As child welfare workers, you play a critical role in helping to reunify families while keeping the best interests of the children’s health and well-being in mind. It is the responsibility of the child welfare agency to engage in strategic activities and discussions to build family relationships and address any concerns prior to and after reunification. If reunification is the permanency goal for one of your clients, here are some ways you can help promote reunification.
A positive and respectful relationship between foster parents and birth parents helps to avoid animosity between parties, can potentially help ease the transition of homes for the child, and can significantly increase the probability of achieving reunification.
Discussing the benefits of reunification helps both parties to understand and commit to doing what is best for the child.
We all can use a helping hand once in a while. By becoming a support resource for birth parents and foster parents, they can proactively work to take the next appropriate steps.
The road to reunification can often be emotionally charged for both parties – lend an empathetic ear for any of their questions and concerns.
Be open and transparent about the reunification process early with both parties. Let both families know the importance of establishing a reunification plan, but remind the families that timelines can change based on the needs of the child(ren) and their family. Establish a safe environment where both families can ask openly questions about the process.
Set expectations with each family on what will happen during the reunification process, from the legalities to the emotions they may arise. Like a snowflake or a fingerprint, each reunification is unique so be sure to include all pertinent information in the reunification plan and integrate them with the process.
Maintaining family relationships while children are in care is critical to the success of reunification. Encourage foster parents to be comfortable with visitation and regular contact with the child(ren)’s birth parents as this will help ease the transition for the children involved.
Contact can include supervised visitation, going to medical appointments or meetings together, visiting public areas together such as the mall or parks, etc. If physical contact is not a current option, explore virtual opportunities such as video chatting or set up phone call times.
Determine whether your services are effective by actively reaching out for feedback from foster parents, birth parents, and even the foster youth.
There are various methods you can use to gather this feedback — you can conduct exit interviews, send surveys to former foster parents/birth parents you’ve worked with, or include them in your assessments. They are the ones who know your services best and by gathering feedback, you can better understand if your strategic approach is preparing and supporting families to work together towards reunification.
The road to reunification is rewarding, but can be difficult to navigate. By using open communication and building respectful relationships between foster parents and birth parents, you can help reunify children with their original homes.
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