Reunification is a primary goal of foster care systems and the most
common permanency planning decision. It is defined as the return of
children placed in protective care to the home of their birth family and
used to describe the act of restoring a child in out-of-home care back
to the biological family. Yet reunification decision-making and the
process of reintegrating children into birth families remains under
researched. This Brief takes a look at family reunification knowledge
and research in Australia where there is evidence that most children
placed in protective care are eventually reunited with their birth
parents. It explores how a knowledge of reunification decision making
and outcomes can contribute to strengthening practice and informing
policy formulation and program planning in Child Welfare.