Family group conferencing for children and families (Family VOICE)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Family group conferencing for children and families: Evaluation of implementation, context and effectiveness (Family VOICE)
IRAS ID
307634
Contact name
Jonathan Scourfield
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Registration with the Research Registry, researchregistry7432
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
A Family Group Conference (FGC) is a meeting where the wider family discuss children who need support and protection and decide on a plan for them. The aim of the study is to increase understanding of quality and effectiveness in FGCs.
The research questions:
- RQ1: What is the extent and nature of FGC provision for child welfare in the UK?
- RQ2: How do families and practitioners see FGCs as impacting on families and what do they think might support or hinder their effectiveness?
- RQ3: How does variation in the quality and implementation of FGCs impact on outcomes and acceptability?
- RQ4: What are the longer terms outcomes of FGCs in terms of service use, e.g. child protection involvement and health care? How do these compare with similar families who have not taken part in FGCs and what are the economic consequences of FGCs?Work package (WP) 1 involves working with a group of families with experience of FGCs to determine the best approach for measuring FGC quality and what factors influence outcomes.
WP2 involves working with FGC projects to invite families to complete questionnaires designed in WP1. These family members will be followed up after 12 months.
WP3 involves following up outcomes for children and their main carers, 2 years after an FGC, using routinely collected data from social care and health records (no individuals identifiable in the data we receive). This information will be compared with other families with similar difficulties who have not taken part in an FGC, because this was not offered in their local authority.
We are applying for ethical approval in stages, as elements of work packages 2 and 3 will be determined by the co-production element of work package 1. In this application, we are only seeking ethical approval for WP1.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
22/IEC08/0003
Date of REC Opinion
10 May 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion