Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

New Celebration Recognizes Parents Who Work Hard to Improve and Reunify

Commemorating parents who have worked hard to successfully reunify their families after significant struggles, the Washington Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care is launching an annual, statewide celebration of Family Reunification Month to take place every June.

Celebrations are currently planned in King, Mason, Pierce, Thurston, Snohomish, Spokane and Yakima counties. Information on these events can be found on the new Washington State Family Reunification Month web page at www.courts.wa.gov/familyreunification.

The Commission — a joint effort of the Supreme Court and the Department of Social and Health Services — has issued a proclamation announcing each June as statewide Family Reunification Month, encouraging courts and communities across the state to recognize parents for their commitment to overcoming obstacles in order to learn, improve and bring their families back together. The celebration also recognizes the work of social workers, court staff, foster parents, attorneys, parent mentors and others who become part of a team monitoring and guiding parents as they move forward.

“Parents can lose their way for many reasons that can include cycles of poverty, addiction, mental health issues and family dysfunction from their own childhoods,” said Retired Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge, co-chair of the Foster Commission. “Nevertheless, they have strong connections to their children and strong commitment to breaking these cycles and giving their children the stability and nurturing they need. It is very much something to celebrate when they succeed.”

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 adequate care and safety within the home. The majority of children separated from their parents — about 54 percent — return home after parents make improvements.

Information on the numbers, races, ages, genders and other characteristics of Washington children living in foster care through the end of 2017 is available from a new report by the Washington State Center for Court Research, a branch of the Administrative Office of the Courts. In 2017, more than 3,500 children returned home after a separation, while just over 1,360 foster children were adopted into new homes, and others aged out of the foster care system or went into guardianships. The research also details county-by-county information including length of times in out-of-home care and more.

The report, along with background on the Dependency Timelines research, can be found here.

For the past decade, family dependency court processes have evolved to include a team approach, similar to therapeutic drug or veteran courts, all of which address the underlying causes of problem behaviors and hold participants responsible for changing patterns and meeting significant requirements for having their cases dismissed.

“Families need a lot of support when they commit to facing their problems and bringing their families back together,” said Spokane County Superior Court Commissioner Michelle Ressa, a member of the new state Family Reunification Month Steering Committee. “We also want to recognize the social workers, court staff members, attorneys, parent mentors, foster parents, family members and others who guide the parents and support the children through this important process.”

The statewide annual research, the Foster Commission, and efforts such as the Parent Representation Program of the Office of Public Defense — recently expanded statewide — endeavor to work toward bringing children swiftly out of foster care, with the primary goal of returning them to stable, mended families.

“Parents can redeem themselves when they confront issues that led to their family’s separation,” said Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett, chair of the new Family Reunification Month Steering Committee. “They can grow in resiliency, breaking harmful cycles. There’s a reason safe reunification of the family is the primary goal of the law. Those connections are special. Families are the foundations of our communities, including those that have healed and become stronger.”

CONTACT: Bobbe Bridge, retired Supreme Court Justice and co-chair, Washington Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care, (206) 696-7503 ext. 12, BJBridge@ccyj.org;  Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett, chair, Family Reunification Month Steering Committee, jbassett@co.kitsap.wa.us; Spokane County Superior Court Commissioner Michelle Ressa, MRESSA@spokanecounty.org; Office of Public Defense Executive Director Joanne Moore, steering committee member, (360) 586-3164, Joanne.Moore@opd.wa.gov.