Family Group Decision Making: Building and Reinvigorating Relationships
Developed by the National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families, this fact sheet provides an introduction to the concept of family group decision making and explores how it positively affects family and other interpersonal relationships.  The origin of family group conferences and the core elements of family group decision making are discussed, as well as how this practice strengthens relationships within families, between agencies and families, and among community members. (2013)

Critical Elements for Family Team Decision Making
This issue brief by Advocates for Children and Youth describes the family-centered case practice that Maryland is implementing to enable more families to safely keep their own children and keep more children out of foster homes or group care. It reviews some of the essential elements of a credible plan to expand family-centered case practice in Maryland, including: the establishment of one and only one uniform, family-centered case practice model; the utilization of the best practices of partnering with families, including: teaming, engaging, assessing, planning, and intervening; strong team facilitation; well-trained caseworkers; well-trained supervisors; implementation of Quality Service Reviews; development of training and coaching capacity; logistical planning for team meetings; identification of best services for individual families; a rollout strategy; engagement of everyone involved in the court process and the various community members who will serve on teams or provide services; policies and personnel evaluations; external assistance; the identification of case practice as the priority; and budgeting for creating the capacity to do family centered-case practice. (February 2009)

Family Group Decision Making: The Importance of Independent Coordination
This issue brief from American Humane Association expands upon the importance of independent coordination of the FGDM process. (2009)

Dads and Paternal Relatives: Using Family Group Decision Making to Refocus the Child Welfare System on the Entire Family Constellation
This American Human Issues in Brief discusses how FGDM can help refocus the child welfare system on the entire family, including dads and paternal relatives. (2009)

Guidelines for Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) in Child Welfare
American Humane, in partnership with the FGDM Guidelines Committee, released this landmark publication. They hope that these guidelines will not only facilitate greater understanding of FGDM, but will also promote solid practice in the U.S. and abroad. This publication covers topics such as: The FGDM Coordinator, Referral to FGDM, Preparation, Family Meetings, Follow-Up After Family Meetings, and Administrative Support. (April 2010)

• Tools from Community Partnerships for Protecting Children
  Multiple resources from Community Partnerships which have brought together parents, youth, social service professionals, faith ministries, local business, schools and caring neighbors to help design, govern and participate in programs that seek to create a continuum of care and support for children, youth and parents in their neighborhoods.

• Family Team Decision-Making Evaluation Handbook
  

• Worker's Guide to Family Team Meetings
  This guide from the Division of Children and Family Services provides workers with information to help them plan, arrange, and facilitate family team meetings

• Mississippi: Guide For Families And Community Partners to Family Centered County Conferences
  Mississippi implemented a family team conferencing model in 2001, which is referred to as the County Conference. The County Conference is a family conferencing approach to bring the family, caseworker, area social work supervisor, and involved community providers together to assess progress and make decisions necessary to achieve timely permanency. The County Conference does not replace nor substitute for the family team meetings held by the caseworker, but should serve to strengthen and support this practice with the family. This document includes five Practice Principles that serve as a framework for this work, as well as tips for planning and conducting the conferences.

• Practice Guidelines for Family-Centered Meetings
  These practice guidelines are intended to supplement the North Carolina Division of Social Services overall policy for Child and Family Team Meetings (CFTs) and Shared Parenting Meetings (SPMs). Information is provided on the principles and purposes of family-centered meetings (FCMs), and the benefits of FCMs. Principles are then paired with specific applications, and the following five phases of FCMs are described: the social worker talks with the key family members about having a meeting, the social worker makes a referral, the worker prepares the family and other professionals for the meeting, a neutral individual facilitates the meeting or depending on the circumstances, sometimes the worker serves as facilitator, and the social worker follows up and monitors the service agreement as it is carried out. A list of issues that must be addressed during the preparation phase of a FCM is given and guidelines are explained for ensuring the safety of FCM participants. Finally, the roles of different participants, strategies for making sure children are heard at meetings, and the structure of FCM are addressed. A form for evaluating a FCM is attached.

• Enhancing Child and Family Team Meetings
  This issue of Children's Services Practice Notes is a resource for agencies seeking to enhance and expand their use of child and family team meetings.

• Family Team Decision-Making Meetings: Frequently Asked Questions by Social Workers
  A list of frequently asked questions about family team decision-making.