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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Interagency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children

International Committee of the Red Cross, 2004

Core interagency resource on the principles of practice with separated and unaccompanied children. Includes prevention of separation, evacuation procedures, and tracing, reunification, and care arrangements.

Inter-agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children

ICRC, UNHCR, UNICEF, Save the Children UK, and International Rescue Committee, 2004

A comprehensive framework to ensure that the rights and needs of separated children are effectively addressed. Guidelines aim to promote and support preparedness, coordination and good practice based on lessons learned. Addresses all aspects of an emergency from preventing separations, to family tracing and reunification, through to long-term solutions.

Promising Practices in Reunification

Susan Dougherty, 2004

A list of US programs and program approaches that influence family reunification outcomes. Relevant for social workers, policy-makers, and others involved in foster care, after care, and family reunification.

A Global Policy for the Protection of Children Deprived of Parental Care

Claudia Cabral, 2004

This paper presents a set of global policy guidelines for the protection of children without parental care. It recommends the need for a global understanding of best practices within the legal framework of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Inter-agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children

Inter-agency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children , 2004

Provides guidance on role of humanitarian agencies in ensuring protection and appropriate care provision for separated and unaccompanied childre, with a particular emphasis on preserving family unity and ensuring identification, tracing and reunification is pursued.

Family Reunification, Alternative Care & Community Reintegration of Separated Children in Post-Conflict Rwanda

Brigette De Lay - IRC, 01 Aug 2003

This paper hopes to contribute to a sorely under-documented field of how to reintegrate institutionalized children back into the community in a post-conflict environment.

Working With Conflict-Affected Children and Adolescents Innovative Approaches and Practices Series: Community-Based Reunification & Reintegration of Separated Children in Post-Conflict Rwanda

Brigette De Lay - IRC-Rwanda, 01 Aug 2003

This paper hopes to contribute to a sorely under-documented field of how to reintegrate institutionalized children back into the community in a post-conflict environment. It provides a brief description of IRC Rwanda’s Reunification and Reintegration Program for Unaccompanied Children, emphasizing its innovative nature and promising field methodologies. It includes a review of core principles and a programmatic overview of center and community-based work, outlining key steps in the process. It also provides a brief review of good practices and offer some points of reflection for future work with children in post-conflict situations.

Analysis of the Reintegration of Demobilized Child Soldiers in Rwanda

UNICEF, 2003

Follow-up analysis of reintegration for demobilized child soldiers in Rwanda. Concludes with lessons learned for successful reintegration.

Not Seen or Heard: The Lives of Separated Refugee Children in Dar es Salaam

Gillian Mann, 2003

A study on the lives of separated refugee children in Dar es Salaam. The study highlights their experiences of abuse and discrimination, and their negative perception of refugee camps.

Working with Children in Unstable Situations: Principles and Concepts to Guide Psychosocial Responses

UNICEF, 2003

Discusses the psychosocial impacts of unstable situations on children and their families, with an emphasis on child development. Includes UNICEF’s position on policy and programming principles as well as strategies to address the psychosocial needs of children, families, and communities.