Parents' Experiences During the Family Reunification Process: A Chinese Context

Family reunification is always an integral part of a permanency plan and is a preferable outcome for children in care. However, reunification is not straightforward, involving many subsequent negotiations between parents, children, and social workers, sparking various emotions and struggles among the involved parties. Current research on parental experiences of family reunification is predominantly of a cross-sectional nature, and rarely reflects the parents' experience throughout the process. This paper reports the results of a qualitative panel study aimed at exploring the experiences Chinese parents have during the process of children returning home from care. Seven parents were recruited. Data was collected at three time points and informants narrated their experiences from both a retrospective and prospective perspective. The findings showed that all parents struggled to become competent caregivers. Three salient themes were identified: inferiority, adjustment, and challenge. The parents' experiences revealed the prevalence of stigmatization among social work professions toward parents. This study recommends re-focusing the policy direction and intervention strategies of out-of-home care from family coercion to family support.