Secondary data analysis of family reunification in Calaveras County

When children are removed from the primary care of their parents through the Child Welfare System, there are numerous factors that contribute to individual parents' successes and failures in their attempts to reunify with their children, and it is impossible to accurately predict early on whether or not the families will eventually be successfully reunified. Yet there may be certain factors that can be more strongly correlated to parents' success than others can. The purpose of this study was to determine if any variables held statistical significance in an effort to better understand these families and identify the types of services that may be needed to help them achieve successful reunification. The child factor data analysis shows that successful reunification is statistically significant to the age of the child (p= .035), the total months receiving Family Reunification Services (p = .001), and the total number of placements (p = .002). Other statistical significances are also identified.