Family reunification refers to a planned activity under Section 30 of the Child Welfare Act aimed at reuniting the child with his or her family and ending foster care. The main focus of family reunification is to act in the best interests of the child. It is also often referred to as child reunification.

Reintegrating a child requires the same careful and systematic work as taking him or her into care. It requires that the reasons for taking the child into care are removed and that it is in the best interests of the child. Reunification cannot succeed if the experiences of the child, parents and foster parents are not taken into account and if support measures are not integrated and designed to meet the needs of the clients.

• According to the Child Welfare Act, custody is valid until further notice and the child's return home must be assessed annually in client plan negotiations. In Finland, it is not known exactly how many of the children placed in care return home, but it is estimated that only 10% do. There is room for improvement in this area. The need to increase family reunification affects a large number of children and families. This is an issue of human, social and economic importance. The family reunification work of the Perhepalvelukeskus in Kotisatama is a tool that can be used in this important work.

A planned family reunification approach should take into account the following principles:

Inclusion for al

• In assessing family reunification, the involvement of all parties is essential.
• Every child and adult should be able to express his or her opinion, taking into account his or her age, development and level of experience.

The best interests of the child

• Every child has his or her own individual interests. This interest must be considered as a whole and through concrete practical actions for the child.
• All parties are still allowed to have their own views on the best interests of the child.
• The child's safety must be ensured at all stages.
• The child has the right to a safe environment in which to grow up, and the continuity of meaningful relationships must be ensured. Relationships that are important to the child that have developed during the foster care placement should also be nurtured.
• Reunification has been worked on carefully and for a sufficiently long time.
• Children and families will continue to receive the support they need long enough after reunification.

Planning

• To achieve the reunification objective, a joint, concrete and written plan is drawn up on what needs to happen to make reunification possible.
• Support that meets the needs of the family is worked out together with the child and the family.

Transparency

• The plan is made together with the child, the young person, the family and other interested persons.
• Together, we talk about things by their real names.
• The Joint Family Assessment has a clear framework. The beginning, the end and the different formats of the meeting are thought through and written down together.

Feel free to ask more about our service! kotisatama@perhepalvelukeskus.fi