Washington Courts: News and Information

“Families Made Whole”: June Starts Celebration of Reunited Families Across Washington

June is Family Reunification Month in Washington, and courts and counties across Washington this summer will recognize parents who worked to bring their families back together after a period of struggling. At least 16 counties have scheduled celebrations which also recognize the social workers, parent allies, court staff, attorneys and others who support the families through the process of reunifying. 

For many counties, this will be their first Family Reunification celebration since the beginning of the pandemic. Individual county celebrations are posted to Washington Courts’ Family Reunification Day page, which is updated regularly. 

“Reunification is such a beautiful word,” said Parent Representative Tonia McClanahan, who serves as co-chair of the Washington State Family Reunification Day Steering Committee. “We get to celebrate parents with their families and highlight all the hard work they've done to reunify. Many of these parents then become parent allies who use their lived experience to help other parents through the process. It is the best kind of mentoring.” 

The statewide recognition of Family Reunification Month is sponsored by the Washington Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care, which is co-chaired by Justice Barbara Madsen and Department of Children, Youth and Families Secretary Ross Hunter. The recognition highlights the important and primary goal of reunifying families when struggles have lead to separation. 

“We know children do better when they are with their families, but that can require hard work, sacrifice, and persistence,” said Justice Madsen. “When reunification is the result of those efforts it’s cause for celebration, not just for families, but for the whole community. Because healthy families are the backbone of a healthy society, we must commit to supporting and encouraging these families on their journeys.”

More than 8,000 children live in out-of-home care (“foster care”) in Washington state. Safe reunification of families is the primary goal of “dependency,” the legal process in which dependent children are taken into the oversight of the state because of deficiencies in care and safety within the home. 

The majority of children separated from their parents — about 60 percent — return home after parents make improvements that are guided by child welfare workers and monitored by courts. 

Family dependency court processes have evolved to include a team approach, similar to therapeutic drug or veteran courts, which addresses the underlying causes of problem behaviors, such as addictions and mental health issues. The dependency process requires specific improvements, provides guidance and monitoring, and holds participants accountable for changing patterns and meeting significant requirements for bringing their family back together and having their cases dismissed.

“As a former foster parent of over eight years and having worked in the area of dependency and reunification for over twenty years, I’m well aware that no matter the reason a child was removed from a parent’s custody, the child most always craves for return,” said Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett, co-chair of the Steering Committee. 

“Helping a parent along that path and seeing a family made whole once again should be the primary goal for all of us, and remains the best outcome for a child in the majority of dependency cases,” he said. “We have celebrated adoption day for years, but more attention and appreciation must be paid to those parents who have put in the hard work to merit reunification. Celebrate family!”

The Washington Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care was established in 2005 and brings together judges, legislators, attorneys, child welfare officials, and representatives of foster parents, birth parents and foster youth who have the knowledge and ability to improve the journeys of foster children through the dependency process. The Commission acts by improving court processes, laws, regulations and policies so children can move safely and more quickly into stable homes, either through reunification with parents or through adoption.

CONTACT: Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett, Co-Chair, Family Reunification Month Steering Committee, jbassett@co.kitsap.wa.us; Parent Representative Tonia McClanahan, Steering Committee Co-Chair, tonia.ssw.wa.opd@gmail.com; or Lorrie Thompson, Senior Communications Officer, Lorrie.Thompson@courts.wa.gov.