Collective nouns: 'The group' is or are

The group is: When you take a collection of people/animals as a whole unit because they act in unison.

• The group gets together for quarterly meetups.

The group are: When each entity in the group is expected to act differently and individually.

• The group write their names in the submission form before entering the room.

Here are more examples:

• My family lives in Sri Lanka.
• My family are having lunch at different times.
• The police serves the public.
• The police were running in different directions.

If it seems too awkward to use a plural with a collective noun, use a phrase like "family members".