THE CAREGIVER-BIOLOGICAL PARENT RELATIONSHIP’S IMPACT ON REUNIFICATION

Child welfare cases that require the removal of children from the parents require court involvement. Children in foster care are placed in a foster home. Foster caregivers are responsible for the daily care of the court Dependent meanwhile their parent(s) is participating in Family Reunification services. Interviewing social workers with family reunification case work experience allowed for identification of common barriers or commonalities caused by the relationship between foster caregivers and biological parents. Visitations between the children and bio-parents are a great indicator of reunification likelihood based on the child-parent bond. The study was centered on child welfare social worker’s experience of families in juvenile dependency cases. There were significant studies that prove attachment is essential for the well-being and development of a child. However, the study found that there are a number of issues based on the caregiver/biological parent relationship. Participants reported that they must act as a mediator between the two parents in efforts to work toward reunification. Participants appear to focus more on mending the relationship rather than ensuring that the child has health attachments to either parent