Seeking Solutions: The Family Group Conference Policy (Youth Justice)
What's Important To Us
Families are encouraged to take responsibility for their children through working to their strengths and identifying where provision of support will assist their child/young person to demonstrate pro-social attitudes and behaviours. Supporting and informing Family Group Conferences enables the appropriate decisions to be made that hold children and young people accountable for their offending and reduces the likelihood of their re-offending through addressing their offending related needs.
This policy identifies the actions required surrounding the youth justice family group conference. It identifies requirements around involvement and participation and agreement. The policy is supported by the Key Information: On the Day - Holding the FGC.
Information to the family group conference
In providing information to the family group conference the youth justice coordinator will ensure:
- that all relevant information that assists the family and other entitled members to make decisions is available and presented to the family group conference
- that identified issues, risks, and needs are addressed
- that any strengths the child or young person and their family may have which might mitigate risks or which might assist in achieving a successful outcome from the intervention are considered and supported where appropriate.
Consideration should also be given to whether the child or young person should have access to legal advice early in the family group conference process. This would be appropriate where the charges are serious or the Police intend to instigate court proceedings.
Ascertaining whether the child or young person admits the offence
After the summary of facts has been read at the family group conference, the child or young person is given the opportunity to admit or deny the offence (s259). If the child or young person does not admit the offence, then no plans can be made that assume that they committed the offence and the youth justice coordinator reports the matter to the referring agency (usually the Police) who then decide on appropriate action.
Participation
The child or young person, their family and victims are to be encouraged to contribute to the family group conference deliberations and decision making. The youth justice coordinator will offer the child or young person’s family the opportunity to have private deliberation on their own at the family group conference.
Children and young people must be encouraged and assisted to participate in decision making in a manner that is appropriate to their age, maturity and culture. Where these factors restrict their participation, the child or young person’s wishes and views must be represented in any decision making.
Family group conference to consider parenting education, mentoring and/or alcohol and drug programmes
The family group conference must consider:
- the needs of the young person including their health and education/employment needs
- whether the young person should attend a parenting education, mentoring and/or alcohol and drug programmes (s259A)
- whether a parent or guardian or other person having the care of the young person should be required to attend a parenting education programme.
The youth justice coordinator must indicate in the plan that there has been consideration given to attendance on the programmes specified in s259A, irrespective of whether a decision is made to proceed with a programme.
Requirement when considering Supervision with Residence Orders
Where a Supervision with Residence Order is being considered for a young person, all community based options, including Supervision with Activity, must have been put to the family group conference for consideration.
Reparation
Addressing reparation in the family group conference can be an important part of ‘putting things right' for the victim. The youth justice coordinator must ensure that the issue is raised and discussed at family group conference and, wherever possible, processes are set in place to meet the victim's expectations. When discussing options for collecting reparation, the youth justice coordinator should ensure that the family group conference participants are aware of the Youth Justice Reparation Accord.
Key information: the Youth Justice Reparation Accord
S247(b) family group conferences - Legal advice to be considered in certain circumstances
A s247(b) family group conference is held when the Police desire that a young person be charged with an offence. In some cases it will become apparent the Police will not agree to a plan unless it includes laying the charges in Court.
A finding by a Court that a charge is proven can be significant to the young person's future. Once the youth justice coordinator is aware of the Police's intention to put the matter into Youth Court, the coordinator must take an active part in the convening and holding of the family group conference and ensure that the importance of legal advice to the young person is raised.
Monitoring
The youth justice coordinator must be confident that the conference understands what is involved in monitoring and that the people who will monitor have the ability and integrity to undertake the task. Monitoring arrangements must be outlined in the plan.
Review
The date and method of review will be agreed at the conference and noted in the written plan sent out to entitled members.
Family group conference not to record Intention to Charge and Court-directed matters in one record
Tasks resulting from a family group conference that has considered both intention to charge offences and offences laid in the Youth Court are not to be recorded as one record and plan. A separate record and plan must be recorded for each family group conference direction.
Non Agreement
Where the family group conference is unable to obtain agreement to all the decisions, recommendations and plans proposed, the youth justice coordinator completes a family group conference record simply stating that the family group conference was not able to reach an agreement.
Where the family group conference is not able to reach agreement on some aspects of the decisions, recommendations, and plans, the agreed aspects may be recorded. However, the recording should not identify the differing views held by individuals on those areas of disagreement.
Distributing the family group conference plan
The youth justice coordinator will ensure that the record is distributed as soon as practicable after the family group conference is held, but no later than five working days after the completion of the family group conference.
Updated 24 May 2011
