Lack of outcome research on New Zealand care and protection family group conference

Abstract

Despite the popularity of the New Zealand care and protection family group conference (FGC) and its success in strengthening families, there is no evidence to show that the conference achieves its other desired outcome of protecting children from abuse and neglect. This evidence can only be obtained through evaluative research. For the FGC to maintain its credibility, the critical need for evaluative research in the New Zealand care and protection FGC needs to be addressed. Most of the other countries that have adopted the FGC have undertaken evaluative studies. New Zealand practitioners and researchers can draw from international evaluation studies and develop appropriate research designs and methodologies to evaluate New Zealand’s care and protection FGC.