SCDSS Recognizes June as Family Reunification Month

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Contact: DSS Office of Communications and External Affairs
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SCDSS Recognizes June as Family Reunification Month 

June 2, 2025 - The Department of Social Services (DSS) recognizes and honors the month of June as Family Reunification Month to raise awareness and celebrate the work put into strengthening families. During the month, DSS recognizes families who have successfully reunited by overcoming challenges that required agency involvement. Governor Henry McMaster also recognized the month with an official proclamation, which can be found here.

This year’s theme, as recognized by the American Bar Association, is “Let’s Celebrate Unified Families All Year Long!” This year’s theme focuses on celebrating not just the families who have been able to reunify but also the importance of preventing removals and separations whenever possible and keeping families intact through advocacy, supports, and services. Celebrating family unification means honoring parents and their communities of support who fight tirelessly every day to keep their families intact.

In the calendar year 2024, there were 1,404 children and youth reunited with their families in South Carolina. As of June 2, 2025, 545 children and youth have been safely returned to their families.

“The greatest victory social work can achieve is keeping a family together, so they live a lifetime of loving one another rather than a lifetime of loss and its consequences,” said Tony Catone, DSS State Director. “Family rehabilitation and reunification is the primary goal for children in foster care, as we focus on re-establishing a stable and nurturing family environment. Our team of DSS professionals work with families alongside our community partners to heal and strengthen the family so that reuniting them can become a reality. These efforts promote a supportive community environment and positive outcomes for families whenever possible.” 

DSS works with the Family Court, judges, attorneys, Guardians Ad Litem, foster parents, child advocates, healthcare and mental health providers, non-profits and service providers, and other partners within the child welfare and well-being system to improve policies and practices to help keep families together. The unified goal is to implement evidence-based interventions to improve outcomes for children and their families and provide support to families through forms of prevention efforts before child neglect and abuse ever occurs in the first place. To see data on the agency’s reunification efforts, please click here.

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