June is recognized as Reunification Month. It was created in 2010 by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law and other national partners to honor the efforts of those who work to keep families together and the accomplishments of families who successfully reunify.1
This year's theme, "We believe in the resiliency and strength of families" highlights the diverse challenges and systems that can lead to familial separation, often resulting in involvement with the child welfare or the juvenile justice system. The separation process is a profoundly difficult experience for all involved. Reunification, the primary goal for children and youth in an out-of-home placement like foster care, was achieved for 52% of impacted American children and youth in 2022, allowing them to return to their biological or adoptive families.
The 2024 theme also aligns with the pillars of trauma-informed care: safety, trustworthiness and transparency, peer support, collaboration and mutuality, empowerment and choice along with consideration of cultural, historical and gender issues. By working with families, we can help them achieve and sustain reunification, embracing their unique strengths and resilience.
At UnitedHealthcare Community & State, our care management programs provide comprehensive services through a unique family-focused care model tailored for children and youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. These services, aligned with each state’s Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) plans, include parent-child interaction therapy, parents as teachers, multi-systemic therapy, family-centered therapy, brief strategic therapy and functional family therapy. Additionally, we support families by addressing their health-related social needs such as housing and food insecurity, employment assistance and access to care.
Our teams offer education on trauma-informed care, condition management and ATTACh, a service that provides education and support to families about trauma and attachment. Through these comprehensive efforts, we aim to strengthen and help families reunify, reinforcing their resilience and capacity to thrive.
