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Resources for Parents With Children and Youth in Out-of-Home Care

This section provides information to assist parents learn more about foster care, including what to expect, tips for building positive relationships with caseworkers and your child's caregiver, maintaining contact through visits with your child, and navigating the child welfare and reunification processes.  

Birth Parent National Network
Children's Trust Fund Alliance 
Provides information about policies for better outcomes for children and families, with a focus on establishing parent leaders who are willing to share their challenges and successes across the country to effect change in prevention and child welfare.

Circle of Parents
Offers a friendly, supportive environment led by parents and other caregivers where anyone in a parenting role can openly discuss the successes and challenges of raising children.

Find a Parent Group
North American Council on Adoptable Children
Provides a list of parent support groups across the country for adoptive, foster, and kinship caregivers. The database of support groups is searchable by State or region.

A Guide for Parents Involved in Michigan’s Child Welfare System
Van Buren (2017)
WPVE Public Radio
Presents parents’ experiences and provides a step-by-step guide to child welfare involvement.

Guide to Dependency Court – For Parents
California Judicial Branch
Outlines standard court processes for parents whose children have been placed into the child welfare system.

Handbook for Parents and Guardians in Child Dependency Cases: Information on the Court Process and the Roles of People Helping You With Your Case (PDF - 174 KB)
Supreme Court of Virginia, Office of the Executive Secretary, Court Improvement Program (2020)
Explains the dependency court process in Virginia to parents, including a timeline and description of the required hearings, the steps to take to get their children back, parental rights and responsibilities, and more. 

Parents Anonymous
Provides evidence-based, culturally responsive, and innovative training and resources to help strengthen parents' abilities to effectively care for their children and create better outcomes for their families and communities.

Parents Know Your Rights Guides
American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law
Offers State-specific resources for parents that can help them identify their rights and responsibilities.

Partnering With Birth Parents To Promote Reunification

Series Title
Factsheets for Families
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 347KB)
Disponibilidad
Ver
Versión para imprimir (PDF - 360KB)
Ordene (Gratis)
Year Published
2019
Explores how foster caregivers can partner with the birth families of the children in their care to promote reunification. The factsheet seeks to dispel common myths that both sides might hold about the other by drawing from foster and birth parent interviews and taking a lessons-learned approach.

Reunification: Bringing Your Children Home From Foster Care

Series Title
Factsheets for Families
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 575KB)
Disponibilidad
Ver
Versión para imprimir (PDF - 837KB)
Ordene (Gratis)
Year Published
2016
Provides a general overview of the reunification process, including what parents can expect while their children are in foster care, what they can do to help their children return home, and what to expect after children return home. Resources available to help families during and after reunification also are included.

Single Father Uses Experience to Help Other Parents
Casey Family Programs (2016)
Presents how a father reunified with his son and uses his experience to mentor other families navigating the child welfare system.

TYPS Sheet for Birth Families (PDF - 1,750)
Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing & Upbring (2018)
Emphasizes the importance for youth to have and maintain a relationship with their birth families. 

Using Media Effectively With Young Children and Virtual Visitation/Part One: Virtual Communication With Young Children [Video]
Center for Child Welfare (2020)
Shares information on how to use remote and virtual communication to maintain relationships during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. Part two of the video is also available online.

Virtual Family Time: Tips for Families

Series Title
Factsheets for Families
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 275KB)
Order (Free)
Disponibilidad
Ver
Versión para imprimir (PDF - 278KB)
Ordene (Gratis)
Year Published
2020
Provides parents with information about successful virtual family time sessions, including how to prepare, tips, and activities. Family time, also known as parent-child visits, is critical to promoting family bonding and setting the stage for successful reunification. Although in-person contact is preferred, there are extreme occasions when in-person contact is not appropriate or safe, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual family time, during which parents contact their children through video, offers a safe alternative.

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Spotlight On

State Guides and Manual Search: For Parents

Child Welfare Information Gateway

State Parent Advocacy Groups
Child Welfare Information Gateway
(2018)

Related Content

Parent Support Groups

Family Courts

Reunifying Families

Supporting Parent-Child Visits

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