Family Re-Union

FAMILY RE-UNION
April 24, 1992

The first Family Re-Union was designed so that federal, state and local leaders could listen carefully to families describing how programs and policies affected them. Vice President Gore, then Senator from Tennessee, and Mrs. Gore moderated this conference in Nashville. Participants concluded that government programs and policies generally focused on the pathology of an individual while ignoring the strengths of the whole family. This conference firmly established the importance of building programs and defining policies based on the strengths of whole families. Results included:

• Local groups within Tennessee took up the idea of "Care Fairs" -- gatherings held each year before the opening of school that bring together all services for families in one location, giving families better access and giving communities an opportunity to build networks.
• The 800 participants agreed that major changes in policy and programs were essential if families were not going to be torn apart by attempts to "fix" individuals. Senator Gore promised to reconvene the conference the following year to pursue this policy sh