Celebrating Families: Polk County’s Reunification Picnic
Judge Constance Cohen, Fifth Judicial District of Iowa
Wendy Bucy, Drake University Law Student
The Polk County Model Court was established in Des Moines, Iowa in 2000. In November,
2000, Lead Judge Cohen invited herself to Omaha, Nebraska, to observe their first Adoption
Saturday event with the unhidden agenda of taking their ideas back to Des Moines. As the
Honorable James Farris would have said, she was doing “research”.
Our Model Court held a very successful Adoption Saturday in 2001, and has continued to cosponsor the expanding event every year thereafter. As anyone who has experienced an
Adoption Saturday will agree, there is no better way to spend a day at the courthouse.
Inspired by the success of Adoption Saturday, and the ways in which it advanced new
community support and collaborations, Mary Nelson, an Iowa Department of Human Services
(DHS) Administrator, and member of the Model Court Team, had the brainstorm of developing
a way to celebrate families who had successfully reunified. Mary’s vision included a festive
picnic with the full panoply of attractions for children.
While the idea was generally well received, there were some reservations. How could we
control who attended and assure safety? A former violent partner may decide to attend. The
venue would be a public park, not a government building with tight security. Could judges and
lawyers attend? Some of the families in attendance may still have open cases, or may
subsequently have their cases re-opened. There was the issue of potential ex parte
communications and observations.
The planners decided to forge ahead without formal security, trusting that the parents would
take appropriate steps to assure safety. And, the legal community just decided to “get over it”.
We would handle any ex parte contact with families who may be involved in court currently or
in the future as we would any other incidental contact.
The inaugural event was held in July of 2007 at a local Des Moines park. Planning was
spearheaded by Model Court, Drake Law School Middleton Children’s Rights Center, Parent
Partners (a mentoring project), and the Polk County Fatherhood Initiative. The picnic was
funded with decategorization funds from DHS. The Fatherhood Initiative arranged for a van to
transport families, as the park was not on a bus route. This was a lesson learned for future
picnics: select a park on a bus route. Other participating groups included Elevate (a youth
driven program for foster and adoptive youth in Iowa) and the Iowa Foster and Adoptive
Parents Association.
Although there was no official count, organizers were very pleased with the attendance and
diversity of families involved. It was an unqualified success, with delicious picnic fare, games,
face-painting, and fun for all. The Elevate youth expertly entertained the little ones with piggyback rides, toys, and games. Judge Joe Smith spoke at the event.
Attorney Ed Bull, who attended the 2007 picnic, said, “The picnic reaffirms the commitment the
Court makes to each parent when they tell parents ‘our goal is reunification’. Now we have the
chance to celebrate when we achieve this goal.” Judge Joe Smith concurs, “While adoptions
are necessary and wonderful, we don’t have much of a chance to celebrate reunification. It is
important to recognize that we do some really good things in these courtrooms and
reunification is the outcome we hope for.”
Planning for the 2008 event brought new partners to the table to join the veterans, including
Visiting Nurse Services, Moms off Meth, Community Partnerships for Protection of Children,
and the Zero To Three Project. The original planners handed off most of the responsibilities for
the picnic to the parents’ groups.
Despite a last minute change of venue – Crivaro Park fell victim to the June flooding in Des
Moines – the second picnic not only prospered but attracted a substantially larger crowd.
Judge Smith and Judge Cohen shared a few remarks at the opening of the event, and then
families were treated to lunch, a live band (all members had been court-involved and were now
in recovery), and plenty of fun for the kids. With an inflatable bouncy house, snow cones,
cotton candy, squirt guns, and other games, there was something for everyone.
With the support of experienced organizers such as DHS and Annie vonGillern, social worker at
the Drake Law School Children’s Rights Center, and Judy Norris, Zero To Three Coordinator, the
parents assumed a much more active role of arranging for the food and festivities in 2008. The
success they enjoyed resulted in a growing confidence and well-deserved pride.
We will continue to develop the Reunification Picnic with the help of parents, youth, and
professionals involved in the Juvenile Court system. It has already earned a place as a
cornerstone of the Juvenile Court community. This event not only rewards the hard work
toward reunification, it helps to remind us that as families we have more in common than we
have that separates us.
(For more information, please contact Judge Cohen at 515-286-3037 or
Connie.Cohen@iowacourts.gov.)