European Network on Family Group Conference
Family is asked to make a plan first
Farewell to international roots
Last week we received the sad news that Dr. Gale Burford passed away on September 26th. Gale, Professor Emeritus at the University of Vermont, USA, has been very important for the development of Family Group Decision Making in the world. We learned a lot from him. We remember him as a very friendly, inspiring man, who was always interested in others and always widened his circle. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Today there is an international ‘online circle’ to share stories about him. I like to do that here. Together with Joan Pennell, Gale Burford has done a lot of important research, of which I want to mention one.
Violence
In Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, a project was set up on Family Group Decision Making for families where there was domestic violence, child abuse or neglect. These are situations in which the concerns are great and the tendency is understandable to think mainly in terms of risk and protection. They investigated whether violence in families stopped by organizing a Family Group Conference. With that, something essential changed. The family was not only seen as the place where the problem was. The family and the people around it were also seen as part of the possible solution. The number of interventions by youth protection decreased by 49% and the number of assaults by 59%. The researchers concluded that the conferences reduced evidence of child abuse and violence in the home and improved children’s development opportunities, and that families had access to more social support figures*.
Interfere
Gale Burford said, “Put the problem in the circle, don’t put it in the person. Make the circle bigger. And more democratically by organizing a process in which all opinions are taken into account and everyone can participate and is allowed to speak. If an independent coordinator is going to invite family members of both partners, he or she will break the system of secrecy and then family members are allowed to interfere with what they have (sometimes) already seen.’ If we only invite people to talk about a problem, we might get more information. But if we leave control with people and invite them to take responsibility together, new possibilities can arise.
* Pennell, J. and Burford, G. (2000) Family Group Decision-making and Family Violence. New Directions in Community-Centered Child and Family Practice
