Family Group Conference in New Zealand

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that New Zealand's family group conference (FGC) is a way of providing a culturally sensitive approach to the management of children who get in trouble with law enforcement. The paper focuses on how the law is to provide full participation for the Maori community and how it embraces the restorative justice approach to problem solving that can result in a reduced rate of recidivism. The paper also emphasizes how the courts and government agencies must allow the community to participate in decisions that affect families. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for continuing cooperation and communication between the New Zealand government and the Maori culture.

Outline:
Introduction
The Family Group Conference in New Zealand
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"New Zealand launched a revolutionary and visionary package of legislation in 1989 called the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act - and from that bill the Family Group Conference (FGC) was born. The notion setting the stage for this new law was that there was a need for far greater participation by family members and community members when there is an instance of youthful lawbreaking. In terms of the management of the child from that point on, and discipline the child should receive, and the cultural and social implications of the process of justice, the FGC was viewed as not only important but also vitally necessary. It was, as Nicola Atwool and Cindy Kiro of the Office of Children's Commissioner explain, "a radical change," and moreover, it set an "international precedent for the involvement of children and families in decisions affecting them" (Atwool, et al, 2006)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Atwool, Nicola, & Kiro, Cindy. (2006) Child Rights, Family Rights and the Family Group Conference: The New Zealand Experience. Section IV - Models of Practice. Slide 1, Slide 2, Slide 3. PowerPoint Presentation.This presentation is a review of and an explanation for the legislation, Children, Young Persons and their Families Act (CYP&F), by two advisors to the Office of the Children's Commission of New Zealand. It is a very candid yet formal description of why the legislation was necessary, the process that brought it into its final form, and how successful (and unsuccessful) it has proved to be over time. It is valuable in terms of this research because it shows how a society can, if it wishes to, take child legal issues out of the courts and into the hands of the community.
• Ban, Paul. (2005). Aboriginal child placement principle and family group conferences.Australian Social Work, 58(4), 384-391.Writer Ban gives credit to New Zealand for the innovative, progressive system of dealing with troubled youth through the Family Group Conference system. Indeed, this program has been emulated in many countries throughout the world, and Australia is among those nations; hence, this article was chosen for this paper.
• Dyson, Ruth. (2006). Celebrating innovation in family decision making: the family groupConference. "Coming home - Te hokinga mai." Wellington Town Hall, 27 November.Ruth Dyson was the Minister for Child, Youth, and Family Services at the time she gave this speech. Her presentation did not shy away from being honest about New Zealand government's weak points when it comes to cultural fairness vis-a-vis how the government approaches child misbehavior. "A statutory response from a government agency can sometimes do more damage than good - making use of community providers can often be a more positive alternative." Hence, the Family Group Conference, as an alternative to government agencies ruling roughshod over community issues at the local level. Dyson remarked that notwithstanding the successes that the FGC experiment has enjoyed, the New Zealanders "must learn from others if we are to continue being good parents of our tamariki."
• Law Access. (2008) Being placed in the care of Child, Youth, and Family. Retrieved 1 July 2008, from http://www.lawaccess.Isa.govt.nz.
• Law Access. (2008). Care and protection declarations: cases that go to the Family Court.Retrieved 30 June 2008, from http://www.lawaccess.Isa.govt.nz.

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