Family Rights Group is hosting this major international conference with key partners, bringing together families, key policy makers, academics and practitioners in children’s social care, child care law, the youth justice and education fields.

The conference takes place on the 17th-18th September 2008 at The Holiday Inn, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and will:

• Examine the principles and values that under-pin family-centred approaches
• Consider the national and international evidence on whether such approaches work in enabling more children to live safely within their families
• Hear directly the experiences of service users and practitioners
• Explore family-centred models, including family group conferences, mediation and advocacy within the context of the Public Law Outline
• Look at ways of implementing family-centred organisations including how to overcome practice resistance and policy and cultural obstacles.

There are over 40 workshops to choose from including workshops exploring:

• Including fathers in ‘family-centred solutions: issues and ways forward
• Gender, power and family-based decision making in child welfare
• Addressing domestic abuse in FGCs.

Conference speakers include Naomi Eisenstadt, Director of Social Exclusion Unit, UK, Professor Ravinder Barn, Royal Holloway, University of London, Marie Connelly, Chief Social Worker in the New Zealand Government, Dr Jacqueline Gallinetti, University of Western Cape, South Africa and Mark Siebben, Asst Deputy Minister, Ministry of Children and Family Development, BC, Canada.

Please note:

• For solicitors and Legal Executives: Law Society Accreditation: the legal components on the conference will contribute to CPD points
• For social workers: this conference will contribute to social work CPD hours

For more details and a booking form click here.