Examines current trends in family reunification, which is how most children still exit the foster care system. Family reunification is influenced by the body of law that delineates parental rights, the implications of the law on public policy, the processes that child welfare agencies employ to determine whether to return children to their birth parents, and individual factors associated with the child and family. Analysis of reunification patterns reveals that: the rate of exit to reunification has slowed since 1990; children’s experiences with the foster care system varied significantly, depending on their age at placement and their ethnicity; the longer a child remained in the system, the greater the chance of exit via adoption; and a significant number of children reentered foster care within 10 years of reunification. Given these trends, workable strategies are needed to reduce time in placement prior to reunification as well as the likelihood of reentry. Promising practices include identifying, enhancing, and building family strengths into the service plan; continuing family connections when children are in care; developing culturally competent and age-appropriate services; and providing ongoing after-care services to help families respond to challenges they may face in the reunification process.
