Governor Proclaims Reunification Month

Reunification Month

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, foster care is intended to be a short-term intervention for children who need the safety and security of an out-of-home placement; and

Whereas, reunification with family is the preferred outcome for children removed from their homes and placed into foster care; and

Whereas, in 2024, 1,421 children were successfully reunified with their families in North Carolina; and

Whereas, authentic and meaningful collaboration with families and child welfare, courts, service providers, and community members is vital to support the reunification of children and families; and

Whereas, research shows when children can safely return to their families, they are more likely to succeed in school and social settings, experience better mental health outcomes, and maintain connections to extended family and cultural identities; and

Whereas, there are numerous individuals, communities, and public and private organizations working to increase public awareness of the need to support children, youth, and families on the path to reunifying; and

Whereas, kinship parents - relatives, such as aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, extended family, or community members who care for children when their biological parents cannot - encourage reunification by extending their role beyond supporting the children in their care to supporting the children’s whole family; and

Whereas, the State of North Carolina encourages service, civic, and religious organizations, as well as child welfare agencies, courts, schools, businesses, and individuals to join in commemorating National Reunification Month with appropriate ceremonies and activities that recognize the importance of supporting our families and communities;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim June 2025, as “Reunification Month” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twentieth day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.