Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM) is increasingly used in Scotland to support family-led, child-centred decision-making and is legally recognized as a service for children at risk of entering care. This paper evaluates a FGDM pilot in a semi-rural Scottish Local Authority, focusing on children and families involved in child protection proceedings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with families and professionals, and transcripts were thematically analysed. Our findings showed that FGDM plays a critical role in addressing practice dynamics, amplifying family voices, and upholding children’s rights. Families viewed FGDM as a strength-based, non-statutory alternative to perceived deficit-focused child protection procedures. The pilot’s integration posed challenges for social workers within statutory child protection procedures, with obstacles encountered in family plan quality, agreeing outcomes, and managing dynamics during the process. Historic negative experiences between families and social work systems often hindered meaningful engagement, highlighting the importance of offering FGDM early when families are most receptive. The study underscores the complexity of internalized beliefs and historically power-imbalanced relationships between families and social work systems, which shape perceptions of new processes like FGDM. Implications include the need to support FGDM implementation in ways that empower families while navigating statutory frameworks.