Family Reunification During COVID-19
June is traditionally Family Reunification Month. It is a celebration of all the work put in by parents or primary caregivers, foster parents, social workers, courts and many others to reunite foster children with their families of origin. While it is the stated goal of the government for families to remain intact, a child’s safety and well-being is paramount, which sometimes leads to the removal of children from their homes. In the United States in 2018, 49% of the estimated 248,364 children who exited foster care were reunited with their parents or primary caretakers. In Washington State the percentage of foster children reunited with their primary caretakers was even higher, at 64%.
In 2020, children in foster care and the parents who are hoping to reunite with them have struggled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 26 Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation removing the state’s mandate to provide maximum visitation between foster children and their primary caretakers to safeguard against the risk of virus spread. Since then, in-person visitations have plummeted, being replaced largely by virtual visits, but sometimes no visits at all, which understandably puts the parent-child relationship in jeopardy. Due to inconsistencies with how local courts were handling the visitation question, the State Supreme Court stepped in with an order of its own to preserve parental rights and allow challenges to denials of visitation.
Despite the pandemic and the temporary visitation limitations, family reunifications continue to take place and local courts in Washington are being encouraged to recognize reunification in safe ways throughout the summer. The big June celebrations that have been sidelined this year will hopefully be replaced with parking lot parades, virtual gatherings or creative ways to acknowledge the efforts of everyone involved in bringing a happy ending to dependency cases. One such event took place at Tacoma’s Remann Hall juvenile justice center on July 31st. More information about family reunification, foster care visitation during the COVID pandemic, and the child protection system can be found at the following websites:
Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) –
COVID-19 Family Time Visitation page
COVID-19 Resource Guide for Washington State Parents and Caregivers (English & Spanish)
Foster Parenting & Kinship Care page
Other websites –
Governor Inslee’s Directive 20–02, Visitation During the COVID-19 Emergency
American Bar Association National Reunification Month page
Children’s Bureau Express June 2020 issue Spotlight on National Reunification Month
Child Welfare Information Gateway publications page
Crosscut article Birth parents fight to visit kids in foster system during pandemic
Rise Magazine’s Visiting During COVID — Resources for Parents page
Washington State Department of Health’s Parent and Caretaker Resources and Recommendations page
National Association of Counsel for Children’s COVID-19 Resource Hub
National Conference of State Legislature’s COVID-19: Child Welfare Resources page
Washington LawHelp’s Child Protection System information(SC)
