Family Group Conference
During
Overview
This page explains what usually happens during a Family Group Conference and who may be involved. Learn about the different stages of the conference, how you can share your views, and how decisions are made.
Who will be at the conference
The people at a Family Group Conference are usually:
- a Youth Justice Coordinator
- the child or young person who committed the offence, their family or whānau
- police, a social worker, and a youth advocate (a lawyer for a child or young person)
- you, the victim-survivor, if you choose to take part, or someone to speak on your behalf
- your support person if you choose.
Other professionals or services, like the Ministry of Education, education and health providers, or non-government organisations, may be invited to share information.
The five parts of a Family Group Conference
Every Family Group Conference is different, but there are usually five main parts.
The police give the facts
A police representative reads what they believe happened during the offending. The child or young person then either admits or denies they did it.
If they deny involvement, the Youth Justice Coordinator will close the Family Group Conference immediately and the matter will go back to the police or Youth Court to decide what will happen next.
The group discusses the offending
This is when the group openly talks about the offending and what led to it.
It’s a chance for everyone to share their view to better understand:
- the impact the offending had on you and others
- what was going on for the child or young person at the time
- why the offending happened
- any underlying needs or challenges the child or young person might have.
You’ll have space to talk about how the offence has affected you, whether that’s been physically, emotionally, mentally or financially, in a way that feels right to you.
The group will also talk about what support the child or young person might need to make positive changes and prevent it from happening again.
The child or young person and their whānau have time to themselves
After everyone has had a chance to talk, the child or young person and their family or whānau are given time on their own.
This gives them space to talk things through privately, reflect on what’s been shared and start thinking about how to make things right and what support they might need to make positive changes.
The conference comes up with a plan together
Together, the group will develop a plan for the child or young person. This usually includes:
- how the child or young person will take responsibility for what they’ve done for example, through community work
- how they will put things right with you
- actions to address the reasons behind the offending, to help prevent it from happening again
- support from whānau, social workers and others at the Family Group Conference to help the child or young person make positive changes
- clear timeframes, so everyone knows what will happen, who is responsible, and when it should happen by
- a back up plan if there is reoffending or a breakdown in the plan, for example, having another family group conference.
Agreeing to the plan
All those taking part in the decision must agree for the plan to go forward.
Not everyone at a Family Group Conference has a say in the outcome.
If you share information with the group as an expert or supporter, you are an information giver. This means you can provide input to the conference, but you don’t have a say in decision-making.
If you choose to take part in the conference as a victim, you become part of the group that can make decisions and agree or disagree with the plan. This is called being an entitled member. The Youth Justice Coordinator can let you know who else in the group can do this.
Once the plan has been agreed to, the Family Group Conference decides whether it should be monitored by police or submitted to a judge to approve and monitor.