Reuniting children with their families after foster care: An exploratory study of the family restoration process

Child protective service agencies are mandated to work towards restoring children who have been placed out-of-home to their biological families. At present, child protective service workers return children to their biological families following foster care placement under uncertain conditions in that little is known about what contributes to the overall success of the return. This study explores the family restoration process in the State of Connecticut. Cases of children who were in foster care placement and subsequently returned to their families were reviewed in an effort to gain a better understanding of successful family reunification. A prospective sample (n = 46) of closed case records was obtained from the local office of the state child protective services agency. All of the cases were closed between November 1, 1985 and December 31,1988. Cases were reviewed through the use of a framework of questions that was developed in order to examine the family restoration process. Social attachment theory provides the theoretical framework that guided the entire study. A ten phased model of the family restoration process implicit in agency policy and that integrates the principles of social attachment theory is presented as a standard for the return of children to their families. The study yielded that the actual process of family restoration diverged from the model as the process is complex and is not unidirectional. Certain phases may be repeated while other phases may be neglected. Seven themes emerged in the case review process and these themes are discussed in relation to the family restoration process. The study also suggests that several factors may contribute to successful family restoration including: (1) foster placement with a sibling or siblings and (2) provision of home-based, intensive family preservation services to families and children even if the children are already placed into foster care. Implications for policy and practice are discussed as well