Samenvatting

The concept of family group conferences (FGCs) originated in New Zealand in 1989 as a tool and statutory right for extended family networks to arrange for the welfare and safety of a child that is neglected or abused by his/her own parents. Through successful FGCs, state intervention can be avoided while the resourcefulness of the larger community is mobilized. The concept has proliferated to many countries and therefore lends itself for analysis as a ‘legal transplant’. This contribution investigates the FGC as a transplant, focussing on how the concept has been adapted and incorporated in the legal systems of England and the Netherlands. In these two countries the ‘Big Society’ and austerity measures in the social domain are high on the policy agenda. How are such policy priorities blended – if at all – with the emancipatory ideal of granting family networks autonomy next to, or even over, publicly funded professionals? It appears that the FGC concept has been compromised in both England and the Netherlands, but in different ways.