How to contact us for advice
We provide advice to parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and kinship carers who are involved with children’s services in England or need their help. We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.
Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.
To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). For Textphone dial 18001 followed by the advice line number. Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.
Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.
Our get help and advice section describes the processes that you and your family are likely to go through, so that you know what to expect. Our webchat service can help you find the information and advice on our website which will help you understand the law and your rights.
We have run the quality assurance accreditation programme for family group conference services since 2013. All family group conference services are welcome to apply to become accredited. Accreditation lasts for three years.
The accreditation framework consists of seven quality standards which have been developed to assist families as well as professionals to understand what a family group conference is and what to expect if involved in one. They identify the basic requirements expected from those delivering the service.
These standards should be integrated into the work of the family group conference service and not simply become a bureaucratic process. A service that is successfully accredited is making a clear pledge as to how it will operate and to which it can be held accountable.
The standards draw on current practice and learning in the UK and internationally. It is adherence to these minimum expectations that the accreditation framework is intended to measure. The quality standards can be downloaded in full here.
If you manage a family group conference service and are interested in becoming accredited or having your service reaccredited, please contact us at fgcteam@frg.org.uk to schedule an initial consultation before you begin compiling your portfolio. Our knowledgeable team of practice advisers and our practice lead are available to provide support and to help ensure that you have all the relevant information needed to make your submission successful.
This guidance document (updated January 2023) sets out the standards framework; what a family group conference service needs to do to become accredited; how to submit the accreditation portfolio and the assessment process.
Download| Size of service | Non Family Group Conference & Lifelong Links Network members | Family Group Conference & Lifelong Links Network members |
|---|---|---|
| Small (under 40 FGCs a year) | £850 | £550 |
| Medium (40 – 99 FGCs a year) | £1050 | £700 |
| Large (99 plus FGCs a year) | £1300 | £875 |
| Resubmission fee | £300 | £250 |
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