Reunifying Families: the Importance of Community Support for Broken Families

Abstract

It is easy to understand the need for children to be removed from unsafe and unhealthy living conditions. Yet studies reviewed for this thesis argued that children thrive emotionally, mentally and developmentally better in their families’ dynamics. The question this paper will explore is how does the community help children return home to a safe and healthy environment that facilitates a thriving family? Children will experience foster care multiple times if they are returned home to unacceptable environments. Parents desperately want their children back, yet many are not prepared for their children’s return. This back and forth pattern creates a cycle of abuse and neglect that is a community issue. This thesis shares the stories of broken families, explores the gaps in services, examines the long-term strains on the foster care system and offers a recommendation for communities to support parents who are willing to do the work required to have their children returned to them.