Edgewood Family Conferencing helps people create plans to successfully solve problems. The program works across all Edgewood services to bring children and families together with their support networks – friends, extended family members, teachers, and professional service providers – to help them achieve their goals.
location
Family Conferencing works across all Edgewood programs at all of our locations.
program overview
What is a Family Conference? A Family Conference brings children together with their family and friendship circles as well as their professional service providers to focus on something they want to accomplish. In a Family Conference, participants agree on specific steps to take to solve a problem or reach a goal. It is often an effective way of managing complicated and difficult situations because it creates a plan and also surrounds a family with the resources they need to achieve it.
What’s the objective? The main objective for Family Conferencing is to come up with a long-term strategy for keeping a family together, safe, and healthy. Family Conferencing has helped families all over the world keep children at home that otherwise would have been in residential treatment or foster care. It has enabled families to solve several problems simultaneously and to develop a long- term action plan for continued success.
who this program helps
Family Conferencing helps participants in Edgewood programs that are struggling with a challenge that feels overwhelming. Typical issues addressed by Family Conferencing include: family reunification; safety in the home; safety in the school and the community; anger management and improved communication between family members; better housing; jobs; referral to additional support services; success in school; improved self esteem and peer relations; and increased family contact.
Locations: San Francisco and San Mateo
Languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Chinese
Who It Helps
Family Team Conferences: 60 trained coordinators and 40 trained facilitators conduct Family Conferences for clients participating in any and all of Edgewood’s Community, School-Based, and Intensive Services.
24-7 Assistance: Challenges can arise anytime, so Family Conference coordinators are on-call around the clock for participating clients.
resources and links
Article: Family Engagement and Cultural Fluency
Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Website: FamilyPower.org
Run by the International Institute for Restorative Practices which provides education, consulting and research in support of the development of restorative practices around the world.
partners and funders
key facts
Program Impact
- Number of families served through Family Conferencing in 2006: 144
- Number of children served through Family Conferencing in 2006: 189
program approach
The guiding principles of Edgewood Family Conferencing are:
- self-definition of family
- inclusion of extended family
- respect for family's self-knowledge
- strength-based orientation
- cultural relevance and value
- family desire and responsibility to make decisions for their members
- emphasizes mutual linkage between families and communities
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