(Posted 2024 September)
When children are placed in foster care, the priority is to reunite them with their birth families. Family reunification can take place only when it is deemed safe for the children. To achieve this goal, Fairfax County Department of Family Services partners with the biological parents, engaging with them in a meaningful way to help them make progress towards regaining custody. When this happens, it is a genuine cause for celebration!
During Reunification Month in June, DFS and Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court hosted the Third Annual Reunification Celebration on June 27, 2024, at Fairfax Community Church. With the theme of “Restoring Families,” the event celebrated families that were reunited between June 1, 2023-May 31, 2024.
The event kicked off with DFS Director Michael A. Becketts and CYF Assistant Division Director Allison Lowry welcoming everyone in attendance. They were followed by a parent speaker, then Laura Faino, a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), who provided the keynote speech.
Four families were honored during the event, which included dinner. Attendees included Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judges, CASAs, Assistant County Attorneys, DFS Children, Youth and Families division leadership and staff, and relatives and friends of the families being honored.
One of the most poignant speeches of the night was by the parent speaker, Shazell Robinson-Hardy. A mother of four, she spoke about what she experienced during the process of regaining custody, the previous year, of her children after they entered foster care.
She talked about the skills she gained, saying, “Through anger management, I learned that my fight or flight response doesn't have to be just that - there are other ways to respond to uncomfortable situations without anger, aggression, violence or just leaving.”
Expressing gratitude towards DFS staff for their support and encouragement, she stated, “To be understood and heard and just to feel like our needs were getting met left room for me and my children to deal with other aspects of our lives and areas that needed attention.”
Finally, she expressed optimism about her family’s future with these words, “I'm proud of all the work that I've done and that my children have done to become better versions of ourselves and although our healing is still in process, we are already better and stronger.”
The event concluded with the presentation of a gift to the Honorable Judge Gayl Carr to celebrate her upcoming retirement. Judge Carr helped start the Reunification Celebrations in 2022.
Following the event, the reunified families were sent home with special gifts for the children, gift cards for the parents, and activities for the families to do together.
Special thanks to everyone who made this event possible! Planning committee members: Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judges Maha Abejuela and Gayl Carr; DFS staff Aleta Carter, Namisha Khatri, Kamonya Omatete, and Tamara Tanner; Fairfax Community Church for hosting the event, setting up, and providing drinks; and Olive Garden for donating lasagna for the dinner.
