This article sets out some personal reflections of Judge Andrew Becroft, Children's Commissioner, given the historical context of FGCs and their
subsequent development. Given his previous twenty years’ experience in the youth justice system, these reflections focus on youth justice FGCs.

His central argument is that the halcyon days of well-resourced and widely-attended FGCs in the early 1990s did not continue. The way FGCs began to operate, at least by the early 2000s, fell short of the intended model. The legislative vision was not fully turned into reality.

Given the recent launch of Oranga Tamariki and the updated legislation, we have been granted a unique opportunity to address long-standing deficiencies. We can turn the practice of our FGCs into a gift of which
we are rightly proud. (From the article).


This is companion piece written in December 2017 on the publication of Fulfilling the vision: Improving Family Group Conference preparation and participation, State of Care report 2017 (#5697). Record #6446