Vision:
A world where 'families' and communities work together to make decisions and solve problems affecting their lives.
Mission:
By engaging people with their wider networks we aim to help them make informed decisions that improve their quality of life.
Our Core Aims:
Too often society relies on professionals to find solutions for families and communities facing challenges; however, we believe that the people at the heart of such challenges are best placed to make decisions and put together plans to overcome them. We know that we are all more committed to carrying out plans for our own welfare and for that of our family and community if we make those plans ourselves, rather than being expected to act on decisions made for us by others.
At the core of our work is empowering people to proactively engage in decisions that affect them. Good decisions are based on accurate information and trusting relationships; our services are therefore open, honest, and based on mutual respect.
We deliver our core aims through the provision of Family Group Conferences (FGC) in the Children’s Social Care arena. Families are referred for an FGC when there is concern for the safety or wellbeing of a child or children within the family. Children are often already subject to a Child Protection Plan and are at risk of being taken into the care of the Local Authority. The FGC is completely voluntary and families are never forced to participate.
An FGC brings the wider network of family and friends together to develop a plan to address the issues they face. The FGC builds on the strengths withing the family network that can be used to support the child or young person and the adults involved. The decision making is taken from the professionals and put back into the hands of the family. Families generally know more about their situation than professionals and are often able to make better decisions for their children.
Daybreak co-ordinators engage with the family explaining how the FGC works and exploring who in their wider network might be able to support and should, therefore, be invited to the FGC. The co-ordinator meets with all participants beforehand to ensure that they understand the process. They organise the meeting at a time and place decided by the family.
The FGC itself is in three parts:
Information Sharing: The concerns for the child or young person are reiterated by the referrer and resources available to support the family are shared. The family can ask questions or for additional information.
Private Family Time: The family meet in private without any professionals in attendance. During this time the discuss the information they have heard and work out and agree a plan. The also decide on who will be responsible for monitoring the plan and what support they may need.
Agreeing the Plan: The family share the plan with the referrer and the co-ordinator. The plan is accepted unless the referrer feels that the child or young person is still at risk. The plan is written up by the co-ordinator, who takes care to ensure that the family’s words are used; the plan is then shared with all participants.
