This report recommends that Federal policymakers specify the scope of reasonable efforts and family reunification services that States should provide in meeting the distinctive needs of incarcerated parents and their children. It also recommends that ASFA's mandate to seek termination of parental rights after a child has been in foster care for 15 of the last 22 months be amended to take into account the unique time frames imposed by parental incarceration. Effort should also be made to increase the availability of comprehensive family-based and community-based substance abuse treatment programs at the Federal and State levels, so as to divert parents from prison. Federal child welfare law requires States to make "reasonable efforts" to reunify families, including many families with incarcerated parents; however, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) limits efforts to reunify families and specifies the length of time children may spend in foster care before their families are dissolved forever. A few States have taken steps to alleviate the harsh consequences of parental incarceration on children by specifying the efforts corrections and child welfare agencies must make in facilitating reunification. Most State agencies and the courts that oversee them, however, still lack clear guidance on how to implement or assess reasonable reunification efforts for families with incarcerated parents. State child welfare agencies and corrections departments must have strong Federal guidance on how to meet the needs of children in foster care and their incarcerated parents. 187 notes and appended sample interagency protocol