When a child returns to their parent.

Information reviewed September 2026. Laws, program rules and services can change, so use the linked official source for current information.

For many temporary kinship placements, returning safely to a parent is the goal.

PEI's temporary GACP stream is specifically designed to support a child living with a grandparent, relative or family friend until the protection concerns are resolved and reunification is possible.

That can create mixed feelings. A caregiver may want the family reunited and still feel anxious about whether the child is ready to leave the home that has become stable.

Who decides that the child can return?

In a child-protection placement, the caregiver does not make that decision alone. The child's legal arrangement, the Family Intervention Plan, Child Protection assessment and any court order determine how reunification happens.

PEI's current GACP information states that a child can return to their parent when the protection concerns have been resolved and reunification is possible.

PEI GACP Program

Ask for a transition plan, not just a date.

• Will visits increase before the move?
• Will overnights happen first?
• Who will tell the child and when?
• What belongings, medications and documents go with the child?
• How will school or child care be informed?
• Will counselling or other services continue?
• Can the child continue contact with the kinship caregiver?
• Who should be called if problems emerge after the return?

Children can feel two opposite things at once.

A child may desperately want to go home and still be frightened to leave the caregiver. They may be excited about a parent and grieve the loss of routines, pets, school transportation, cousins or siblings in the caregiver's household.

Do not make the child prove loyalty to either home.

Avoid making reunification a reward or punishment.

Try not to tell the child they are going home because the parent has “earned them back,” or that a delay means the parent failed. The reasons are more complex and are being assessed by adults responsible for safety.

Transfer practical information carefully.

Make sure the responsible parent or worker has current medication lists, upcoming appointments, school information, health cards or documents, activity schedules and anything else needed to keep the child's daily care uninterrupted.

What happens to GACP and benefits?

Temporary GACP can close when the child is safe to return to a parent. CRA child benefits also depend on where the child lives and who is primarily responsible for their care. If the child stops living with you, tell CRA about the change rather than allowing payments to continue on the assumption that the system will update automatically.

Read the Taxes for Kinship Caregivers guide

What if the reunification starts to break down?

Do not quietly recreate an unofficial placement without understanding the legal and financial consequences. If the child is again unsafe or you have reasonable grounds to suspect their safety or well-being is endangered, make a new Child Protection report.

If a parent simply needs ordinary family help and the child is not unsafe, the response may be different. Distinguish a family support need from a protection concern.

The caregiver may grieve too.

A return home can be a positive outcome and still create grief, loneliness, loss of routine or fear for the child. Caregiver feelings should be supported by other adults rather than placed on the child.

Maintaining a relationship after reunification.

If it is safe, wanted and consistent with the legal plan, continued contact with the kinship caregiver can preserve an important relationship. The form may change from parenting to grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling or family-friend connection.