Why identification matters: an explorative study on six cases of family reunification.

The escalating phenomenon of migration, accompanied by a disturbing surge in associated tragedies, has persistently violated internationally protected human rights. Absence of physical evidence, namely the presence of adequately identified corpses, may impede the full enjoyment of human rights and-in some cases-the course of justice as it obstructs the initiation of legal proceedings against individuals implicated in causing such catastrophes. It also presents administrative obstacles, as death certificates are indispensable in legitimizing statuses like orphanhood and widowhood. Family reunification, particularly for orphans, plays a significant role for those attempting to reconnect with their relatives all over the world. Likewise, for mothers, the acknowledgment of their marital status or widowhood can be a pathway to regain their marginalized right to social life. To elucidate this issue, we analyzed six representative cases from the tragic October 3, 2013, shipwreck near the Italian island of Lampedusa, where 366 individuals were retrieved dead from the sea. These cases underscore the practical challenges involved, highlighting the compelling need for continued efforts to ensure that this burdensome problem transcends from being a mere ethical, moral, and legal discourse. Although considerable progresses, these cases also reveal that substantial work still lies ahead. There is a pressing need for improved mechanisms to certify kinship ties, which are often the limiting factor in many reunifications, and can hinder the granting of custody to children. The severity and far-reaching implications of this problem necessitate thoughtful attention and action, especially considering the ongoing escalation in migration and related fatalities.

Latinx adolescent migrant challenges in reuniting with family members.

Family reunification occurs when migrants relocate without intact family units, and later reunite in new countries. Family serial migration and reunification is a global issue, relating to both voluntary and involuntary migrants who seek physical safety, psychological well-being, and economic self-sufficiency in new countries. Early studies alluded to a joyful family reconsolidation, while recent studies have found stressful reunions. This study provides an overview of the family reunification process of Latinx adolescents who have migrated to join their families in the United States (U.S.). The study conducted detailed interviews of 20 Latinx adolescents, aged 12-18 years old, in order to provide an in-depth examination of their pre and postmigration experiences. The results reveal three phases of family reunification: Latinx adolescents' experiences after their parent(s) left to migrate to the U.S.; their own migration journey to the U.S.; and their family reunification, adaptation, and adjustment to the U.S. The findings suggest that it is essential for mental health professionals to understand and acknowledge the multiple psychosocial challenges of Latinx adolescents' reuniting with their families in a new country. This includes feelings of abandonment and grief after their parent(s) departure to the U.S., their own migration journey to the U.S. which may have been experienced as traumatic, and psychosocial challenges in adjustment and adaptation in the U.S. after family reunification.

Waiting for family reunification and the risk of mental disorders among refugee fathers: a 24-year longitudinal cohort study from Denmark.

PURPOSE: To examine whether family separation caused by prolonged waiting for family reunification is associated with the risk of mental disorders among refugee fathers. METHOD: Based on full-population Danish registry data covering 1995-2015, we mapped arrival patterns among nuclear refugee family members resettled in Denmark (n = 76,776) and established a cohort of refugee fathers (n = 6176) who all arrived alone and later obtained family reunification with their wife and children. The fathers were followed for up to 24 years, from the day their residence permit was issued until their first psychiatric diagnosis, emigration, death, or study end, whichever came first. Using Cox proportional hazard regression, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) of being diagnosed with a mental disorder (i) for the period while the fathers were still separated from their family and (ii) across varying lengths of family separation. RESULTS: The HR of any mental disorder was 2.10 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.57-2.81) for fathers still separated from their family compared with those who had obtained family reunification. The HR increased with longer family separation. Compared with fathers separated for < 9 months, the HR of any mental disorder was 1.43 (95% CI 1.08-1.89) for 9-11 months' separation, increasing to 2.02 (95% CI 1.52-2.68) for 18-23 months' separation. Results were driven by post-traumatic stress disorder. CONCLUSION: Fathers waiting for their wives and children face an increased risk of mental disorders. Countries receiving refugees should be aware that delaying family reunification can lead to adverse mental health effects.

"Se extraña todo:" Family separation and reunification experiences among unaccompanied adolescent migrants from Central America.

There has been a record surge of unaccompanied immigrant minors (UAMs) entering the United States, with 86% of those apprehended at the US-Mexico border originating from the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. A majority of immigrant children are separated from either one or both parents at various points during the migration process. Although average separations last 4 or more years, and may be deeply distressing, there is little research on family separations among Central American UAMs. Further, little is known about the developmental impact of separations from extended family networks, or about reunification. To address these empirical gaps, this study used community-participatory qualitative methods to deeply explore the lived experiences and emotional repercussions of family separation and reunification. The sample included 42 adolescents who had all recently migrated to the Western United States from Central America. Thematic analyses revealed that separation experiences are distressing, multifaceted, and have important developmental implications for Central American UAMs. Results illustrate the socioemotional toll that family separation and reunification can have on this vulnerable population, and highlight the need for culturally responsive, developmentally informed, and contextually appropriate care focused on family reunification in order to foster healthy psychosocial adjustment among UAMs.

Effects of a video feedback parent training program during child welfare visitation.

Behavioral parent training programs have documented efficacy for improving behaviors among parents and their children and are frequently used by child welfare agencies to prevent removal of a child from the parental home or to facilitate reunification. Although an ideal time for parent training might be during supervised visits where parents may practice skills with their children under the guidance and support of a therapist or caseworker, this is not typically the case. Most often, parents within the child welfare system receive parent training in small groups without their children present, and to date, few studies have examined effects of behavioral parent training interventions during supervised visitation. In this study, concurrent multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to examine effects of a behavioral parent training program, Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND), on parental skill acquisition with four mothers who had lost custody of their children but were being considered for reunification. Children emitted little or no problem behaviors during baseline or intervention, so parenting behavior was the primary dependent variable. Results obtained across participants documented a clear functional relation between implementation of the FIND intervention and increases in developmentally supportive parenting behaviors. Results of social validity and contextual fit measures suggest the intervention was perceived by mothers to be positive, feasible, and appropriate within the child welfare context. Practical and conceptual implications, limitations of this study, and directions for future research are discussed.

Experiences of Undocumented Parents Reuniting with Children Who Entered the United States as Unaccompanied Minors.

In 2021, the United States saw an exponential influx of unaccompanied migrant children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Upon apprehension at the border, unaccompanied children are placed in the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) temporary shelter facilities. The ORR is responsible for locating, vetting, and releasing the children to their family, guardians, or a suitable sponsor. Undocumented parents seeking reunification may fear cross-examination and background checks. This study aimed to explore the experiences of undocumented families reunified with their children with the help of a community-based organization (CBO). A collective case study method was used to collect qualitative data from seven parents. Respondent parents expressed their rationale for allowing their children to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, their experience with the ORR, and the reasons they pursued community-based guidance. The results document the depth of trauma and difficulties parents of unaccompanied migrant children face with American service providers. It is recommended that immigration-related government agencies form relationships with culturally diverse organizations that are trusted by immigrant communities.

Impacts of race on family reunification: A longitudinal study comparing exits from Quebec's child welfare system.

BACKGROUND: In the United States, Black children spend more time in out-of-home placement than other children and are less likely to experience family reunification following involvement with child welfare services. Within Canada, very few studies have examined Black children's exits from the child welfare system and factors influencing their service trajectory. OBJECTIVE: This study, the first of its kind in Canada, uses longitudinal clinical administrative data to examine reunification outcomes for Black children following placement in out-of-home care. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The study population includes 1395 children receiving ongoing child welfare services in Quebec between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2011. METHODS: A longitudinal research design from anonymized clinical administrative data extracted from a single child welfare agency in Montreal. Survival analysis using a Kaplan Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression examined the trajectory and chances of family reunification from the point of each child's initial placement. RESULTS: Black children spend longer lengths of time in out-of-home placement and are less likely to experience family reunification when compared to other children. Poorer reunification outcomes for Black children were associated with placement instability, the age of the child and reasons for child welfare involvement. CONCLUSIONS: While we tend to prioritize prevention services for vulnerable communities, this study indicates that attention must be given to services all throughout Black children's service trajectory to ensure that these children are able to exit the child welfare system in a timely manner.

Driving for Success in Family Reunification-Professionals' Views on Intervention.

Family reunification is a complex process and is consensually considered the best solution for children in care, as soon as the family has changed the dysfunctional patterns that prevent child safety and well-being. Intervention throughout the entire process is crucial to the success of family reunification. This study aimed to explore and understand child protection professionals' views on factors influencing (un)successful family reunification trajectories. Using a qualitative design, 33 Portuguese child protection professionals participated in five focus groups. The thematic analysis revealed a set of influential factors within three different systemic levels: child, family, and child welfare system. The latter level was clearly predominant, pointing to the powerful role of the intervention as a vehicle for successful family reunification. The results showed the relevance attributed by the professionals to some main intervention guidelines, children-professionals' relationships, multisystemic assessment and intervention, coordinated work of intervention teams, and sufficient time between the court decision and the child's re-entry into the family home. The need for early intervention and its continuity after the child's reintegration into the home also emerged as relevant factors. This study provides in-depth knowledge of professionals' views on the intervention process, thus contributing to a comprehensive understanding of (un)successful family reunification trajectories.

Strategies to Help CWS-Involved Parents Complete Substance Use Treatment and Protect their Children in Hawai'i.

Each year in Hawai'i, an estimated 500 - 650 children (about half of confirmed cases of child abuse or neglect) are at high risk of entering foster care because of their parent's substance use disorder (SUD). Children in foster care because of parental SUD are less likely to be reunified with their parents. Experiences in foster care may cause long-term negative health consequences for the children. Early identification and engagement of parents in SUD treatment can improve outcomes for parents and children. The child welfare and SUD treatment systems in Hawai'i are not set up to work together to maximize the likelihood that parents will complete treatment and families will stay together. This article recommends evidence-based interventions including recovery coaches, peer partners, and Family Drug Courts (FDCs). Recovery coaches and peer partners support parents in early engagement and completion of SUD treatment. FDCs provide an interdisciplinary approach that successfully serves parents involved with Child Welfare Services (CWS) who have complex needs. Effectively implementing these interventions in Hawai'i requires an improved infrastructure to collect and analyze data about parents with SUD and their children, parents' SUD needs and status in treatment, and families' level of CWS involvement. Data about the availability and delivery of services for CWS-involved parents with SUD are also needed to understand service efficiency and effectiveness. These suggested interventions would help more parents in Hawai'i complete treatment and keep their children safely with them, thereby protecting children's current and long-term health.

Finding the graves: SLED Family Reunification Program.

PURPOSE: In 2015, the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agreed to consolidate data recorded by MoHS and international partners during the Ebola epidemic and create the Sierra Leone Ebola Database (SLED). The primary objectives were helping families to identify the location of graves of their loved ones who died from any cause at the time of the Ebola epidemic and creating a data source for epidemiological research. The Family Reunification Program fulfills the first SLED objective. The purpose of this paper is to describe the Family Reunification Program (Program) development, functioning, and results. METHODS: The MoHS, CDC, SLED Team, and Concern Worldwide developed, tested, and implemented methodology and tools to conduct the Program. Family liaisons were trained in protection of the personally identifiable information. RESULTS: The SLED Family Reunification Program allows families in Sierra Leone, who did not know the final resting place of their loved ones, to be reunited with their graves and to bring them relief and closure. CONCLUSION: Continuing family requests in search of the burial place of loved ones 5 years after the end of the epidemic shows that the emotional burden of losing a family member and not knowing the place of burial does not diminish with time. As of February 2021, the Program continues and is described to allow its replication for other emergency events including COVID-19 and new Ebola outbreaks.

A 'civic turn' in Scandinavian family migration policies? Comparing Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Family migration policy, once basing citizens and resident foreigners' possibilities to bring in foreign family members mainly on the right to family life, is increasingly a tool states use to limit immigration and to push newcomers to integrate into civic and economic life. The family migration policies of Denmark, Norway and Sweden range widely - from more minimal support and age requirements to high expectations of language skills, work records and even income levels. While in Denmark and increasingly in Norway growing sets of requirements have been justified on the need to protect the welfare state and a Nordic liberal way of life, in Sweden more minimal requirements have been introduced in the name of spurring immigrants' labor market integration even as rights-based reasoning has continued to dominate. In all three countries, new restrictions have been introduced in the wake of the refugee crisis. These cases show how prioritizations of the right to family life vis-à-vis welfare-state sustainability have produced different rules for family entry, and how family migration policies are used to different extents to push civic integration of both new and already settled immigrants.

The Effects of Socioeconomic Vulnerability, Psychosocial Services, and Social Service Spending on Family Reunification: A Multilevel Longitudinal Analysis.

Socio-environmental factors such as poverty, psychosocial services, and social services spending all could influence the challenges faced by vulnerable families. This paper examines the extent to which socioeconomic vulnerability, psychosocial service consultations, and preventative social services spending impacts the reunification for children placed in out-of-home care. This study uses a multilevel longitudinal research design that draws data from three sources: (1) longitudinal administrative data from Quebec's child protection agencies; (2) 2006 and 2011 Canadian Census data; and, (3) intra-province health and social services data. The final data set included all children (N = 39,882) placed in out-of-home care for the first time between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2013, and followed from their initial out-of-home placement. Multilevel hazard results indicate that socioeconomic vulnerability, controlling for psychosocial services and social services spending, contributes to the decreased likelihood of reunification. Specifically, socioeconomic vulnerability, psychosocial services, and social services spending account for 24.0% of the variation in jurisdictional reunification for younger children less than 5 years of age, 12.5% for children age 5 to 11 years and 21.4% for older children age 12 to 17 years. These findings have implications for decision makers, funding agencies, and child protection agencies to improve jurisdictional resources to reduce the socioeconomic vulnerabilities of reunifying families.

Evaluating the statistical power of DNA-based identification, exemplified by 'The missing grandchildren of Argentina'.

Methods and implementations of DNA-based identification are well established in several forensic contexts. However, assessing the statistical power of these methods has been largely overlooked, except in the simplest cases. In this paper we outline general methods for such power evaluation, and apply them to a large set of family reunification cases, where the objective is to decide whether a person of interest (POI) is identical to the missing person (MP) in a family, based on the DNA profile of the POI and available family members. As such, this application closely resembles database searching and disaster victim identification (DVI). If parents or children of the MP are available, they will typically provide sufficient statistical evidence to settle the case. However, if one must resort to more distant relatives, it is not a priori obvious that a reliable conclusion is likely to be reached. In these cases power evaluation can be highly valuable, for instance in the recruitment of additional family members. To assess the power in an identification case, we advocate the combined use of two statistics: the Probability of Exclusion, and the Probability of Exceedance. The former is the probability that the genotypes of a random, unrelated person are incompatible with the available family data. If this is close to 1, it is likely that a conclusion will be achieved regarding general relatedness, but not necessarily the specific relationship. To evaluate the ability to recognize a true match, we use simulations to estimate exceedance probabilities, i.e. the probability that the likelihood ratio will exceed a given threshold, assuming that the POI is indeed the MP. All simulations are done conditionally on available family data. Such conditional simulations have a long history in medical linkage analysis, but to our knowledge this is the first systematic forensic genetics application. Also, for forensic markers mutations cannot be ignored and therefore current models and implementations must be extended. All the tools are freely available in Familias (http://www.familias.no) empowered by the R library paramlink. The above approach is applied to a large and important data set: 'The missing grandchildren of Argentina'. We evaluate the power of 196 families from the DNA reference databank (Banco Nacional de Datos Genéticos, http://www.bndg.gob.ar. As a result we show that 58 of the families have poor statistical power and require additional genetic data to enable a positive identification.

Marriage Migration Versus Family Reunification: How Does the Marriage and Migration History Affect the Timing of First and Second Childbirth Among Turkish Immigrants in Germany?

Our study focuses on the fertility of first-generation female and male Turkish migrants in Germany. To evaluate whether timing effects such as fertility disruption or an interrelation of marriage, migration and childbirth occur, we examine first and second births in the years before and after immigration to Germany. The Turkish sample of the Generations and Gender Survey which was conducted in 2006 offers the unique opportunity to examine Turkish immigrants as a single immigrant category. We question the common understanding that Turkish immigrants who arrived to Germany after 1973 mainly arrived for family reunification resulting in high birth intensities immediately after immigration. To distinguish different circumstances under which male and female immigrants have arrived to Germany, we include the combined marriage and migration history of the couple. We find that first birth probabilities are elevated during the years immediately following migration. But this effect is not universal among migrants with different marriage and migration histories. It appears that the arrival effect of high birth intensities is particularly high among female immigrants and is evident only among marriage migrants, that is Turks who married a partner who already lived in Germany at the time of the wedding. By contrast, among those who immigrated for family reunification, we do not find such an arrival effect.

Acolhimento institucional é creche? a reintegração familiarl / Is the institutional care nursery? the family reunification / ¿Acogida institucional es guardería? la reintegración familiar

O acolhimento institucional e reintegração familiar são processos relacionais que envolvem vários sistemas: família, instituição de acolhimento e justiça. Neste texto, objetivou-se conhecer a compreensão que uma família com filhos em acolhimento tem sobre essa medida de proteção e sobre o processo de reinserção familiar. Para isso, realizaram-se pesquisa documental e entrevista com uma mãe de crianças institucionalizadas. Os resultados foram analisados com base na hermenêutica de profundidade. Obtiveram-se dois núcleos de compreensão: história familiar e os significados do acolhimento e da reintegração familiar. A história familiar apresenta instabilidade dos acontecimentos, descontinuidade relacional e a permanente luta pela sobrevivência. Os significados do acolhimento para a família relacionam-se à proteção dos filhos, e a reintegração familiar apresenta posições paradoxais de querer ou não o filho de volta.

The institutional care and family reunification are relational processes which involve multiple systems - family, the institution and justice. In this text, this paper aimed to understand the meaning about institutionalization and family reunification for a family with children in foster care. The method was documentary research and interview with a family. The results were analyzed from the Hermeneutics of Depth. This research had two cores of understanding: family history and meanings of institutionalization and family reunification. Family history exhibits instability of events, relational discontinuity and ongoing fight for survival. The meanings of the host family are related to the protection of children and family reunification presents paradoxical position of wanting or not the child back.

La acogida institucional y la reintegración familiar son procesos relacionales que involucran múltiples sistemas - familia, institución de acogida y justicia. En este texto, el objetivo era conocer la comprensión que una familia con hijos acogidos tiene sobre esa medida de protección y sobre el proceso de reinserción familiar. Para eso se realizarán investigación documental y entrevistas con una madre de niños institucionalizados. Los resultados fueron analizados a partir de la hermenéutica de la profundidad. Se obtuvieron dos núcleos de comprensión: historia familiar y los significados de la acogida y la reinserción familiar. La historia familiar presenta inestabilidad de los acontecimientos, discontinuidad relacional y permanente lucha por la supervivencia. Los significados de la acogida para la familia están relacionados con la protección de los hijos, y la reintegración familiar presenta posiciones paradójicas de querer o no al hijo de vuelta.

La predicción afectiva positiva como factor de protección socio-emocional en madres transnacionales antes y después de la reagrupación familiar: relación con la satisfacción con la vida, regulación emocional, soledad social, resiliencia y estrés / Positive affective prediction as a factor of social emotional protection in transnational mothers before and after family reunification: relationship with life satisfaction, emotional regulation, social loneliness, resilience and stress

La predicción afectiva es un proceso de sobrestimación emocional previo a un acontecimiento. Suele asociarse a altas expectativas y a un coste socioemocional posterior. Para estudiar las diferencias entre las predicciones afectivas antes y después de la reagrupación familiar transnacional, se analizan a 188 madres inmigrantes residentes en España, bien expectantes por reagrupar, bien reagrupadas con sus hijos. Se hipotetiza y confirma la existencia de diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre las mujeres en situación antes y después en relación a satisfacción con la vida, control emocional, resiliencia, estrés y soledad social. Además, se, resalta la función positiva del pronóstico afectivo en el ajuste socio cognitivo de las madres transnacionales. Previamente al evento, éste media entre la satisfacción y la soledad social, y después de la reagrupación, tiene una función mediadora entre la satisfacción vital y el descontrol emocional asociado al encuentro lo que expresa su papel protector en la conciliación familiar.

Affective forecasting is an emotional process of overestimation of the future. Previous studies indicate that if these expectations are excessive and do not coincide with reality they can lead to a high socio emotional cost after the event. In order to analyze the differences in affective predictions before and after transnational reunification 188 immigrant mothers resident in Spain were divided in two groups according to whether or not they had regrouped with their children. Both groups were homogeneous in socio-demographics (age, number of children, education level, employment status, and reasons for migrating). The results confirm the existence of significant differences between emotional experience, before and after reunification. It was found that affective forecasting played a positive role before and after the event for the variables affecting socio-cognitive regulation in both groups (well-being, emotional regulation, resilience and stress), but in different manner during the process of transnational family reunification.

O processo de reinserção familiar sob a ótica das equipes técnicas das instituições de acolhimento / Family reinsertion processes as seen from the standpoint of foster care technical teams / El procedimiento de reintegración familiar según experiencias del personal de instituciones de amparo

Profissionais das instituições de acolhimento vêm encontrando sérias dificuldades para promover a reinserção familiar das crianças e adolescentes, contribuindo para um prolongado tempo de institucionalização, que pode trazer inúmeras consequências negativas para o desenvolvimento saudável destas. Este estudo investigou a visão dos integrantes das equipes técnicas de seis instituições de acolhimento de um município do Espírito Santo acerca do processo de reinserção familiar de crianças e adolescentes. Foram realizados dois grupos focais, com a participação de 12 técnicos. Também foi utilizada a técnica da inserção ecológica e os dados foram registrados em Diário de Campo. Os resultados indicam credibilidade e envolvimento dos técnicos nos processos de reinserção familiar, apesar das dificuldades por eles destacadas: a não adesão das famílias aos programas de apoio familiar, a incompreensão de alguns componentes da rede sobre a família extensa, a falta de recursos financeiros das famílias e a valorização da instituição, por parte dos pais, como local ideal para seus filhos permanecerem. Superar a visão de família nuclear, promover articulação com a rede sócio assistencial e jurídica e aplicar o princípio da brevidade são os grandes desafios que as equipes técnicas devem vencer para promover com mais eficiência a reinserção familiar.

Foster care professionals have encountered difficulties in their attempt to promote the reinsertion of children and adolescents with their families within their own community. This fact alone is what forces those young persons to remain in foster care institutions for a longer period of time than is thought advisable. This, in turn, triggers off a great number of negative impacts on the development of those youths as human beings. As regards the process of family reinsertion, this paper investigated the technical teams of six foster care institutions located in Espírito Santo, Brazil. Two focus groups were conducted, with the participation of 12 technicians. The ecological insertion technique was also used, and the data were all recorded in a Field Journal. The results indicate credibility and involvement of the technicians in the reinsertion process despite all these difficulties: the non-adherence of the families to the family support program; the lack of understanding of some of the network's components as regards extended families; the family's insufficiency of financial resources; and the overvaluation of the institution as the ideal environment where their children can stay. Questioning the notion that all families are nuclear, encouraging improvements in the interaction between foster care institutions and the support network, and applying the principle of brevity are the major challenges that technical teams have to face in order to efficiently promote family reinsertion.

Los profesionales de instituciones de amparo están encontrando sérias dificultades al fomentar la reintegración familiar de niños y adolescentes, lo cual ocasiona una permanencia más prolongada en estas instituciones - situación que provoca numerosas consecuencias negativas para el sano desarrollo de los mismos. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo conocer la opinión de los integrantes del personal técnico de seis instituciones de amparo de un municipio de Espírito Santo, Brasil, sobre la reintegración familiar. Fueron realizados dos grupos focales, con la participación de 12 técnicos. Fue utilizada también la técnica de inserción ecológica, y los datos fueron registrados en Diario de Campo. Los resultados demuestran la credibilidad y comprometimiento por parte del personal técnico, a pesar de las dificultades por ellos registradas: la falta de apoyo de las familias en relación a los programas de ayuda familiar, la intransigencia de algunos integrantes de la red respecto a la familia extensa, la falta de recursos financieros de las familias y la valorización de la institución, por parte de los padres de familia, como establecimiento ideal para la permanencia de sus hijos. Superar la opinión del familia nuclear, fomentar el acoplamiento con la red socio-asistencial y jurídica y poner en práctica el principio de la brevedad son los grandes desafíos que el personal técnico debe vencer para impulsar con más eficiencia la reintegración familiar.

Processo de reinserção familiar: estudo de casos de adolescentes que viveram em instituição de abrigo / Family reunification process: case studies of adolescents who lived in shelters

O objetivo desse estudo foi compreender longitudinalmente o processo de reinserção familiar de três adolescentes que moravam em abrigos. Visitas domiciliares e Entrevistas de Reinserção foram utilizadas com os participantes e um membro da família, durante um período que variou de seis a 18 meses. Os resultados indicaram que as famílias se encontravam em situação de vulnerabilidade; não houve uma preparação dos jovens e familiares para o retorno; e não foi disponibilizado apoio após o desligamento da instituição. Dois dos adolescentes demonstraram satisfação com a reinserção após alguns meses de desligamento, embora a situação de pobreza e baixo desempenho escolar fossem percebidos como problemas pelos participantes. No terceiro caso, problemas na condução da reinserção fizeram com que a adolescente fosse reabrigada. Discute-se a necessidade de políticas públicas e de programas desenvolvidos por profissionais capacitados, em parceria com os abrigos, que visem à promoção da convivência familiar.

The goal of this study was to longitudinally understand the family reunification process of three adolescents who lived in shelters. Home visits and Reunification Interview were used with the adolescents and a family member, during a time that ranged from six to 18 months. The results highlighted that such families socially vulnerable; there was no family and adolescents preparation for the reinsertion; and there was no support after such process of detachment from the institution. Two adolescents were satisfied with reunification after some months, although the poor conditions and low academic achievement had been perceived as a problem by the participants. On the third case, there were problems to handle reunification and the adolescent returned to the shelter. The need of public policies and programs, develop by able professionals, engaging with the shelters, are discussed, aiming to promotion family reunification.

Institucionalização e reinserção familiar de crianças e adolescentes / Institutionalization and family reunification process of children and adolescents

Este artigo traz reflexões sobre a reinserção familiar de crianças e adolescentes institucionalizados, apresentando estratégias e procedimentos necessários à preparação do seu retorno à convivência em família. Discute aspectos históricos e teóricos que caracterizam a família e o abrigo como contextos primários e abrangentes de desenvolvimento humano, especialmente nas circunstâncias de vida em que a criança e o adolescente se encontram em situação de vulnerabilidade social e existe grave ameaça à sua integridade física, psicológica e moral. Apresenta resultados de estudos e pesquisas que procuram revelar as condições em que a criança e adolescente vivenciam transições importantes como o seu afastamento do núcleo familiar e posterior acolhimento por uma instituição de abrigo. Assim como discute questões trazidas por diversos autores acerca dos limites e possibilidade do processo de desligamento de um programa de acolhimento institucional e o caminho de volta para casa sob a ótica dos sujeitos envolvidos. Destaca, sobretudo, a importância de medidas sociais adotadas pela instituição para preservar e fortalecer os vínculos familiares, promovendo um retorno rápido e seguro ao convívio com os pais e demais familiares. Situa a discussão do direito à convivência familiar no campo da política de atenção às necessidades básicas e especiais da criança e do adolescente em situação de vulnerabilidade social, assim como o valor dessa experiência para o desenvolvimento humano.

This article contains reflections on family reintegration of institutionalized children and adolescents, presenting strategies and procedures needed to prepare his return to living with the family. Discusses historical and theoretical perspectives that characterize the family and the shelter as primary contexts and comprehensive human development, especially in the circumstances of life in which children and adolescents are in a situation of social vulnerability and there is serious threat to their physical, psychological and moral. Presents results of studies and research aimed at revealing the conditions in which children and adolescents experience major transitions such as being away from the family nucleus and subsequent reception by a shelter. As discussed matters brought by several authors about the limits and possibilities of the process of shutting down a program of residential care and the way back home from the perspective of those involved. It highlights in particular the importance os social measures adopted by the institution to preserve and strengthen family bonds, promoting safe and quick return to living with parents and other family members. It situates the discussion of the right to family policy in the field of attention to basic needs and special conditions of children and adolescents in situations of social vulnerability, as well as the value of this experience for human development.