JusticeWorks received the “Smith” case as an emergency Family Group Decision Making referral. Two of the children were removed from their mother and placed temporarily with the maternal grandparents who were already raising the other sibling. The children’s father was incarcerated at the time of referral. The purpose of the meeting was to identify kinship and family supports for the children.
The referral was received late in December, 2012 and the family had their conference on January 5, 2013. At the conference 19 maternal and paternal family members attended. The family did an amazing job creating a family plan that allowed the children to remain with the maternal grandparents yet build in immense supports from multiple paternal family members. The maternal grandfather stated he was so thankful for the family meeting happening and so quickly. He said he couldn’t believe how many people showed up to the meeting for the sake of the children.
Wayne County Children and Youth Services were able to close the case two weeks after holding the FGDM meeting. Christi Grudier, case worker at Wayne County CYS stated “From the beginning to the end, the process was quick. The family pulled together for the sake of the children and followed through on the plan. It was a complete success and the family was happy. We were able to successfully close the case after the FGDM conference due to the family following through on their plan. Thanks so much Amy for acting quickly on this emergency family group!”
JusticeWorks is proud to have supported the “Smith” family during their conference and to have facilitated so much added support to the children. We thank Amy for her hard work and dedication to support all of the families she serves.