Family Meeting Toolkit
In a Family Meeting, parents, children if age appropriate, and relevant extended family or others identified as important to finding solutions, come to the table to plan for protecting the child and keeping them safe. Extended family and fictive kin are vital to developing a web of informal supports around the child(ren) which can be kept in place long after the case is closed to child welfare. If out of home placement becomes necessary, the focus of the Family Meeting will include addressing the child’s permanency and well being. Once the family has decided what they need to keep their children safe, they can ask the service provider to assist them in achieving their goals. Included in these meetings is the identification of any services the child and parents/caregivers need, a review of the child’s stability, the geographic proximity of the placement, whether it is appropriate to place the siblings together, the appropriateness of the child’s permanency goal, and a review of the child’s educational, medical, and mental health needs. Copies of written case plans and notices of reviews and hearings are shared with the family.
The Family Meeting Toolkit brings participants through an implementation process to ensure customized and ongoing implementation of family meetings. The implementation process is followed by staff and facilitator training to learn the skills of facilitating effective Family Meetings. Family Meetings involve a family-led decision-making process that brings together individuals concerned with the safety, permanency and well-being of the children to make the best possible plans and decisions.