When children must be separated from their families, engaging with their parents from the onset is imperative. Research shows that when child welfare professionals meaningfully engage parents in case planning, families reunify more quickly. Collaborating and communicating openly with families allows child welfare workers to identify strengths and protective factors, allows for the identification of possible supports, and increases the likelihood of reunification.
Child welfare practitioners should work to address disparate outcomes for children of color by prioritizing reunification, particularly in communities with children and families of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Child welfare workers should identify relatives and natural supports early and consistently and make efforts to engage them in the process. Child welfare practitioners can build community partnerships with multiple agencies that are reflective of the diverse families in the community (such as food banks, churches, community centers, and businesses).
The following resources provide examples of approaches administrators, supervisors, and frontline workers can use to enhance parent engagement in the case-planning process, including State and local examples.
Building Parent Leadership and Power to Support Faster, Lasting Reunification and Prevent System Involvement [Webinar]
American Bar Association, Center on Children and the Law (2022)
Describes a program that is working to build parent leadership and shift power to communities and families impacted by the child welfare system.
Episode 27: Prevention: The Power of the Parents’ Voice [Podcast]
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2018)
Features a conversation highlighting the importance and impact of the parent’s voice when it comes to implementing services and creating policies that support the child welfare system in creating a family-centered approach and provides guidance for how to do so.
Family-Centered Reunification in Child Welfare: A Review of Best Practices (PDF - 2,601 KB)
National Quality Improvement Center on Family-Centered Reunification (2021)
Provides a guide on family-centered practices that can help promote timely, stable, and lasting reunification for children and their families.
Family Engagement: Partnering With Families to Improve Child Welfare Outcomes
Family Mosaic Discussion Guide and Video Series
Capacity Building Center for States
Shares a video series and discussion guide to help strengthen relationships between families, caregivers, and child welfare workers. Families with supportive relationships are more likely to be successful in reunification.
How Do Parent Partner Programs Instill Hope and Support Prevention and Reunification?
Casey Family Programs (2019)
Describes a program that connects parent mentors (i.e., parents who have experience with the child welfare system) with parents who have recently lost custody of their children or are under investigation to help them better navigate the system. The brief explains the benefits for parents, evidence of effectiveness, implementation considerations, and examples of successful programs.
How Do Parent Partner Programs Recruit, Train, and Supervise Parents With Lived Experience?
Casey Family Programs (2022)
Explore how parent partner programs recruit, train, and support parents with lived experience in child welfare who serve as peer mentors to other parents and work to promote reunification.
Moms Matter: Encouraging Moms to Reach Their Reunification Goals
Fostering Great Ideas
Shares resources for mothers working toward reunification with their children, including access to peer support groups and online communities and referrals to local resources.
The Path to Racial Equity in Child Welfare: Valuing Family and Community (PDF - 1,642 KB)
Alliance for Children’s Rights (2021)
Describes strategies that can be used to address racial disproportionality in child welfare and discusses promoting reunification after foster care by prioritizing engagement with families.
Reunification: Providing Hope and a Plan With Family Centered Treatment (PDF - 407 KB)
Family Centered Treatment (2021)
Details the importance of creating an effective alliance with parents to enable successful family reunification. The paper reviews overcoming barriers, addressing trauma, shared caregiving, and more.
Supporting Successful Reunifications
A User's Guide to the Parent Partner Program Navigator (PDF - 128 KB)
Capacity Building Center for States (2019)
Presents tools and resources agencies can use to improve existing Parent Partner Programs or to design and implement new ones.
What Are the Key Elements for Sustaining, Expanding, and Spreading Parent Partner Programs?
Casey Family Programs (2020)
Explains how pairing birth parents with lived experience with birth parents who are newly involved with the child welfare system through parent partner programs helps facilitate reunification.
State and local examples
Episode 2: Developing and Sustaining a Parent Partner Program [Podcast]
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2018)
Discusses the benefits and challenges of developing a parent partner program as experienced by the Iowa Department of Human Services.
How Can Child Protection Agencies Authentically Engage With Parents?
Casey Family Programs (2020)
Presents a question-and-answer session on how child welfare agencies can engage with parents, including strategies to better engage and utilize parents with lived expertise.
How Does the Parents for Parents Program Help Parents Reunify?
Casey Family Programs (2018)
Describes a program in Washington State that connects families with parent allies as they navigate dependency court cases, including outreach at court hearings, participation in a Dependency 101 class, and more. The brief includes lessons learned.
Outcome Evaluation Report for Washington State’s Parents for Parents Program (PDF - 687 KB)
Capacity Building Center for Courts (2020)
Shares results of an evaluation of Washington’s Parents for Parents program, which showed the initiative increased knowledge of the child welfare system; increased trust in child protective services; and improved parent engagement and reunification for families.
Parents for Parents
Children’s Home Society of Washington
Connects parents who have successfully navigated the child welfare system in Washington State with parents who have recently become involved with child protective services.
Reunify My Family
City of Philadelphia
Provides information and resources on family reunification, including the process, the parties involved in the family’s case, parenting support services, and more.