Out of group homes, into families
This report documents the successes and challenges of moving children with complex mental and behavioral needs out of group homes or residential treatment centers and back to their families and communities.

Research partners
The research, which evaluates a reintegration pilot program in Travis County, Texas, was  conducted jointly by Casey Family Programs and the School of Social Work at the University of Texas-Austin. The project itself is a partnership of Casey Family Programs, Travis County Health and Human Services and Veterans Service (HHS&VS), and Texas Child Protective Services (CPS).

Participant experiences, successes and challenges
The evaluation offers insights into the experiences of children, families and staff with this innovative reunification program, which utilizes wraparound services. In addition to documenting some of the program’s early successes, the evaluation also uncovered barriers to reunification at the system, program, and case levels. Identification of these barriers can be used to advocate for system change and to improve program practice.  The family narratives contained in this report provide a compelling impetus to seek such change.

Ongoing follow up
Casey Family Programs continues to track the children enrolled in this program to understand their long-term trajectory following participation, as well as to analyze the costs and savings associated with the program.

Safely reducing the number of children in foster care
We hope that this report will contribute to the awareness and understanding of safe and successful reunification and promote replication of a promising program model. Successfully reunifying children with their families is a critical strategy for realizing Casey Family Programs’ 2020 Strategy, which aims  to safely reduce the number of children in care by 50 percent by the year 2020.