Rebuilding Connection, One Small Step at a Time

How The Family Resource Center Supports Families on the Journey to Reunification 

Every June, National Reunification Month recognizes the strength, resilience, and hard work of families working toward being together again. At the Family Resource Center (FRC), reunification is never viewed as a single moment or milestone. It is a process built through trust, consistency, support, and countless small victories that often go unseen. 

For families involved with the Division for Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), reunification can feel overwhelming. Parents are often navigating case plans, appointments, housing challenges, mental health concerns, substance use recovery, transportation barriers, and the emotional weight of being separated from their children, all at once. 

FRC’s Service Array programs walk alongside families through that process. 

Through programs like Child Health, Home-Based Therapeutic Services (HBTS), and Individualized Service Option (ISO), staff provide supervised parenting time, intensive case management, crisis response, parenting education, therapeutic support, transportation, and around-the-clock coordination designed to help families build stability and reconnect safely.  

As one program leader shared during a recent team conversation, “We are on their side. We’re there to support them.” 

More than Supervised Visits 

One of the biggest misconceptions about family reunification work is that it only involves supervised visits.  

“It’s not just supervised visits,” one staff member explained. “We’re building relationships between parents and their children.” 

The Child Health program provides supervised parenting time and education for parents working toward reunification after children have been removed from the home. Reunification Specialists support both parents and caregivers while helping families strengthen parenting skills, navigate systems, and work toward safe reunification. 

But the work often goes much deeper. 

FRC staff help parents learn how to engage with their children in meaningful ways, sometimes for the first time. They coach parents through difficult moments, encourage positive interactions, and help families rebuild connection and trust. 

“Sometimes families don’t even know how to play with their kids yet, and we support them through that,” Service Array Supervisor Jenn Bacon shared. “So, it’s making that connection and bond even stronger because they’re spending actual quality time together.” 

Sometimes progress looks dramatic. More often, it looks small. 

A healthier snack choice during a visit. 

A parent recognizing a behavior they want to change. 

A child feeling safe enough to run up for a hug. 

Those moments matter.  

“It’s the little things, really,” Service Array Program Manager Amy Maynes shared. “It’s not a marathon. It’s more like hopscotch. 

Walking Alongside Families Through Crisis 

FRC’s Home-Based Therapeutic Services (HBTS) and ISO programs provide intensive support for families facing significant challenges. 

HBTS offers in-home therapeutic intervention, crisis stabilization, family strengthening, and 24/7 support to help prevent placement disruptions and support reunification. Staff coordinate with community providers, assist with behavior management, and help families build stability during times of crisis. 

The Individual Service Option (ISO) program is FRC’s most intensive reunification program, providing families with a full team that may include a Reunification Specialist, Care Coordinator, Therapist, and Clinician. Services can include supervised visitation, treatment planning, crisis response, respite care, transportation, and coordination of medical, behavioral, and educational supports. 

For staff, supporting reunification means showing up consistently, not only during visits, but in the middle of real-life crises. 

Case management may involve helping parents navigate schools, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), therapists, medical appointments, housing applications, transportation, and community resources. Sometimes it means sitting beside someone in the hospital because no one else came. 

“You’re dedicated to that person what they need,” Amy explained. 

Families often begin services feeling guarded or distrustful. Many have experienced trauma, instability, or systems that made them feel judged rather than supported.  

Staff says trust develops through consistency. 

“I think just showing up weekly,” Amy said. “Being there. Interacting with them. Listening. Understanding them.” 

Over time, families begin to realize they are not facing the process alone. 

“We’re sometimes the only people rooting for them in that moment,” Jenn shared. “People who will actually sit down, listen to them, and not just criticize what they’re doing wrong.” 

Reunification is Built Through Relationships 

The heart of reunification work is relationship-building. 

Families are not expected to change overnight. Staff understand that many parents are working through generations of trauma, unhealthy relationship patterns, poverty, substance use, or mental health challenges. 

The goal is not perfection. 

The goal is progress. 

Sometimes progress is simply recognizing a different choice. 

“Dad is going to say something and then him being like, ‘Oh wait…I can’t do that. I need to do this,” Amy recalled. “He recognized that he needed to change.” 

That recognition matters. 

Those moments are signs that parents are learning, growing, and building healthier relationships with their children. 

Staff also emphasize that reunification is not something families navigate alone. The team approach across the Child Health, HBTS, and ISO programs allows staff to support one another while supporting families. 

“We support each other. We’re each other’s cheerleaders,” Jenn shared. “We all trust each other. We all respect each other. We know we’re all going through this together.” 

Celebrating the Strength of Families 

National Reunification Month is an opportunity to recognize the hard work families put into rebuilding stability, connection, and trust.  

Reunification is rarely simple. It requires courage from parents, patience from children, and relentless dedication from the professionals walking alongside them. 

At the Family Resource Center, staff witness every small victory along the way. 

A parent learning to play on the floor with their child. 

A family showing up to appointments consistently. 

A child who begins to feel safe. 

A parent who keeps trying. 

These are the moments that build stronger families, stronger relationships, and safer futures for children. 

And these are the moments worth celebrating during National Reunification Month and every day after.