National Family Reunification Month
Jennifer Lee, MSW, Child Welfare Program Specialist, Children’s Bureau on the
importance of National Family Reunification Month
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Held annually in June, National Family Reunification Month is a time to celebrate and acknowledge the remarkable accomplishments of families across the nation who have made life-changing decisions for the safety, health, and well-being of their children.
Our National Quality Improvement Center on Family-Centered Reunification (QIC-R) is focused this month, and every month, on supporting the timely, stable, and lasting reunification of families with children in foster care. They are doing this by identifying, assessing, and implementing interventions with five public child welfare sites nationally. Here we share the work of the QIC-R, highlight the work and dedication of child welfare agencies, across the nation, and launch a new podcast.
Register today to get updates about our 2025 Training Institutes conference including presentations on family reunification.
Transforming Family Reunification: Enhancing Family Time, Engaging Fathers & Innovative Collaborations
View the June 13, 2024 webinar recording
This pivotal panel discussion on the advancement of family reunification practices within child welfare sheds light on critical aspects of the reunification process, including father engagement, the significance of family time, and the establishment of secure attachments. Highlighting innovative work from Monroe County, New York, one of our National Quality Improvement Center on Family-Centered Reunification sites, this discussion includes program managers, caseworkers, parent partners, and others! Learn from leading experts and discover models of success that can inspire and shape child welfare agencies' strategies and community partners nationwide.
Video Perspectives from the Field
Watch and listen as some of the people working in the QIC-R’s innovative family reunification interventions speak about their work and the significance of safe and timely family-centered reunification. Hear from parent peer support partners, judges, clinicians, site leaders, and others as they discuss the importance of reunification from their perspectives. Each of these passionate professionals offers insights into the significance and impact of reunification and work within the child welfare field. Bookmark the full playlist in YouTube!
"It’s important for me to a be a partner in reunification because I’ve seen first-hand what it does for a family."
-- Judge Derwin L. Webb, Jefferson County Family Court, Kentucky
"If we’re not attending to [family reunification] consciously, we’re not attending to the reality that children belong with families."
-- Amy Natale-McConnell, Director of Family Services, Monroe County Dept. of Human Services, New York
"What’s surprised me is the judges and how they’ve learned so much about the family’s true struggle to get sober and to be together."
-- Amy Spriggs, Program Manager, Family Recovery Court, Kentucky
"My knees buckled, because of what I had been told, what I had heard, what they tried to make me believe about my own child."
-- Angela Braxton, Family Engagement Consultant, Kansas City, Kansas
"Children want to be with their families and parents want to be with their kids."
-- Charisse Penn, Parent Partner Manager, Specialized Alternatives for Families & Youth, Columbus, Ohio
"As a clinician, I see families at what I believe is the worst times of their lives and it’s a very humbling experience to be allowed to walk through that with them."
-- Cindy Kamer, Clinical Manager, Seven Counties Services, Kentucky
"It’s important for me to advocate for [parents], I think that we deserve our children back and our children deserve to have us."
-- Courtney Walz, Peer Support Specialist, Seven Counties Services, Kentucky
"I have the lived experience to help guide parents through the [reunification] process."
-- Sierra Shephard, Parent Partner, Specialized Alternatives for Families & Youth, Columbus, Ohio
"I believe families are a strong foundation in anything we do."
-- Michael Naphier-Horton, Parent Partner, Specialized Alternatives for Families & Youth, Columbus, Ohio
"Having that parent partner walk alongside another parent as they are working to reunify with their children really is supporting that effort around family reunification."
-- Melissa Palmer, Project Manager, Ohio Dept. of Children & Youth, Ohio
“The reason why I [am] in child welfare is because I fully believe that kids that remain with their families or even kinship or extended family do better in life."
--Marcy McCrea-Matt, Division Manager, Tribal Social Services, Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes
"It takes a collaborative effort among all of our systems to make this possible."
-- Lynn Posze, Senior Manager, Children & Family Futures, Kentucky
"Having been in the foster care system myself growing up, it was definitely important to get back with my own original family."
-- Legion Johnson, Parent Partner, Society for the Protection & Care of Children, New York
"Individuals want to believe that their life can be different, and when they see that it can be, then all kinds of wonderful things start to happen."
-- Judge Denise Brown, Deputy Chief Judge, Jefferson Family Court, Kentucky
"Parent/child relationships really support child development for the trajectory of their lives, and the way that they will someday be able to parent their own children."
-- Alana Russotti, Director of Reflective Practices, Society for the Protection & Care of Children, New York
The Impact of Successful Recovery & Reunification for Families
Presenters (left to right): Courtney Walz, Parent Peer Support Partner; Judge Denise Brown; Judge Derwin L. Webb; Kelly Williamson, Court Liaison
This panel discussion explores the positive outcomes of the Jefferson County, Kentucky Family Recovery Program on families when Children Services and the Family Court system work together towards recovery and reunification in partnership with parents. Together they delve into the transformative impact of successful collaboration in resolving barriers where children are involved, emphasizing the benefits of integrated efforts for the well-being and stability of families.