On the heels of National Foster Care month, June highlights National Reunification Month (once just a single day), bringing awareness to the primary permanency option recommended for children involved with the child welfare system. The Children’s Bureau provides history and evidence toward the permanency goal of reunifying families. Additional resources on reunification can be found through the Child Welfare Information Gateway and CASCW’s series of blogs on the topic after Governor Mark Dayton signed the Family Reunification Act in May of 2013.

The Permanency and Adoption Competency Certificate (PACC) Program, entering its sixth year of statewide cohorts, aims to increase a workforce of child welfare and clinical mental health providers aware of the complexities of permanency options including reunification. Many of PACC’s modules on trauma, grief and loss, attachment, and experiences of the adoption kinship network explore the impact of reunifying. Scholarship rates for both 2016-17 PACC cohorts in St. Paul and Mankato are still available, as well as additional support for tribal workers, and those traveling a significant distance to attend. Visit the PACC website for further information, and to enroll before September!