June is National Reunification Month. Last year eighteen counties held Family Reunification Celebrations. This year we face many difficult realities. Although they may look different this year, a county’s reunification day can serve as an opportunity to instill hope and remind us all why we do this work. Please consider organizing a Family Reunification Celebration in your county.
Family Reunification Day Events celebrate the important accomplishments of parents and the many professionals that support them in getting their children home safely.
June is Family Reunification Month, which has a three-fold purpose:
- To celebrate the accomplishments of families who have overcome an array of challenges to reunify safely and successfully.
- To recognize the vital role that community partners – including mental health, substance abuse, and visitation providers, courts and judges, foster parents and others – play in helping to reunify, strengthen, and support families.
- To inspire other parents – particularly those going through the recovery process – that it is possible to confront and resolve the issues that led to their separation, and to reunify with their children.
The American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law has a website devoted to National Reunification Month. Throughout the month, they will post their 2020 Reunification Heroes who have demonstrated compassion and perseverance to keep families together. This year’s honorees include parents Jeremiah and Helen Donier as well as King County Commissioner Mark Hillman. Some of the many reunification focused materials include the article We are the Lucky Ones: Reunification Stories from Former Foster Youth.
Across the nation and within Washington State, court partners have already begun planning events. The Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care’s Family Reunification Day Committee can provide ideas and support for local Family Reunification Day celebrations. Some of the many options include virtual events, parking lot parades, local county Reunification Heroes awards, proclamations or stories of reunified families from your local media partners.
If you are interested in learning more, please check the following resources:
- For assistance with tools for planning events, please check the Washington Courts Website: http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/index.cfm?fa=newsinfo.familyreunification.
- For assistance with press communications and community involvement regarding your event, please contact: Lorrie Thompson, Administrative Office of the Courts Communications, Lorrie.Thompson@courts.wa.gov.
- The Court Improvement Program has small stipends available to support local events (see attached).
In 2020*, over half of Washington State dependency cases exiting out-of-home care resulted in reunification—resulting in more than 2,000 children reunifying with their parent(s). Since safe reunification is ultimately the goal of dependency and the majority of children who leave out-of-home care are reunified with their families, it is important to focus on practices that help achieve successful reunification. As professionals we should aspire for an even higher rate of family reunification.
Besides recognizing parents and professionals for their efforts when reunification occurs, what can courts do to help?
- Use key elements for Safety Decision-Making throughout the life of the case: Child Safety: A Guide for Judges and Attorneys.
- Continue to focus on reasonable efforts in cases and assure appropriate services for parents and children.
- Watch and encourage your court partners to watch recent events focused on reunification that may have been missed:
– 2020 Children’s Bureau Virtual Event for Foster Care Month Collaborating with Courts to Promote Foster Care as a Support to Families, Not a Substitute for Parents
– ABA’s Children and the Law webinar COVID-19 and Child Welfare Cases
– CITA’s Webinar Series on Maintaining Family Connections in the COVID-19 Era
– ABA’s National Alliance for Parent Representation webinar Interdisciplinary Parent Representation: Bringing Hope to Families During the Pandemic and Beyond.
Also, the Children’s Bureau Child Welfare Information Gateway offers resources, practices, and strategies that support family reunification efforts in child welfare. Additionally, Associate Commissioner Jerry Milner and Special Assistant to the Associate Commissioner David Kelly of the Children’s Bureau recently wrote the piece Family is a Compelling Reason.
Thank you so much for all you do to support family reunification. Now more than ever, is our opportunity to come together and recognize parents and court professionals focused on this goal. If your county does not feel equipped to offer an event in June, consider hosting an event later in the summer or fall. Don’t miss out on this important opportunity to inspire and uplift us all.
*Report information for King County Superior Court and State is temporarily incomplete as of November 13, 2018. King County Superior Court has transitioned to a locally implemented and maintained case management system.
