Verification and Family Reunification

Separated and unaccompanied children are at a greater risk of abuse and exploitation, and are less likely to have their basic rights to health, education, and psychosocial well-being met. It is the responsibility of protection organisations and the government to ensure that such children are identified, documented, their circumstances assessed, and active efforts made to reunite them with their parents or normal guardians as quickly as possible.

All separated children and caretakers searching for family members should be registered. Where possible, immediate efforts should be made to quickly reunite children. They should be documented in order to begin tracing activities. If an adult says he or she is an immediate or extended family member of a child, the relationship should be verified before reunification is carried out. Children may have to stay in emergency care placements until family members are located and screened, however they should be reunited at the earliest opportunity.

Verification activities are vital for the protection of children. In some cases children may falsely claim separation in order to receive benefits, adults may identify the wrong child, or reunification may not be in the best interests of the child. In the chaos and distress in an emergency situation, verification becomes an essential step in safe family reunification. All verification and reunification activities must follow international standards and government policies, and require coordination among the agencies involved.

Reunification with family members should take into account the wider community context, to ensure the child will be welcomed and to prevent future separation. This may include family mediation, community sensitization, and/or particular services to help ensure acceptance and enable families to provide adequate care. It is also appropriate to involve community leaders and/or child protection groups to monitor a child’s safety and well-being after reunification. All placements with caretakers who are not immediate family members should involve careful screening and be monitored until satisfactory integration is assured. For children who are not able to be reunited with relatives, a longer term care plan will be needed.

The materials in this section include verification forms, country examples and good practice guidance for reunifying separated children with their families.

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Reunification and Reintegration of Children with Disabilities into Family Care: Guidance for Residential Care Facilities & Case Management Teams

Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC), 01 May 2023

This guidance aims to provide case workers and others at residential care facilities with the considerations they need to look at for the successful reunification and placement of children with disabilities into family care, including understanding disability and how it impacts children’s care, disability-inclusive case management, and preparing children with disabilities for reunification/placement.

Learning Brief: The Importance of Integrating Family Strengthening, Reunification, Case Management and Workforce Strengthening

Changing the Way We Care, 01 Feb 2023

This learning brief was developed as part of the CTWWC 2021 annual report and shares learning from several contexts and is intended to share learning on how family strengthening, reunification, case management and workforce strengthening can be integrated in care reform.

Looked After Children's Right to Contact with Birth Parents: An Australian Study

30 Dec 2022

In this paper, the authors report on a qualitative study conducted in Australia exploring practitioners' perceptions of barriers to contact between children in out-of-home care and their birth parents.

A Story of Transition of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in Tijuana, Mexico

Changing the Way We Care, 07 Oct 2022

This case study highlights the transition of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in Tijuana. It presents the highs and lows that come with a change process of moving from residential care to community-based services focused on family strengthening.

La historia de la evolución y transformación de Casa Eudes, dirigido por las Hermanas de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Buen Pastor, en Tijuana, México

Changing the Way We Care, 07 Oct 2022

Este estudio de caso destaca la transición de servicios de cuidado residencial a los basados en la familia y comunidad, realizado por las Hermanas de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Buen Pastor, en Tijuana B.C., México.

Case Studies: Stories of Transformation and Transition in Juarez and Tijuana, Mexico

Changing the Way We Care, 07 Oct 2022

The Transformation Process of Casa Eudes of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Reunifying or Leaving a Child Behind: How Official and Unofficial State Selection Shape Family Immigration in France

Julia Descamps, Cris Beauchemin, 29 Sep 2022

This paper aims to analyse how State policies, on the book and in practice, shape family reunification. It focuses on child migration under constraint in France, by analysing the timing and factors of (non-)reunification among foreign immigrants, whose legal conditions for family reunification are much more restrictive than for those who obtained the French citizenship.

Reunifying or Leaving a Child Behind: How Official and Unofficial State Selection Shape Family Immigration in France

Julia Descamps, Cris Beauchemin, 11 Sep 2022

The Voices of Children, Mothers, and Fathers: Can Parenting Programs Improve Reunification Processes in the Spanish Child Protection System?

M. Àngels Balsells Bailón, Aida Urrea-Monclús, Eduard Vaquero Tió, Laura Fernández-Rodrigo, 02 Aug 2022

This research highlights the importance of involving parents and their children in improving parenting skills and the reunification process by implementing parental education programs through a unique work plan. This study examined the experiences of families in the Spanish Child Protection System.

Wezwanie do wprowadzenia moratorium na adopcję międzynarodową w reakcji na konflikt zbrojny w Ukrainie

Interagency Statement, 01 Jul 2022

Adopcja międzynarodowa nie powinna być realizowana w trakcie lub bezpośrednio po sytuacji kryzysowej. Pozostając w zgodzie z decyzją rządu Ukrainy o zawieszeniu adopcji międzynarodowych, wzywamy państwa przyjmujące, organy międzynarodowe i organizacje humanitarne do przyjęcia zharmonizowanego podejścia i wprowadzenia moratorium na przysposobienie międzynarodowe dzieci z Ukrainy. Zgodnie z powszechnie przyjętą zasadą dotyczącą obowiązków państw wynikających z prawa międzynarodowego, w sytuacjach kryzysowych, takich jak konflikt zbrojny, adopcja nie jest właściwym działaniem wobec dzieci pozbawionych opieki. Dzieci, które zostały rozdzielone z rodzicami w trakcie kryzysu humanitarnego, nie można uznać za osierocone. Do czasu ustalenia, co się stało z jego rodzicami lub innymi bliskimi krewnymi, każde dziecko rozdzielone z opiekunami należy traktować jako posiadające żyjących krewnych bądź opiekunów prawnych, a co za tym idzie – niepotrzebujące adopcji.