June Is National Reunification Month
June 1, 2022
The month-long observance recognizes the people and efforts around the country that help families stay together.
It is also a time to celebrate the families who have overcome obstacles to providing a safe and loving home for their children, and are able to reunify after their child was placed in the child welfare system.
Richland County Children Services (RCCS) believes that all children have the right to a safe and stable home. When a child must be removed from their home due to being unsafe, RCCS works tirelessly toward reunification.
According to recent statistics, in 2021 about 4,500 Ohio children in the foster care system were successfully reunified with their birthparents.
About 12,000 of the children in the child welfare system in March 2022 were in family-based settings, with a quarter in treatment-level foster homes.
Roughly 2,000 other youth were in congregate care, but advocates say more could be in treatment-level foster care if there were enough qualified individuals to take older children with behavioral challenges and work toward family reunification.
