Family Group Conferencing: What you should know and how you can use the process to better serve your clients.
March 9, 2023 9:00 am -10:30 am
Registration Opens: February 9, 2023
Registration Closes: March 2, 2023
This session will dive into the family-led meeting in which family, friends, and other supportive people come together to make a plan to address difficulties or challenges faced by a family or individual. FGCs are supported by independent facilitators, who help the family prepare for the FGC and guide the conference. In an FGC, families are empowered to express their needs, verbalize their concerns, identify resources, and create their own robust plans to support the family or individual in managing challenges, which vary by the context in which the process is used.
Presenters:
Charlene "Char" Berquist, PhD
Emeritus Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution and Emeritus Professor, Department of Communication, Missouri State University
Char has over 30 years of experience as a mediator, trainer, facilitator, and conflict coach. For nearly 25 years she served as the Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution at Missouri State University, where she regularly led trainings and supported community programs in mediation, victim-offender dialogue, family group conferencing, and more. Char leads the trainings offered by CCMA.
Heather Blades, MA
Former Assoc. Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution , Missouri State University
Heather served as the Associate Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution for 15 years. She holds a master's degree in professional writing and a graduate certificate in conflict and dispute resolution. Heather is an experienced facilitator, trainer, mediator, and conflict coach. Together with Char she has extensive experience offering highly interactive virtual trainings in mediation and conflict management. Heather provides technical support for the CCMA's trainings.