11.3 Placement with Siblings

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Child Welfare Policy Manual

Chapter:

(11) Adoption

Policy Title:

Placement with Siblings

Policy Number:

11.3

Previous Policy Number(s):

103.15

Effective Date:

September 2018

Manual Transmittal:

2018-09

Codes/References

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, Section 471(a)
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, Public Law 110-351

Requirements

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) will:

  1. Make reasonable efforts to ensure that all siblings are placed together in the same adoptive home, including:

    1. Any additional sibling or siblings entering care at a later date; or

    2. A sibling or siblings of a child in a previously finalized adoption.

    Where it is contrary to the safety and well-being due to unresolved physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse among the siblings where therapy, with a safety plan in place, is not effective or appropriate as documented by a licensed clinician and/or if one or more child in the sibling group has documented medical, mental, cognitive, physical, and/or behavioral health needs of which may require a specialized placement setting (residential treatment, hospitalization, juvenile detention, etc.).

  2. When it is not possible or appropriate to place siblings together in the same adoptive home:

    1. Request a waiver to separate siblings from the Regional Director and consult with the State Adoption Unit.

    2. Make every effort to place a child with an adoptive parent(s) who is committed to helping the child maintain his/her sibling connections through regular face-to-face visitation and other ongoing interaction.

    3. Develop a written plan in conjunction with the prospective adoptive parents of each separated sibling to provide for frequent visitation and/or other ongoing interactions.

      1. The plan will be signed by the prospective adoptive parent(s) and each child’s Social Services Case Manager (SSCM); and

      2. Made a part of each child’s case plan, case record and the Child Life History.

    4. Ensure weekly face-to-face visits between siblings who are not placed in the same home.

      Visitation includes formal or informal opportunities to interact.

Procedures

Refer to policy 10.20 Foster Care: Preserving Sibling Connections - Sibling Placement Visitation for procedures for maintaining sibling connections.

Practice Guidance

Considerations in Evaluating Sibling Relationships

  1. Siblings refer to full, step and half-sisters or brothers who have been reared as a family group and enter the care of DFCS simultaneously or at a later date. Siblings may also refer to children who have formed “sibling-like” relationships with non-related brother and sisters they have lived with both in their biological families and in foster care.

  2. When children are separated because of sibling rivalry, it teaches them the way to deal with conflict is to walk away from it, not to work it out. Siblings who remain together can be helped to learn how to resolve their differences and develop stronger relationships.

  3. The responsibility felt by an older child for a younger sibling is not necessarily a negative. It can be used constructively by adoptive parents to help both children develop appropriate roles with each other. The care-giving child can be helped to become a child again, and the younger child can learn that adults can be trusted.

  4. Even a needy child does not necessarily benefit from being an only child in a family. The child may be expected to change troublesome behavior sooner than he/she is able.

  5. When a sibling is removed from a home because of behavior problems, the remaining children get the message that the same thing can happen to them, which can reduce their sense of trust in adults.

  6. Removing a sibling from a foster or adoptive home because he/she has abused a brother or sister does not guarantee that the abuse will not continue in another environment. Therapy and other interventions should be considered when appropriate to address the child’s needs.

  7. Siblings who are placed separately are more likely to demonstrate greater emotional and behavioral problems. When siblings are placed together, they experience many emotional benefits with less moves and a lower risk for failed placements.

Decision Making in Sibling Placements

  1. Examine the importance of siblings not only at the present but for the child throughout his/her life. Although the child may not be close to a brother or sister now, consider the future implications of their separation. Experience has shown that siblings who are separated are the most ardent searchers in the future.

  2. The child’s feelings and definition of who they identify as a sibling must be considered. Although it is a major decision and not one the child can or should make alone, however his or her wishes should be a part of the decision-making process.

  3. The decision about separation should be made by several informed persons, including current and former caretakers, therapists, counselors, teachers, physicians, or any others who have played an important role in the children’s lives. Explore with them the history and meaning of the sibling relationships.

  4. Explore and document all the reasons for and against separating the children. Make a list and examine the benefits and challenges. Provide clear documentation of the safety and/or well-being reasons which lead to the decision in the event a decision to separate is ever legally challenged.

  5. Consideration may be given to separation, if the mental, emotional, and/or physical needs of one child are such that it might prevent the rest of the sibling group from being adopted by a family.

  6. Careful evaluation should be made of situations where siblings have resided for lengthy periods in separate foster homes resulting in significant attachment to foster parents who express a desire to adopt. This decision must be made concerning the best interest of the children, not the desires of the foster parents.

  7. Plans for future interactions should be initiated immediately and on a long-term basis if siblings must be separated. All parties should be educated regarding Post Adoption Contact Agreements as outlined in policy 11.15 Adoption: Post Adoption Contact Agreement. Legally, adoptive parents can override any decision to maintain contact with siblings once the adoption is final. They may have problems logistically with the contacts (i.e., they may move out of state, or it may be inconvenient to keep in touch), or they simply may not recognize the importance of maintaining the bond. SSCM should help educate the adoptive parents about the value of the relationship. Experience shows that the bond between a child and new parent(s) is strengthened when they confront the issues of sibling relationships together. The child can then see his/her adoptive parent as someone who is sensitive to his/her needs.

Siblings

A sibling is defined as an individual with whom the child shares one or both parents in common by blood, adoption, marriage, even if the marriage was terminated by death or dissolution.

Forms and Tools

Decision Guide for Sibling Separation for Foster Care Placement