National Reunification Month, celebrated each June, highlights the critical efforts and successes of reuniting children with their biological families. This month recognizes the dedication of child welfare professionals, foster parents and biological families who work tirelessly to create a stable and nurturing environment for children. From July 2024 to May 2025, 2INgage reunited 159 children with their families.
Recently, 2INgage began supporting a family in which two older half-siblings were temporarily caring for three younger children. Our staff built a positive working relationship with the mother, and after a short separation through foster care and kinship, the children were able to return home.
Throughout the reunification process, there were some challenges, but close supervision helped ensure safety and progress. The mother demonstrated improved interactions with her children, identified positive support networks and maintained employment, stable housing and sobriety. She is now successfully balancing her new responsibilities as a parent.
The ultimate goal of foster care is to reunite children with their birth families, when safely possible, and foster parents play a crucial role in supporting that outcome. When it can be done safely, reunification is typically in a child’s best interest and safety.
Senior VP of 2INgage, Kaycee Robles, says, “Family reunification is our number one priority when a family is experiencing foster care. At 2INgage, we are devoted to the strength of family and every successful reunification reflects our unwavering belief in their healing power and potential of families. For children in foster care, returning safely to their families restores their identify and sense of belonging.”
Here are four ways for foster parents to prepare for reunification:
- Communicate with your worker. As a foster parent, frequently discussing your child’s case plan with your caseworker—and participating in the planning when appropriate—will help you understand what the future holds for both the child and your family.
- Prepare for the transition. Children in foster care often have many unanswered questions about their lives and little information about their history. Creating a life book with your child can help them remember the milestones and joyful moments after they leave your family.
- Take time to grieve. A child leaving home can be a profound loss. It’s certainly not easy to experience this shift in your role with your foster child, and it can be especially difficult for foster parents who would like to adopt. A birth parent says, “Creating space for relationship-building… will become transformational in the life of a parent, also in the life of a child…. A house divided is no good for a child.”
- Know that you made a difference. You may never know how the time you spent with a child will affect them in the future. However, foster parents who have maintained contact with the children they cared for, along with young people who spent time in foster care, inform us that foster parents play a significant role in children’s later success.
We honor and celebrate the resilience of families and the compassionate professionals who advocate for the well-being and reunification of children.
To learn more about reunification and how you can make a difference in children and families’ lives, please visit We Need Foster Parents
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