In 1995 Family Rights Group published the first UK book on family group conferences (FGCs). Contributors to the book addressed questions as to whether FGCs can bring families together, whether families will make decisions and how best to implement the FGC approach.

In 2006 we published the Family Group Conference Toolkit and in 2007 a book, Family group conferencing – Where next?: Policies and practices for the future, with commentaries analysing the development of FGCs in this country.

I’m delighted that this book by Deanna Edwards and Kate Parkinson builds upon those publications by examining innovations in the field, and the challenges, constraints and opportunities facing those committed to the FGC approach.

There have been notable domestic successes in the last ten years. FGCs are now promoted in English Government statutory preproceedings guidance, and in Scotland new legislation similarly promotes family decision making. Family Rights Group has developed the first post-qualifying FGC award, and together with the national FGC Network, drew up an accreditation scheme for FGC services to help ensure FGCs operated to consistent high-quality standards and consistent values. Twenty-six local FGC services have now been accredited, with a further six in the process. Internationally, FGCs have been introduced as a child welfare approach in countries as diverse as Sri Lanka, Bulgaria and France.

Seventy-six percent of English local authorities now have some form of FGC service, compared to thirty-eight percent in 2001. There is also renewed interest in FGCs by local authorities in Scotland. Leeds City Council has shown that FGCs can become a core part of the state's offer in how it works with families, utilising families’ capacities and strengths to protect and support children to live safely within their family network, where possible. FGCs are also being increasingly used creatively to address a range of situations affecting families, as several chapters describe. One new area of development that Family Rights Group is embarking on is Lifelong Links for children in care. The Lifelong Links operational model draws upon the US family-finding model, learning from a pilot in Edinburgh and the input of young people in care, care leavers, social workers and families. It involves tools and techniques for professionals to use to search for and find family members (known or unknown to the child) and other adults (such as former foster carers or teachers) who care about the child.