Exploring a suspected sexual abuse case of a junior high school girl, this study examines the approach to a child for family reunification after intervention by a child guidance center. The safety planning approach from the Partnering for Safety (PFS), which integrates various theories including the Solution-Focused Approach (SFA), the Signs of Safety Approach (SoSA) and others, was applied for the case by a child psychologist at the temporary shelter of a child guidance center. ln order to involve the child in the family reunification process, the tools of PFS such as ‘The Future House’, ‘The Family Safety Circles’ and ‘The Safety House’ were applied. Although the child was defensive and her parents continued to deny the sexual abuse change, the tools of PFS focusing on the child's hope and safety acted as a catalyst to build constructive relationship among the child, her parents and the workers of a child guidance center. Eventually, family reunification was achieved as her opinion was reflected in the safety planning. This study shows that supports for children and their parents can be developed interactively by using the tools of PFS, and that it is important for the worker to have an ecological perspective on the person-environment fit.

Many of the children requiring alternative care in Japan reside in children's institutions; very few are placed in family-based care such as foster care or group homes. This can be partly attributed to the lack of general public knowledge regarding the foster care system. Publicity for the foster care system is thus an important issue. A study by Fukushima, Fukushima and Ukai (2013) found that publicity activities for the foster care system aimed at university classes increased students' specific understanding of and familiarity with foster care. The present study investigated this approach as a practical example of community support by analyzing the methods of needs assessment, collaboration with regional foster parent associations, and publicity methods. The findings clarified that publicity activities fostering collaborative relationships with regional foster parent associations based on the needs of the associations were effective in increasing awareness of the foster care system and empowering the regional foster parent associations.