Healing Together: Reunification is not the Finish Line

"The biggest challenge was when we realized that reunification was not the finish line."

Amanda Myer was one of several panelists at the Crawford County 100 Families Initiative not only because of her professional role as a Business Analyst for Restore Hope, but because of her personal experience as a mother who was reunified with her children in 2018.

For Myer and many other families, reunification can feel like the end goal, the day children return home and a case closes. Yet after reunification, Myer and her family still faced significant challenges.

"We still struggled with addiction. We still struggled with poverty."

The journey toward emotional and financial stability took years. While reunification brought her family back together, it did not erase the obstacles that led to separation in the first place.

That experience resonated with Bobby Boyakin, Business Administrator at Heritage Church, who emphasized the importance of long-term support from faith communities and neighbors.

"There is no one size fits all approach. Everyone is unique as an individual, and their situation is unique. Recovery timelines vary."

Heather Sanders Webb, Director of Operations and Development for Arkansas Family Alliance, has seen firsthand that reunification is not a single event but an ongoing process. She emphasized that lasting success comes when families have people walking alongside them long after the case closes and formal services end.

"Reunification is a continuous path and it's all about the community coming together."

Myer explained that most of the support available to her family came while her children were in foster care. After reunification, the need for encouragement, accountability, and guidance became even more important. The challenges did not disappear when her children returned home, but for Myer, facing those challenges together was far better than facing them apart.

"We had hard times during foster care and after," Myer said, "but reunification means that we get to heal together as a family and not be separated."

She described reunification as an opportunity for families to heal together and grow stronger as a unit. The hope is that families emerge healthier and more connected than before.

For Karen Phillips, Chief Operations Officer at Restore Hope, reunification can be summed up in a single word.

"The word reunification, what it means to me is joy."

Phillips' work with Restore Hope is nationally recognized for its collaborative approach to strengthening families. But what drew her to this field initially was not a strategy or system, but personal connection with families in crisis through her time as a foster parent.

She recalled watching one foster child see his mother for the first time in months—the excitement in his face, the hug he ran to give her, and the tears in her eyes.

"When children get to see their parents, that is joy. That is reunification."

At the same time, Phillips acknowledged that reunification is often misunderstood. While safe reunification remains the goal, the transition itself can be difficult.

"The truth is that things get worse before they get better."

Children often struggle with major transitions, even when those changes are positive. Just as entering foster care requires an adjustment period, returning home does as well.

"Just because a transition is hard," Phillips said, "doesn't mean it is wrong."

Abigail Whitson of Youth Villages works with families during that adjustment period. She explained that reunification often involves rebuilding trust that has been damaged through trauma, separation, and multiple placements.

Children who have spent extended periods in foster care can face significant challenges adjusting after they return home. Whitson regularly encourages parents to stay committed through those difficult moments.

"It is normal for there to be trial and error."

Families need time and support to establish routines, rebuild trust, and create emotional stability. The goal, she said, is to help families move beyond survival mode and into healthy relationships.

Youth Villages continues working alongside families after reunification, helping parents and children develop healthy communication patterns and define what family life will look like moving forward.

Panelists noted that children generally experience better outcomes when families can safely reunify than when they remain in foster care long term. Achieving those outcomes requires communities that invest not only in children, but also in parents.

Myer knows how important that investment can be.

"When your kids are in foster care, you feel so much shame and you dwell on all the things you have done wrong."

What made the difference for her was finding people who supported not only her children, but her growth as a parent. She reminds those in attendance that parents love their children very deeply and it is a long process to go through layers of trauma and break those cycles.

"People don't need judgement," Boyakin echoed, "They need to be loved."

Seven years after reunification, Myer can still point to specific people in the room who continue to encourage and support her — from the couple who taught her court-ordered parenting class to members of her church community.

"There's not something more special about me than all these other families," Myer said. "I had all of these people behind me that believe that about me. I was only able to do that because people saw something in me."

That combination of accountability, encouragement, and practical support is exactly what Webb sees through CarePortal.

Churches and community members often provide beds, furniture, transportation assistance, and other tangible resources needed for reunification. Yet Webb said the greatest value is often not the item itself.

"It is saying that I need a friend. I need someone I can call."

Isolation can be one of the greatest threats to long-term stability. Families who are struggling often withdraw from others, precisely when they need support the most.

"We like to put bandaids on things or do quick fixes," Webb said. "I think we've forgotten that neighborly aspect of life. Remember that we are all struggling and we are all meant to be together. Remind parents they are courageous and there are people who want to help them."

As the discussion concluded, a representative from the Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services thanked the panelists and reflected on the broad range of support represented on stage.

"Without one of you," he said, "there is none of you."

Since the launch of the 100 Families Initiative in Crawford County, foster care placements have declined by 40 percent—an encouraging sign of what is possible when communities work together to strengthen and support families before, during, and long after reunification.

Phillips pointed to Myer's story as an example of what happens when families receive both accountability and encouragement.

"Success is the fact that Amanda knows that she has people who love her."

Today, Myer and her husband have helped hundreds of other families as advocates. What began as one family's reunification has become a ripple effect of support reaching countless others.

That may be the clearest picture of reunification offered during the panel: not simply bringing children home, but surrounding families with the relationships they need to stay together, heal together, and thrive together.