The work on family group conferences developed from links with New Zealand. The law emphasizes voluntary agreements, rather than compulsory legal orders, as the desired basis for child welfare activities. Although it does not use the work partnership it emphasizes the importance of consulting parents about services and involving children in decisionmaking. The current program involves staff in specific teams in five government agencies and one private agency. After some small-scale experiments, an organized training program has been coordinated and supported since 1992 by the Family Rights Group, with research support from the University of Sheffield. Approximately 40 family group conferences have been held so far. They have covered a wide range of family circumstances and resulted in some remarkably innovative plans. When the research is complete at the end of 1996, the benefits of the approach and the difficulties involved in implementing it should be clearer. Case examples and 25 references