Siblings in Out-of-Home Care

Presented at the Camp To Belong Affiliates Meeting

January 10, 2006

Denver, Colorado

Siblings in Out of Home Care

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Where are we now?

Siblings in Out of Home Care

2002

Casey Family Programs National Center for Resource Family Support (CNC): 2002

National Leadership Symposium

May 2002

34 experts: families, practice, policy, legal, advocacy, academic

National Leadership Symposium

Reviewed what was known

Discussed change agenda

Made personal and organizational commitments

National Leadership Symposium

Proceedings published

http://www.casey.org/Resources/Archive/Publications/SiblingSymposium.htm

Legislation as of 2002:

At least 26 states addressed sibling placement in law

Right to or provision for maintaining contact:Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts,

Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington

Sibling relationship considered in determining "best interest"Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Washington

Requires the child welfare agency prepare a description of efforts made to keep siblings together and/or provide reasons siblings are not placed together:

Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Washington

Legislation (cont’d) Provisions for post-permanency visits with siblings:

Arizona (guardianship), California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts

Requires the child welfare agency and/or court to consider siblings in placement and/or permanency planning:

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois (adoption), Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Texas (adoption cases)

Provides for an exemption from limits on the size of a foster home if placement of a sibling group:

Colorado, Indiana, Maine

Placement and/or visits to be considered at periodic reviewsDelaware

Statement of legislative intent to support sibling relationshipsCalifornia, Colorado, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas,

Washington

Siblings in Out of Home Care

2003

Casey Family Programs National Center for Resource Family Support (CNC): 2003 Web page devoted to sibling issues List serve:

sibling-issues@yahoogroups.com Information & referral requests from

families and professionals across the country

Workshop in Virginia

Legislation: 2003

California Authorizes a child who was adopted as part of a

sibling group and who has been separated from his or her siblings through re-adoption to petition the court to enforce any agreement for visitation or to order visitation in the absence of such an agreement.

Colorado: Creates a presumption that joint placement of siblings

is in their best interest (presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence that such placement is not in the siblings’ best interest.)

Legislation: 2003

Washington: Expresses and clarifies legislative intent regarding the

importance of sibling relationships. Defines “sibling.” Creates a presumption in favor of sibling placement,

contact or visits. Requires that reasonable efforts to ensure sibling

visitation and contact be made in termination of parental rights proceedings.

Requires that orders terminating the parent-child relationship include a statement addressing the status of the child’s sibling relationships and the nature and extent of sibling placement, contact or visits.

Siblings in Out of Home Care

2004

National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning: 2004 Posted CNC resources on website Took over sibling listserv Respond to I & R’s Published Sibling Practice Curriculum Technical Assistance in Oklahoma Workshop in Mississippi http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/info_services/siblings.html

Legislation: 2004

Illinois Sibling Rights Resolution created

Sibling Post-Adoption Continuing Contact Governor's Joint Task Force

Drafted by youth http://www.state.il.us/DCFS/docs/syabresolution.pdf?

DocNum=0058&GAID=3&DocTypeID=SJR&LegID=12518&Sessio

nID=3

Siblings in Out of Home Care

2005

National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice and Permanency Planning: 2005

Revamped and updated website New NRCFCPPP Information Packet Updated annotated bibliography Continue sibling listserv Respond to I & R’s

Legislation: 2005

NevadaEstablished presumption that

placement with siblings is in child’s best interest

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/73rd/Reports/history.cfm?ID=1365

Siblings in Out of Home Care

2006

National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice and Permanency Planning: 2006

Publish state foster care policies on sibling placement and sibling visitation

With AdoptUsKids, co-sponsor Breakthrough Series on Permanence for Young People in Region VIII states

Provide faculty for Massachusetts BSC on Permanence for Adolescents

Where are we now?

Statistics Research Legislation Litigation Policy

Statistics on Siblings in Out of Home Care

California New York City New York State Oklahoma Illinois Michigan

California Statistics

Child Welfare Research Center As of July 30, 2005 55,534 children with siblings in care 44.4% placed with ALL siblings 67.2% placed with SOME or ALL siblings 32.8% separated from all siblings http://cssr.berkeley.edu/cwscmsreports/

New York City Statistics

New York State Statistics

New York State Citizen’s Coalition for Children

For calendar year 2002 186 children in state adoption album

photolisted separately from siblings Represent 38% of children listed http://www.nysccc.org/Siblings/sibrepintro.htm

Oklahoma Statistics

Percent of Siblings Who Are All Placed Together

45.00%

46.00%

47.00%

48.00%

49.00%

50.00%

51.00%

52.00%

5/7/

2004

5/21

/200

4

6/4/

2004

6/18

/200

4

7/2/

2004

7/16

/200

4

7/30

/200

4

8/13

/200

4

8/27

/200

4

9/10

/200

4

9/24

/200

4

10/8

/200

4

10/2

2/20

04

11/5

/200

4

11/1

9/20

04

12/3

/200

4

12/1

7/20

04

12/3

1/20

04

1/14

/200

5

1/28

/200

5

2/11

/200

5

2/25

/200

5

Illinois Statistics

Children and Family Research Center Fiscal year 2004 Sibling groups of 2-3 placed together

In foster care: 55% In kinship care: 65%

Siblings groups of 4+ placed together In foster care: 15% In kinship care: 29%

http://cfrcwww.social.uiuc.edu/pubreports/PubsBriefs.htm

Michigan Statistics

Fiscal year 2004 1,833 children with siblings were

adopted 20.3% adopted with NO siblings 36.5% adopted with SOME siblings 43.2% adopted with ALL siblings http://www.michigan.gov/documents/FIA-AdoptSibFinal_13097_7.pdf

Research

Special Issue of Children and Youth Services Review Overview of research Importance of sibling bonds Placement outcomes Using data to identify siblings Mental health and socialization Reunification Longitudinal data

Litigation

Nevada Supreme Court 2005: the state must provide a teenager in foster care with information about the adoptive placements of her biological siblings so she can serve the adoptive parents with petitions for sibling visitation.

Policy

At least 28 states address placement of siblings in foster care policy.

13 list acceptable reasons for separating siblings

2 states identify reasons that are not acceptable

Policy

At least 32 states address visiting between siblings in foster care policy.

6 require monthly visits Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma,

Tennessee, Texas 5 require biweekly visits

Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky 2 require weekly visits

Missouri, Utah

National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice and Permanency Planning

How you can help us:Join sibling listserv sibling-issues-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Subscribe to Weekly Updatewww.nrcfcppp.org Send us information and links

Susan DoughertyNational Resource Center for Family-Centered

Practice and Permanency Planning at theHunter College School of Social Work

A Service of the Children’s Bureau/ACF-DHHS

129 East 79th StreetNew York, New York 10021

(610) 328-4920Email –susan.dougherty@hunter.cuny.edu

Website – www.nrcfcppp.org