Mission Statement: Helping Social Workers to Help Families and Children Stay Together through Family Group Conferencing and kinship care services.

The Family Group Conference Unit at the Denver Department of Human consists of seven positions - a supervisor and six conference coordinators, who are senior social caseworkers. We conduct Family Group Conferences and Diligent Searches on cases that are opened to the Department’s Family and Children Services Division for child protective services, including ongoing, youth, adoption and intake cases. We strongly believe that families have the right, and are willing and able to make kinship care plan for their loved ones in child welfare system, if given the necessary support and opportunity. Our mission is to work with the social workers to provide that opportunity and support through Family Group Conferencing. The goal is to keep children in family, either with the biological parent(s) or with relatives. We work with diverse ethnic families, including the Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and the Native Americans.

Specifically, we conduct diligent searches and contact family members and professionals to provide them with case information and prepare them for Family Group Conference. We work with families and relatives to schedule Family Group Conferences and get the location and conference room or family home ready for the conference. We assess family needs and dynamics for the purpose of effectively intervening before, during and after the conference. We provide families and relatives with information regarding financial resources, placement options and caregiver requirements that are available to them for the full time protection and nurture of abused and neglected children. We facilitate the conferences and maintain a neutral role with all parties. We are responsible for writing Family Group Conference and Diligent Search reports for the Court as well as testify in Court. We frequently work weekends and evenings in order to allow some flexibility when scheduling conferences with families and relatives.

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