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FAMILY REUNIFICATION DAY
June 23, 2017
New Jersey Law Center
One Constitution Square, New Brunswick, NJ
New Jersey Legal Services offices have been involved in child welfare actions since 1966. LSNJ’s Family Representation Project (FRP) provides litigation representation, legal advice and administrative advocacy to parents, as well as aging-out youth and caregiver relatives in both private adoption and child welfare matters.
In keeping with the goals of the FRP, Legal Services of New Jersey joins the ABA Center on Children and the Law, the National Association of Counsel for Children, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Casey Family Programs, and the American Humane Association to promote National Reunification Days. The goal of National Reunification Day is to celebrate families and communities coming together and to raise awareness about the importance of family reunification to children in foster care. Reunification with family is the preferred outcome for children removed from their homes and placed in foster care. Every year, hundreds of thousands of children are successfully reunified with their families. Reunification takes work, commitment, and investment of time and resources by parents, family members, social workers, attorneys, courts and the community.
Legal Services of New Jersey celebrated New Jersey’s 8th Family Reunification Day on June 23, 2017. In furtherance of this goal of reunification for families and children, each year we focus on one of the critical services and procedures necessary to make reunification possible. This year’s focus was on improving educational outcomes for children involved in the child welfare system.
LSNJ honored several successfully reunified families from Camden, Burlington, Hudson, Gloucester, Essex, Middlesex, and Passaic counties as well as resource parents, relatives, DCPP caseworkers, CASA workers and attorneys as Reunification Day heroes. A new LSNJ video, Overcoming Barriers to Educational Success for Children in Out-of-Home Placement, was also shown at the event.
PRINCIPAL SPEAKERS INCLUDED:
Madelin F. Einbinder, Presiding Judge, Family Part, Ocean County
Maura McInerney, Senior Attorney at the Education Law Center, Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Overcoming Barriers to Educational Success for Children in Out-of-Home Placement
This video, produced by Legal Services of New Jersey and presented at the 2017 Family Reunification Day celebration, looks at the need for better systems, communication, and collaboration to better address the educational challenges faced by children in out-of-home care placements.
2017 Family Reunification Day Videos
Previous Family Reunification Day Videos
Keynote Speeches from Prior Years
For information on National Family Reunification Month:
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