As families make progress toward reunification, it is important for caseworkers to assess the family's strengths and needs to determine when it is safe and appropriate to return a child home.
Assessing Families for Permanency: Guidance From Research
North Carolina Division of Social Services & Family and Children's Resource Program (2013)
Children's Services Practice Notes, 19(1)
Describes key assessment areas for reunification to prevent disruptions and dissolutions in permanency.
Chapter III: Managing Child Safety In and Out of Home (PDF - 461 KB)
State of Oregon Department of Health and Safety
Outlines issues that a caseworker should assess when decided to return a child to a home from which he or she was removed.
Comprehensive Assessment Planning Model - I.S. Reunification Assessment Instructions (PDF - 30 KB)
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
Guides child welfare workers through a series of questions designed to gauge a family’s readiness for reunification.
Family Engagement Practice Level Strategies
Family Engagement Inventory
Highlights key elements for working with families towards casework goals.
Reunification: Focusing on the Process
Children's Services Practice Notes for North Carolina’s Child Welfare Social Workers (2013)
Discusses ways in which child welfare professionals can use assessment tools and intensive preparation to work with families towards reunification goals.