aeo promotes importance of involving family members in planning better care for children aeo based on both research and practical experience aeo supported by international studies aeo authors are widely acclaimed for their work with Family Group Conferences.

Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1 Introduction: Care Services and Families:; Families, services and child welfare problems; Deciding seriousness; Engaging in the debate; Gaining agreement; Developing services; The Family Gorup Conference programme; Conclusions; 2 Families and Child Welfare:; Families in the UK; Help and the family; The meaning of family; Conclusions; 3 Family Group Conferences: Policy and Practice:; The background of Family Group Conferences; Key dimensions of a Family Group Conference; The process of Family Group Conferencs; A rough guide to co-ordinating Family Group Conferences; Conclusions; 4 Establishing Family Group Conferences:; Implementation in child welfare; Training; A rough guide to training for family group conferences; The projects in action; Conclusions; 5 International Developments and Research:; The international dimension; The research data; International research: key themes; Conclusions; 6 The Process: Family Group Conferences in Action:; The conference members; The process; Participants' view of the model; Conclusions; 7 Co-ordinators' Work:; Experiences of the "rough guide" traveller; Thinking of the conference as a special, theatrical event; The co-ordinator's conclusions; 8 Outcomes:;The plans; Implementation; Outcomes; Comparing outcomes; Unplanned outcomes; Conclusions; 9 The Next Stages: Child welfare, partnership and Family Group Conferences; Costs and benefits; Implementation; The way forward;; References; Index.

Child Welfare Professionals have increasingly come to realise the importance of working towards "partnership" with parents, even when children cannot be looked after at home or where there are serious problems in caring for them. In recent years, ideas on partnership have been developed to include more involvement of other relatives in thinking about the child's welfare.