This stage is concerned with developing a framework to support reintegration and preparing the social work team and other stakeholders for implementation.

Activities that may occur during this stage include:

• Forming a social work team. This may be internal or external to the transitioning organisation, a combination of both, or may include collaboration between government social workers and civil society employed social workers.
• Articulating a social work practice framework: Exploring beliefs, values, principles, cultural understanding, skills, theories and past experience. Where social worker’s previous practice has been rooted in institutional care or systems reliant on institutional care this is necessary to reorient social workers towards family and community services/solutions.
• Forming a multi-disciplinary team to provide oversight to the reintegration process, including local government where possible and appropriate.
• Developing or integrating Standard Operating Procedures for key aspects of reintegration including family tracing, child and family assessment, placement decision making (including interaction with gate keeping panels/mechanisms), family connection, preparing children to leave care, follow up, and case closure (these may have already been developed by government or by other experienced organizations operating within the country context).
• Developing or setting up the case management system, utilizing the national system where one exists or where one has been developed that integrates with the national information management system.
• Conducting training for staff and social workers to set clear expectations around the reintegration process, and train staff/practitioners in the SoPs, case management system that will be used and also to develop technical social work skills. 
• Conducting service mapping and/or looking at the findings from previously conducted service mapping exercises to identify potential referral partners
• Developing a referral process, including standards, a referral partner vetting process and partnership agreements so that the case plan can include linking families and children to the externally run services they need
• Developing a social work supervision framework
• Setting up support services for young people leaving care/ aftercare programs
• Engaging in learning and peer exchange with other practitioners experienced in reintegration
• Assigning caseloads to social workers
• Introducing social workers to the children/young people and developing trust
• Addressing initial gaps in children’s documentation/case files
• Conducting social worker-led child wellbeing assessments