Reunification

Reunification: process of reuniting unaccompanied children with their families

Children may be separated from their caregiver during disasters. Children, caregivers, and family members may be brought to different hospitals, care sites, or even different states.

This problem became magnified during Hurricane Katrina when over 5,000 children were separated from their families. It took over 6 months for them to be reunited. Click here to read a related news article.

Separated children not only suffer emotional trauma, but are also at higher risk for abuse, neglect, and abduction.

 

Who should have reunification plans?

Families should have a clear communication plan during disasters and emergencies that includes important contact information and possibly a pre-agreed upon reunification site.

If the child is able, they should know the name of trusted adults, contact information, email addresses, and phone numbers. Caregivers can teach children their primary caregivers’ first and last names and address as early as possible.

Hospitals should engage key stakeholders (including child life specialists, social workers, and chaplains) to develop reunification plans in case of disasters. Plans should include documentation, caregiver verification, and psychological support for separated children.

Child-care centers, and schools should also be responsible for creating written  reunification protocols and practicing reunification drills regularly.

Here is a family reunification plan template. 

All reunification plans should be practiced and drilled.

 

Identification

Children do not typically carry any form of identification.

Depending on age, infants/toddlers sometimes cannot self-identify.

There are a few methods of helping identify unaccompanied children but no system is perfect.

Registries

There are various registries for unaccompanied/missing children that include:

Information is often not shared among registries. National registries are often unavailable for local emergencies. 

Image-based Identification 

Although pictures may be a helpful aid in reuniting children with families, caregivers have shared that under stressful circumstances it was difficult for them to identify their children by this method alone. 

These systems can also include the ability to search for the child based on details such as skin color, eye color, age.

A limitation of image-based identification is if the child suffered a severe and disfiguring trauma or injury, they may be difficult to recognize.

DNA-based Identification

This method has been used by federal agencies to help reunite children from migrant families with parents. This technology is not readily available everywhere. It also becomes limited in cases where caregiver and child are not biologically-related (for example, adoption).

There is not one perfect strategy or method for identifying children who are separated. Each approach has limitations.  

 
Privacy Concerns

There is debate over who parents and caregivers trust with information about their child that is uploaded onto registries or databases. 

 Agencies should be mindful of any potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in their reunification planning.

Written by Dennis Ren

Last updated: 11/10/2025

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