Family Unification Day Celebration

As part of the annual nationwide American Bar Association Family Reunification effort, Legal Services of New Jersey recently celebrated reunification success stories at its annual event in New Brunswick. This year, however, LSNJ renamed the event “Unification Day” to signify the importance of preventing removals whenever possible and keeping families unified through Division supports and services.

Going forward, LSNJ will honor all types of Division-involved families, those who have successfully reunified with their children as well as those who have been able to remain together without removal.

This year's event was held at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, NJ, on Thursday June 21, 2018.

Several successfully reunified families from Camden, Burlington, Hudson, Gloucester, Essex, Middlesex, and Passaic counties were honored along with resource parents, social workers, DCPP caseworkers, CASA workers, and attorneys. View the program for more details about the event.

2018 Family Unification Day Videos

• Highlight Reel 2018
• Poverty and Child Welfare Systems: Excerpts from an interview with Jerry Milner, D.S.W., Acting Commissioner, Administration on Children and Families
• Iesha’s Story: Reclaiming Her Voice
• Principal Remarks: The Honorable Daniel Yablonsky, Passaic County

Previous Family Reunification Day Videos

• Overcoming Barriers to Educational Success for Children in Out-of-Home Placement (2017)
• Nurturing and Rebuilding Family Ties (2016)
• Home - Housing's Critical Role in Child Welfare (2015)
• Poverty, Addiction, and Meeting Family Needs (2014)
• Visitation: An Indispensable Tool for Reunification (2013)

Keynote Speeches from Prior Years

• The Honorable Madelin F. Einbinder (2017)
• The Honorable David B. Katz (2016)
• Lisa von Pier, Assistant Commissioner of the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (2015)
• The Honorable Julio L. Mendez (2014)
• The Honorable Hany A. Mawla (2013)
• The Honorable Thomas H. Dilts (2012)
• The Honorable Sallyanne Floria (2011)
• The Honorable Glen A. Grant (2010)

For information on National Family Reunification Month:

• National Council of Juvenile and Family Courts
• ABA Center on Children and the Law