fokus stellen. Das Verfahren der Family Group Conference (Familienrat) zeigt mit einer veränderten Rolle der Fachkräfte und der Beteiligung von lebensweltlichen Netzwerken der Familien wie gemeinschaftlich Ressourcen aktiviert werden und Problemlösungen entstehen können.

Cyberbullying Among Children: A Cross Jurisdictional Perspective

The offence of cyberbullying is becoming prevalent in the digital era. This involves embarrassing pictures of the victims, negative comments on social media, and the internet with the intent to harass or shame the victims. In Malaysia, cyberbullying is governed by the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Penal Code. However, if the perpetrator is a child, the Child Act 2001 governs the criminal process and the disposition of the case, which is punitive in nature. The United Nations encourages state parties to apply restorative justice to deal with cyberbullying. New Zealand has implemented a family group conference to resolve criminal offences committed by children, which includes cyberbullying. The objective of this article is to examine the nature of cyberbullying among children. This article also analyses the process under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, New Zealand law, and Malaysian law on cyberbullying among children. It is recommended that the Child Act 2001 is amended by allowing children who are involved in cyberbullying to resolve the case through a family group conference as a process of restorative justice, which is recommended by the United Nations. The significance of this research is that it works towards the betterment of children’s needs and welfare in Malaysia. This research adopts a qualitative methodology that mainly focuses on doctrinal research where the sources include, among others, statutes, journal articles, and books.

The Reclamation of Whānau Decision-Making in the Context of Child Welfare. A Case Study of Iwi-Led Family Group Conferences

The Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act (1989) heralded family group conferences as an innovative mechanism to reinforce the role of family in child welfare decision-making. While many have regarded family group conferences as a culturally appropriate response, continued managerialism reflected a guise of cultural responsiveness and family involvement that has actively disempowered whānau and the young person in decision-making processes. Similar to concerns that led to the formation of the 1989 Act, institutional racism inspired Rangitāne o Wairarapa (Rangitāne) to reclaim the family group conference process, and child welfare decision-making, as an iwi function. The current study reports on the development of a family group conference practice model of one iwi (Rangitāne) as a case study of cultural reclamation. The success of the approach is juxtaposed against the iwi practice model, critical success factors and opportunities for the development of such practice models across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Identity of clients and social workers in service provision: an institutional logics perspective

This article illustrates how the theory of institutional logics can be used for analyzing the identity of social workers and clients, focusing on people processing that precedes treatment (control access, assessment, and treatment deliberation, among others). The article has two research questions: (1) What identities of social workers and clients can be distinguished by institutional logics? (2) How are identities intertwined in practice (exemplified by well-established decision-making models such as evidence-based practice, family group conference, and government by voucher)? Identity is examined using institutional logics and the findings reported in the current body of social work literature. The article derives two conclusions. The first conclusion is that institutional logics can be used for distinguishing ideal type identities: three client identities, namely taken care of community member (community logic), active citizen (participatory democracy logic), and consumer (market logic); and three social worker identities, namely professional (professional logic), bureaucrat (State logic), and executor of management directives (corporation logic). The second conclusion is that identities and institutional logics coexist in well-established models for processing people and treatment deliberation, but the conditions for coexistence differ. For instance, evidence-based practice is characterized by segregation (a bureaucratic and a professional alignment have been separated from the original version of EBP), whereas family group conference and government by voucher are typified by assimilation (logics coexist with the core elements of original logics preserved). Keywords: social work, institutional logics, people processing, decision-making

Buli dalam Kalangan Pelajar Sekolah: Persidangan Kumpulan Keluarga sebagai Alternatif kepada Hukuman

Bullying among school students cannot be taken lightly. There are specific guidelines and policies in Malaysia that allow school authorities to take disciplinary action against bullying. Legal action can also be taken against the perpetrator if necessary. However, Family Group Conference have been adopted in some countries as alternatives to punishment for bullying in schools. This study is conducted in order to examine bullying among school students in Malaysian schools, as well as the laws governing school bullying. This research also analyses the resolution of school bullying through Family Group Conferences as alternatives to punishment as practised in several countries. It is recommended that Family Group Conferences be introduced in Malaysia to complement the current solutions for school bullying cases. This study utilizes a qualitative method, referring to Acts, decided cases, and academic writings such as books and journals.

Algorithms for Mediation Restorative Work of the Territorial Reconciliation Service in Difficult Cases

The article presents the experience of the Territorial Reconciliation Service of the Kemerovo Region in the development and testing of algorithms for mediation resolution of complex school and family situations of minors based on the principles of the restorative approach. For restorative work with multi-level conflicts in the escalation stage in educational organizations, as well as difficult life situations of minors and their families, registered in the juvenile affairs departments, special social technologies have been developed that have a comprehensive design and include various restorative programmes (restorative mediation, community circle, school-parent council, family group conference, family mediation). An analysis of the results of pilot empirical testing of the technologies developed by the authors shows their effectiveness in relation to complex school and family conflict situations. If there is special training in restorative technologies and an organizational structure uniting trained restorative practitioners (Territorial Reconciliation Service), these algorithms can be applied by specialists in the social sphere, education system, juvenile delinquency prevention and neglect system