Social Work - Assignment Example

Studies conducted over the years have substantiated the effectiveness of family conferencing as a highly beneficial intervention approach that not only help the aggrieved family members in understanding their roles but enable them to learn to resolve the issues and challenges facing them through effective decision making approach and understanding. This approach creates an environment of safety and understanding and promotes leadership and harmony in the process (Merkel-Holguin, 2003). The concept of family group conferencing is rooted in the effective resolution of a problem or issue faced by the family members and through intermediation by society and community who are concerned about the familys safety and well-being.

The concept which was first developed and implemented in New Zealand, was adopted throughout the western world, as a support system for caring for families including children and young people. The key focus of this program /approach in the UK is however, on preventing child abuse and neglect through timely intervention. Such methods aim to effectively address the issues of abuse or neglect within a family since such problems are perceived as personal problems faced by the family that can be solved through concerned community members or other members of the family (Pennel, 2004).

The effectiveness of the program can be estimated from the fact that about 70 per cent of local authorities in England offer a family group conferencing service, providing intervention and support to a range of family problems and most importantly those involving safety and well-being of children. This method is also highly effective since unlike other approaches, the family group conferencing helps the family come together as a unit to identify and address the problem on hand and solve it themselves with support from the community and /social services.

Also this approach is highly recommended since it helps children from