Partnership for Strong Families

Family Team Conferencing (FTC)

Almost everyone can identify a time when they formed a team, sometimes involving professional help, to meet a specific need. In a crisis families need help and a support network, so they draw together a team of people they trust and who can help in responding to the issues they face.

That’s where Partnership for Strong Families steps in. Our trained facilitators work with the family team to:

· Learn what the family hopes to accomplish

· Set reasonable and meaningful goals

· Recognize and affirm the family strengths

· Assess family needs

· Find solutions to meet family needs

· Design individualized supports and services that match the family’s needs and builds on their strengths

Family Team Conferencing History

Over 20 years ago governmental and community leaders in New Zealand came together to develop progressive child welfare and youth justice policy that created the family team conference.

This legislation became a beacon of hope for many countries. In the U.S., the implementation of family team decision making practice swelled from six communities in 1996 to more than 300 in 2007. Judicial and administrative leaders, practitioners and community organizers now champion it as “the way to do child welfare.”

Results show that when extended families and the community are included in making decisions about their most precious resource - their children - everyone benefits.