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  • Episode 64: Reunification

Episode 64: Reunification

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and SoundCloud. Subscribe to receive new episodes as they are released.
 

Transcript (PDF - 205 KB)
Video: 1:03:44
(2021)
 

When children must be removed from their families to ensure their safety, the first goal is to reunite them with their families as soon as possible. Children reunited into safe, stable, and loving family environments tend to perform better in school and have better social skills than those who remain in foster care.

Making reunification the primary goal of out-of-home care requires child welfare agencies to execute intensive, family-centered services to support a safe and stable family. Services should be tailored to each family's circumstances and address the issues that brought the child and family into the child welfare system. June is recognized as National Reunification Month and a time to recognize and honor the year-long efforts to reunite families.

This episode focuses on the current reality of reunification across our public child welfare system. Listeners will hear a conversation among child welfare professionals, members of the American Bar Association (ABA) Center on Children and the Law, the Children’s Bureau, and an alumnus of foster care, including the following:

  • Mimi Laver, director of legal representation, ABA Center on Children and the Law
  • Scott Trowbridge, child welfare program specialist, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau
  • Chauncey Strong, executive director, Strong Training and Consulting, LLC

Topics discussed include the following:

  • What the data indicate regarding reunifying families involved in the child welfare system
  • What the Federal government and national partners are doing to increase reunification
  • The racial inequities, specifically for teen boys of color, within reunification efforts
  • How local agencies, caseworkers, and communities can shift their mindsets and actions to ensure reunification is treated as the primary goal when children are removed from their families

Other Related Resources

  • National Quality Improvement Center on Family-Centered Reunification
  • All in for Reunification 2021 [Webinar]
    American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law (2021)
  • Birth Parent National Network
  • Family Justice Initiative

(Back to Top)

National Foster Care Month 2021. Foster care as a support to families, not a substitute for parents. Childwelfare.gov/month2020fostercaremonth/. Illustration: 9 Older youth smiling, sitting in a row.

Related Podcasts

Episode 35: Foster Care: A Path to Reunification – Part 1 [Podcast]
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019)

Episode 36: Foster Care: A Path to Reunification – Part 2 [Podcast]
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019)

Episode 41: Birth-Foster Parent Mentoring Teams [Podcast]
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019)

Spotlight On

Information Memorandum ACYF-CB-IM-20-06: Foster Care as a Support to Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (2020)

Child Maltreatment Report 2019

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau (2021)

Adoption & Foster Care Statistics

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau

Related Content

Youth

Reunifying Families

Children's Bureau - An office of the Administration for Children and Families

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