Family Group Decision Making to support people with drug and alcohol issues

Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) is a supported way of bringing a person’s family, friends, and/or network together. A meeting is arranged by the group to discuss a problem the person is facing or a decision that needs to be made. This way of working means power is held more by the person and their network, who make the decisions needed. 

FGDM is very well established in children’s services, but less so in adults’. However, evidence suggests that it can work for all adult groups, with possible impacts such as people feeling more in control of their care planning, increased commitment from families/networks, and starting to calm family dynamics. This IMPACT Facilitator project in Edinburgh will involve gathering experiences from people who have used, referred to, or provided FGDM and using this insight to co-produce materials to share with others to increase awareness of and referrals to the project.

Evidence review

Meet our Facilitator: Lizzie Lane

I’m a social worker with a background in child protection and criminal justice. Prior to this, I worked as a carer for adults with disabilities and for a crisis helpline. I’m interested in power dynamics in social work practice, and how to truly work collaboratively with people and families.

I’m based in the Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) team in Edinburgh Council, working on a pilot for FDGM with adults who use drugs or alcohol. This involves exploring how we can implement a new service and gain feedback on its impact for adults.

I joined IMPACT because I am interested in breaking down the divide between theory and practice. I love learning and I love doing, and IMPACT joins the two together.

Evidence exists that FGDM has positive outcomes in children’s social care in terms of reducing care placement and improving family involvement in children’s care planning. Pockets of FGDM in adult social care exist, with hopeful findings about how it can share power with individuals and empower families to make decisions around care and support. However, it is decades behind FGDM in children’s services and barriers to implementing a new model include time and money constraints, practitioner suspicion, and lack of organisational buy-in.

IMPACT combines theory, research, lived experience, and practice together, to make changes in adult social care. The voices of people who use care are at the forefront, and uses the local knowledge of communities and practitioners. IMPACT is an opportunity to make real change and to do it collaboratively with the people on the frontline.

Project Host Organisation

Background

Family Group Decision Making (sometimes called Family Group Conferencing) is a family led decision making process that enables a family and friend network to come together to make plans and decisions. The Edinburgh Family Group Decision Making team currently sit within Children’s Services in the Local Authority. In November 2023 the Edinburgh Alcohol & Drug Partnership (EADP) funded a 3 year pilot to offer Family Group Decision Making to adults, and family networks, affected by drug and alcohol use, placing an emphasis on a whole family approach.

Being involved with IMPACT will help us to evaluate, develop, and embed the offer of Family Group Decision Making for families affected by drug and alcohol in Edinburgh whilst also providing a platform that enables us to share our learning nationally. The range of knowledge and expertise within IMPACT, alongside the recognised value of co-production, particularly excites us.

During the work with IMPACT Lizzie ( our IMPACT Facilitator) will be hosted by the Family Group Decision Making team in Edinburgh. Lizzie will work closely with the project lead, Pam Dudgeon, whilst utilising the resources and expertise from IMPACT across the 4 Nations. Lizzie will support with the evaluation, development and embedding of family group decision making for adults and families affected by drug and alcohol whilst Pam, and the family group decision making team in Edinburgh, will provide FGDM for adults and families affected by drug and alcohol.

In Scotland, national drug and alcohol strategy reflects the need for services, as part of their wider commitment to recovery, to take a family inclusive approach. Our project hopes to:

Promote the use of FGDM in drug and alcohol services, with the goal of it becoming embedded in policy and practice locally and nationally.

Actively promote a Whole Family Approach via Family Group Decision Making.

Increase the number of referrals we receive from adult drug and alcohol services in Edinburgh.