Preserving Sibling Relationships

1. Preserving Sibling Relationships Presented by: Melissa Dorris Georgia Supreme Court Child Placement Project Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

2. What Is Your Experience? • How often are sibling visits taking place? • How often should sibling visits take place? • What are some barriers to sibling visits? • How often are sibling visits court ordered? • As part of the family visit or separate? • What value is placed on sibling visits? • Are sibling visits of the same priority as parent-child visits? Should they be? Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

3. Reasons for Maintaining Sibling Groups • Attachment to and connectedness with family members • Placement together minimizes the trauma of parental separation / emotional support • Preference of children • Increases probability of successful reunification • Children from dysfunctional home may have stronger ties among siblings than to their parents Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

4. The Reality for Siblings • 500,000 children in out-of-home care nationwide • 87% - 98% of those children have siblings • Yet, agencies succeed at keeping siblings together as little as 25% of the time • As many as 180,000 – 230,000 children are separated from their siblings at any given time. Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

5. Older From large sibling groups Developmental disabilities Residential placements Enter custody at different times Sex difference: 66% of girls, but only 38% of boys were placed with siblings Correlation with number of previous placements: separated siblings more likely to experience multiple placements Characteristics of Separated Siblings Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

6. So How Are We Doing? • Little research • Georgia: • AFCARS data (3/31/03) estimates that “among cases with 2 or more children…” • 43% housed all children in the same foster home • 59% split up children in the same case Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

7. Unanswered Questions… • How do siblings affect one another’s development? • What happens when children are preventing from growing up together? • How should sibling relationships be defined? • When is it harmful to place siblings together? • How do placement decisions affect each child’s adjustment and development? • What is the nature of the loss of siblings? Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

8. The Legal Framework • No Constitutional Legitimacy • Hugo v. Hugo (1999) – USSC declined to decide whether siblings have a constitutional right to associate • Determining the “best interest” of an individual child is vastly complicated by his/her membership in a sibling group. • Siblings’ rights of association are weighed against the competing rights of biological, foster/adoptive families, and sibling attachment is only one of several factors in the BIOC determination. Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

9. Legislative Advocacy • 26 states address the sibling relationship in legislation • 10 states have adopted sibling unification statutes • 13 states create right for siblings to maintain contact • No statute in GA, but DFCS policy recognizes that preserving sibling contact “lessens separation trauma, eases the stress on their parents, and reinforces the importance of family relationships.” • General statutory categories: • Right to maintain contact • Incorporated in “best interests” definition • Documentation requirement • Provisions for post-permanency visits • Consideration of siblings in placement/permanency planning • Exemptions from limits on foster home size • Statement of legislative intent Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

10. HB 1025Proposed During 2002 Legislative Session • Legislative recognition of the importance of sibling relationships • Legislative finding that a child in foster care should be allowed reasonable visitation with other siblings, consistent with BIOC • Requires reasonable efforts to place siblings together, when practicable • Requires documentation of efforts to place siblings together or reasons why siblings were separated in (non)reunification plan Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

11. Program Initiatives • Model Pilot Programs • IL (1994): Neighbor to Neighbor (Hull House Assn.) • Public/private partnership • Professional foster parents • Focused on sibling placements, specialized foster care • FL (1997): Neighbor to Family • Program evaluation by, funding through An Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida authorized by statute • MDT approach Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

12. Other Sibling Programs • Sib-Links (Boston): http://www.thehome.org/site/content/programs/foster.asp • Collaboration between Mass. DSS & Casey Family Programs • Creates foster homes for groups of 3 or more siblings • Professional foster parents • MDT approach • Camp To Belong: http://www.camptobelong.org/ • National non-profit organization dedicated to reuniting siblings separated in placement • Week-long summer camp Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

13. Casework Practice Suggestions • Introduce children into a family in staggered placements • Thoroughly explore kinship care options for all children entering care • Document all reasons for/against separating siblings • Use life books • Present sibling groups in photolistings, recruitment campaigns • Sibling communication and visitation when in separate placements • Place children in homes in same/nearby neighborhoods and schools • One worker for all siblings • Joint therapy sessions, if appropriate • Assess large-group placement resources • Administrative skills • Coping skills • Access to community services • Support systems • Valuation of sibling ties Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

14. Questions Guiding Policy • What type of effort should be made to keep siblings together? • Should foster home licensing requirements be waived to allow siblings to be placed together? • How much contact should siblings have? And how should the case plan reflect this? • How much say should a child have in the decision whether to be placed with siblings? • Do children have the right to be placed in the same community/school as siblings? • Do siblings have the right to have the same caseworker? • Do siblings have a right to raise grievances over sibling visitation? Child Placement Conference 11/13/03

15. Questions? Concerns? Comments? Child Placement Conference 11/13/03