« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Part One: Literature Review
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1.1 Family Group Decision-Making ( FGDM5) represents an innovative departure from traditional decision-making models within child welfare which have tended to emphasise the expert knowledge and skills of professionals within a complex, often adversarial, context. The approach was first introduced over fifteen years ago as a youth justice measure in New Zealand and has since spread throughout many European and North American-influenced social work and criminal justice jurisdictions. Despite the apparent popularity of this approach, where not legislatively mandated it remains a marginal practice.
1.1.2 This literature review explores these issues, outlining in the chapter its origins, providing details of the model itself and examining its growth and utilisation in a context of competing decision-making processes. The next chapter reports on the key theoretical and practical debates concerning the use of the model. As part of a comprehensive review of the international literature, research findings relating to the process and outcomes of FGDM (in general and also more specifically in the fields of education and youth justice) are elucidated in the following chapter 6. Lastly, in the final section of this literature review, lessons from practice and ideas for further research are discussed in the light of the literature examined.
« Previous | Contents | Next »