Early Family Group Research Paper

Early Family Group
David Mullins
CJA/334
November 26,2014
David Mitchell

Early Family Group
A research article from the British Journal of Criminology titled, “Inside Parenting Programs: Case Studies of Family Group Conferencing,” I found to be very interesting. It has been peer reviewed and is very informative. The study being presented in this article gives research information that shows the specific parts of and areas that are invested with intervention Family Group Conferencing (FGC) in link to British criminal justice. Both the United States and Canada now rely on this (FGC) although newer than other programs or research in this area (Hardin, 1996). The studies involved utilized the research to be able to comprehend
the complications and problems that the youth could have in order to better use forms of early juvenile delinquency prevention. The studies involved depend heavily on previous information and prevention solutions that have been studied over a thirty-year span via much study research. The research and practice have identified parental management, supervision and offending behavior as important to the etiology of young people 's delinquency (Davies, Adler & Goodman, 2007). Family Grouping Conferencing has been found to be a possible factor in the early prevention of juvenile delinquency.
The experiment found in this article is focused on the early prevention of juvenile delinquency as well as the early intervention and how the Family Grouping Conference can play a role. FGC has a focus of three major parts of the research and early prevention. They are as follows, preparation, procedure, and understanding. The consistency of the young people and their outcomes based on their situations has been associated with the FGC and the early prevention of juvenile delinquency. The primary purpose of all of these studies are to better comprehend the importance the FGC has had on the younger demographics and the impact they have had on the early prevention of the delinquency of juveniles. During these studies, questions have rose in regards to the idea that the preparation procedure may not be sufficient enough, as well as considering if the younger demographics truly understand the purpose of the FGC, also if the consistency of outcomes is truly associated to the early intervention from the
FGC.
Design:
A qualitative case study approach needed to be taken in order to better evaluate the three areas regarding early intervention with the FGC. An explanation by qualitative terms was based on the attribute of the source of the non-numerical data that was collected. This was done to see if the three areas presented governed the young demographics delinquent behavior. given that the numbers of families going through schemes are still quite low, and that the use of FGCs in this way is relatively new, we felt that this was an excellent example of where in depth, qualitative evaluations could be made to give a participant centered flavor for the experience of being involved in parenting programs” (Davies, Adler & Goodman, 2007). The design of this study was consisting of a rather minimal but specific sample rather than one that was large and broad.
Interviews:
A part of the early prevention project was to use the data collected from four families that took part in the project from an inner city area and two practitioners. The four families were each analyzed and studied in different sections. The children in each group were different ages and were two girls. One was age 9 and the other was age 12. The nine-year-old girl had a behavior problem in which she caused harm to herself that was self-inflicted. The 12-year-old girl had different issues in which her parents were becoming convinced she was stealing and bullying people. Two other participants were boys whose ages were 11 and 12. The 11-year-old boy had started showing aggressive behavior in his home, which in turn was concerning his parents. The 12 year old boy had developed a habit of stealing and had started to miss large amounts of school. The practitioners were a social worker and an officer who traveled to the homes of different children who were known to have problems. The methodology that was utilized during the interview process consisted of asking questions to the families and then analyzing the responses. The initial part of the interview would consist of a sit down interview with the parents or guardians of each child. This interview would generally consist of a length of approximately 45 minutes and 20 questions per. This section of the interview would inquire specific questions in the regards of what the parents generally understood about the FGC. Their idea as to what was the reason behind the child’s misbehavior and their beliefs as to what would help correct the situation.
The second part of the interview would involve the specific child involved in a 20-minute interview in which they would be asked 13 questions. These questions were similar to that of their parents and would be pertaining to the FGC and their thoughts behind the process. During the child’s interview they would be asked questions pertaining to their thoughts about the FGC. They will also be asked what they feel would best help them in regards to their behavior. They will be asked if this process will have an impact on their lives and how why or why they don’t feel it will.
The third part of the interview will consist of a follow up session with the parent’s answers from the initial interview. The goal of the follow up interview with the parents will be an attempt to maintain consistency during the process of the interviews. This particular interview will generally last 30 minutes and have 14 questions. This interview will concentrate on a longer term appraisal of the process from the care givers perspective.
The fourth interview consisted of a follow up with the children.
This process would generally take up to 15 minutes and the children would be asked 8 questions. Its primary focus would be to assess the outcome consistency as well as the evaluation of the process. It also attempted to process the best and worst things experienced during the FGC. The two practitioners designed the interview and it was used during the interviewing process. This interview would take generally 30 minutes to complete and would consist of ten questions. This particular interview would inquire about the experiences and be focused on the process of appraisal from the interviewee’s perspective. In order to have consistency, each of the family members as well as practitioners held the interviews shortly after the FGC. The second interviews took place roughly three months after. These interviews were meant to cover the consistency of the appraisal over
time.
Ethical Dilemmas: Referencing the research with children, it was acknowledged that ethical dilemmas existed concerning whether or not to interview them without their parents or guardians present. Those conducting the study felt that the most efficient way to protect the children from the consequences from the outcome of the content from the interviews would be to conduct them without their caregivers being present. It was thought that the caregivers being present would present the potential to produce an intimidating atmosphere for the children. The researchers felt that this process would be best suited to meet and balance the ethical needs for both of the parties involved.
Results:
The results that took place during the preparation for the families and children showed that they were each conscious of what was taking place at the FGC. They also showed that they were aware of who would be present at the FGC. Although, it was shown that the practitioners were less clear as to what was going to happen and who would be present during the FGC. Three of the adults involved during the FGC felt that they were in control. One adult responded with negative data stating that they felt they were in no way prepared for the emotional implications they expected to feel during the initial stages of the FGC. The practitioners were on record stating they felt under attack by the caregivers during specific points during the FGC. One adult stated that they also felt as if they were under attack, but instead by the practitioners. Taking the responses into consideration, the researchers were able to conclude that the preparation procedure set in place may not be adequate in regards to fully preparing the families as well as the children for the emotions that may be present during the FGC. Likewise, there were also gaps present that existed within the preparation procedure for the practitioners. The researchers acknowledged that the practitioners were in no way the most parties that were the most vulnerable; however it is equally important that they are prepared for the potential confrontation involving large numbers of families and friends. It was easy to conclude that for all parties involved, the FGC is an exhausting experience. Even though the practitioners felt they were unprepared, neither approached the project worker regarding these thoughts. The researchers recommended that the preparation procedure could benefit from better preparing both the families and practitioners for the emotional dimensions they could experience. Receiving better information with regard to what they may encounter during the process would best benefit each side. By looking at the interviews, the researchers could conclude that the outcomes from all sides could be recognized as being consistently positive. Also, the study as a whole was recognized as significantly more positive than negative and helped each family to progress in a more positive light that previously. Before they were able to determine that the early intervention FGC would be a beneficial factor to deterring delinquency, the study showed promise but still it showed that more research would be needed in order to conclude that. In regards to the consistency of the outcomes studied over a period of time, the results also show that more research would be needed. The results were recorded as being tentatively positive. In my opinion the study itself was performed appropriately given the parameters that were involved. There was nothing that I could that should have been done differently that they have not already acknowledged. The aspects that could contribute to delinquent behavior would be hard to confine to a single set down interview process. The study performed demonstrated this as well as made note of it and even though they attempted to narrow down the aspects to three areas to focus on for the evaluation. By doing this, it made it possible for researchers to stay on purpose in regards to the subject matter and not be misdirected or derailed by different aspects that could have possibly played a role in delinquency as they performed the study. The fact that they acknowledged that there are other factors that contribute to delinquency is the primary factor that undermines the purpose of the study.

References
Davies, Adler & Goodman. (2007). Inside Parenting Programs: Case Studies of Family Group Conferencing. Available: Retrieved on May 15, 2011. http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Davies_et_al_Inside_Parenting_Programmes.pdf. Hardin, M. (1996) Family group conferences in child abuse and neglect cases:
Learning from the experience of New Zealand. Washington, DC: ABA Center on
Children and the Law. Retrieved on May 15, 2011. http://www.olc.edu/~jolson/socialwork/OnlineLibrary/Crampton%20(2007)%20REsearch%20Review%20-%20Family%20group%20decision%20making%20-%20a%20prmosing%20practice%20in%20need%20of%20more%20prgramme%20theory%20and%20research.pdf Laura Mirsky, (2003) Family Group Conferencing Worldwide: Part One in a Series
International Institute for Restorative Practices, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Retrieved on May 15, 2011.
http://www.iirp.org/article_detail.php?article_id=NDMz