Family Rights Group

The Charity was established in 1974, by a group of lawyers, social workers and academics who were concerned about how families were treated when social services were involved with their children. Our mission is to create a more socially just society in which the child welfare and family justice systems support children to live safely and thrive within their family, while strengthening the family and community networks of those children who cannot live at home. We seek to ensure that: - Families involved with the child welfare and family justice system are treated fairly, have their rights respected and are able to make informed decisions; - Children and families get the help they need, so wherever possible children can live safely and flourish within their family network; - All children, including those in care, have lasting and supportive relationships to sustain them throughout their lives; - Our child welfare and family justice system – and wider society – promotes social justice and create conditions that enable children to achieve their potential; - Children and families’ voices and experiences drive decision making at an individual and strategic level within the child welfare and family justice system. We do this through: - A free specialist legal and child welfare practice advice service for parents and kinship carers; - By supporting local authorities through the provision of resources, training and consultancy; - By finding innovative family-led ways to improve child welfare; - Promoting families’ voices so children and families with experience of the child welfare and family justice system help shape it, at local and national level; and - Research and lobbying for legislative and policy changes.