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KVC Health Systems

How You Can Help Families Working Toward Reunification

Mother hugging daughter after family reunification

All families go through tough times. When parents face adversity and toxic stress due to traumatic experiences, poverty, untreated mental health needs and/or lack of a support network, they may be unable to care for their children. In some cases, a court decision is made to remove the children from the home and place them with a relative, familiar caregiver or foster family while they receive support from caring professionals. The top priority is to then reunite the family as quickly and safely as possible.

What is National Family Reunification Month?

national family reunification month foster care kvc healthJune is National Family Reunification Month. KVC Health Systems and its local teams celebrate those families that have worked hard to overcome obstacles, resolve conflicts and learn healthy skills in order for their children to safely return home from foster care. During this time we also recognize the child welfare and mental health professionals, including hundreds of people who are part of the KVC team in five states, who support families in the process to safely reunify.

How You Can Help Families Working Toward Reunification

If you care about families in your community who face serious challenges, we invite you to show your support during June and all year long. Relatives, neighbors, friends and community members can help families tremendously in these ways:

  • Offer transportation to visitations, court hearings, mental health appointments, etc.
  • Provide snacks and activities for birth parents to take to visits
  • Offer to prepare a meal for the family
  • Provide mentoring and simply serve as a friend
  • Offer words of encouragement or lend a listening ear
  • Allow the parent(s) to feel connected through community gatherings to let them know they are not alone
  • Become a foster parent to provide direct support to children and families who are experiencing foster care, or become a foster parent who provides short-term respite care to other foster families.
  • When a family is able to bring their children safely home from foster care, celebrate the family with a “welcome home” basket, meal or gathering.
  • If you want to directly support families facing serious challenges, consider joining the KVC team! We’re hiring for critical roles serving children and families in Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska and West Virginia.

If you’re interested in volunteering through KVC, find opportunities in your area here.

KVC Focuses on Keeping Kids in Families

Last year, KVC strengthened 7,036 families involved in the child welfare system with in-home therapy and skill-building, care coordination and other critical support. Of those:

  • 5,857 families (with 13,268 children!) received family preservation services to safely prevent the need for foster care
  • 726 families were able to safely bring their children home from foster care.

Nationally, about half of children (56%) who leave foster care each year are safely reunited with their birth families. It is our goal to help children achieve a safe, permanent home as quickly as possible when reunification can occur. If reintegration with the child’s birth family is not possible, we then seek a loving adoptive family.

Read Some Heartwarming Family Reunification Stories

Check out some of the successful family reunification stories we have been honored to be a part of:

Learn about the Strengthening Families Program and our in-home family services which include family preservation, family reunification, family therapy, skill-building and more.

Join the KVC Health Systems team at www.kvc.org/careers