Re-painting the golden gate bridge: Coordination of services for abducted children reunited with their families

This is a case study of a program implemented to serve abducted children who have been recovered and returned to their families. Development of working relationships between and coordination of mental health, law enforcement, child protective, judicial, mediation and victim assistance services is a process which produced effective readjustment services for children traumatized by abduction and has reduced systems trauma for the children and their families. Trials and triumphs of the continuing and tedious process of re-painting the bridge are reviewed as potential guidelines to be employed for other such coordinated efforts, a concept increasingly viewed as thesine qua non of service in complex and chronic problem situations.Credit for the application of the bridge painting metaphor to the Child Abduction Tast Force process goes to Michael Durfee, MD.The Reunification Project would not have been possible without the dedicated work of Rebecca Refuerzo, LCSW, in establishing the Center's Program, and the clinical expertise of Merilla McCurry-Scott, Ph.D., Jenenne Macklin, LCSW, Melissa Gleason, MSW, and Karina Walters, MSW.The Reunification Program is jointly funded by Find the Children and the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice Programs.