Successful partnerships, such as those between birth parents and caregivers or caseworkers and older youth, often make the difference in ensuring reunification or achieving permanency. When foster or relative caregivers model positive communication and practical parenting skills, or when they make sure that visits are constructive, they are laying the foundation for success — partnering makes the difference.

The following suite of resources features the lived experience of youth in foster care, foster and relative caregivers, and the parents they serve to model a constructive approach for working together toward positive outcomes:

• Birth-Foster Parent Mentoring Teams
• Creating and Maintaining Meaningful Connections
• Integrating Foster Parents in Permanency Planning
• Partnering With Birth Parents to Promote Reunification
• Partnering With Relatives to Promote Reunification
• Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children
• Reunifying Families
• Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning

Visit Information Gateway to find these important resources on reunification as well as a wealth of other resources to support and strengthen families.

When children must be removed from their families to ensure their safety, the first goal is to reunite them with their families as soon as possible. Returning children home often requires intensive, family-centered services to support a safe and stable family. Services should be tailored to each family's circumstances and should address the issue(s) that brought the child and family into the child welfare system.

All in for Reunification (YouTube Video)
ABA Center on Children and the Law (2021)
Focuses on Reunification Month to gain interest from States to honor families and professionals.

Resource Family Tip Sheet for Supporting Reunification (PDF)
American Bar Association (2017)
Provides practical tips for child welfare professionals engaging families in key processes related to reunification.

Reunification
Casey Family Programs
Provides resources and publications on supporting family reunification, including topics such as fostering birth and foster parent relationships and strategies to reunite families with substance use disorders.