Family Involvement Policy

Our principles for getting families involved:

• We want families to be at the heart of our work. We understand that participation will look and feel different to everyone, we want people to feel comfortable in sharing their views and experience. Therefore, we encourage people to talk and share as much or as little as they want.
• We respect everyone as individuals sharing their own personal experience. We know that some people we work with may have experienced trauma and we will endeavour to respect their willingness to engage when they feel able and do our best to provide them with support.
• We welcome everyone in all their diversity and are committed to equal opportunities for all regardless, for example, of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability. We are committed to learning and listening in order to create an environment that works for everyone. You can find out more from our equal opportunities policy.
• We will ensure that nobody is left out of pocket for sharing their time and experiences. We will include family involvement in all our project plans and funding applications as appropriate, and we will take account of the time and resources needed as part of our planning.
• We aim to include family members on the Trustee Board and will provide appropriate support for this role.
• We will review this policy and how it is working in practice once a year, including asking families who have been involved what they think.

We invite you to get involved with Family Rights Group. There are different ways families can do this, for example:

• Sign up to our newsletter and find our different ways you can get involved.
• Give us feedback about the service we have provided. This could be a suggestion on how we can improve, criticism or something you like. You can find out more from our Complaints, Comments and Compliments policy
• Respond to surveys or requests for being interviewed or take part in a focus group.
• Considering becoming a member of Parents’ Panel or Family and Friends Carers’ Panel.
• Consider becoming a young people’s Lifelong Links champion.
• Speak about your experiences at a conference, or run a training session or lead a workshop.
• Participate in lobbying and campaigning, for example emailing/contacting decision makers, attending meetings, speaking at events
• Consider being involved in the running of the Charity and its activities, by being a member of a project advisory group, a working group or applying to become a trustee.

Interested in finding out more? Please email bcampbell@frg.org.uk

What can we offer you?

• We will respect and value your contribution.
• Prior to your being invited to participate, we will make it clear to you whether any expenses or payments are applicable.
• If expenses payments are applicable we will pay them in line with our Involvement – Payment and Expenses policy for families. This will include any pre-agreed travel expenses by public transport and any pre-agreed out of pocket expenses. You can find out more in our Families’ Involvement – Payment and Expenses Policy.
• We will give you a named member of staff to support you in getting involved, including any preparation and to write up your involvement for your C.V. if appropriate.
• We will respect your confidentiality. There are exceptional circumstances when we might have to pass information on – you can find out more in our Confidentiality Policy.
• We will let you know what difference your involvement has made.
• We will respond to any complaints or suggestions normally within 10 working days. You can find out more from our Complaints, Comments and Compliments policy.