In recent years, the United States has witnessed an increase in the incidence of youth runaways. Although recent research has examined family reunification for runaway youth, little empirical research has focused specifically on ethnic differences associated with reunification. In order to probe whether ethnicity impacts family reunification, data on 14,419 youth from the 1997 Runaway/Homeless Youth Management Information System were analyzed. The dataset designated ethnicity as White, African-American, Native American, Asian, and Hispanic. Independent variables included youth demographics, youth characteristics, and family characteristics. Results of chi-square, ANOVA, and multiple regression analyses revealed significant differences across the ethnic groups. African-American and Hispanic youth were significantly different from White youth in terms of reunification, with White youths being the least likely group to return home. Native American and Asian youth were not significantly different from the White youth on reunification. Across all ethnic groups, those youths who were abused or who had unemployed parents were less likely to return home than their nonabused counterparts. Despite these challenges to reunification, youths who completed shelter services were more likely to return home than youth who did not complete shelter services. The results indicate that shelters must consider the ethnic backgrounds of youths and offer culturally sensitive programming to improve family reunification outcomes among high-risk adolescents. Limitations of the research include problems with generalizability. Tables, references