© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved. British Journal of Social Work (2006) 36, 523–540 doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch273 Advance Access publication August 1, 2005 Fifteen Years of Family Group Conferencing: Coordinators Talk About Their Experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand Marie Connolly Marie Connolly PhD is Chief Social Worker with the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services in New Zealand. Until recently, she was Associate Professor and Director of the Te Awatea Violence Research Centre at the Department of Social Work, University of Canterbury. Her research interests include child and family welfare and in particular participatory practice with families in child protection. She has a social work background in statutory child welfare. Correspondence to M. Connolly, Department of Child, Youth and Family Services, PO Box 2620, Wellington, New Zealand. E-mail: marie.connolly005@cyf.govt.nz Summary Family Group Conferencing (FGC) as a solution-focused strategy in child welfare has now been a mandated practice in Aotearoa New Zealand since 1989. This qualitative study examines the experiences of Care and Protection Coordinators who have been convening FGC since the early years of the legislation. The study explores early percep- tions of the legislation, what first attracted them to the role and what keeps them in the job. In particular, the study explores the practice tensions that rest within family- centred child protection models, and the ways in which FGC practice has developed in response to modern imperatives. Keywords: Family group decision making, participatory practice, child protection Introduction In the past two decades, child protection work has been strongly influenced by a greater orientation toward family-centred practice. Increasingly, profession- als are sharing decision-making power with families and, across the globe, pol- icy and practice have shown a marked development toward more participatory practices with families of children at risk (Connolly, 1999). In some countries, Aotearoa New Zealand being the most noted in this regard, formal involvement at Ministry of Social Development on April 13, 2010 http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org Downloaded from