In order to successfully implement sibling placement best practices, the child welfare agency must develop placement resources that can accept and provide quality care to sibling groups.  Research indicates that siblings placed with kin are more likely to be placed together (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006).  Kin are often more open to taking a sibling group, and they offer the further advantage of preserving family connections.  When sibling groups are not placed with kin, it is essential that the child welfare agency have a pool of unrelated foster parents who can care for sibling groups of all sizes.

Practice Principles for the Recruitment and Retention of Kinship, Foster, and Adoptive Families for Siblings, developed by the National Resource Center for Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Parents (NRCRRFAP) at AdoptUSKids, seeks to assist agencies in creating a clear plan in the recruitment and retention of families for sibling groups. This resource addresses the importance of keeping sibling together, provides ten basic principles to frame an agency’s recruitment and retention practices relating to siblings, and uses a seven-step chart to demonstrate considerations at every step from targeted recruitment through placement.

It is important for states to review their licensing and/or approval standards that will encourage placement of siblings together and be applied flexibly to qualify families to care for siblings together, except when safety precludes placements.

Diligent search and engagement of relatives as potential placement resources for children are critical best practices in maintaining sibling relationships.  Detailed information on these practices is found in the National Resource Center on Permanency and Family Connection can be found in Family Engagement: A Web-Based Toolkit.

A key practice in keeping siblings together in foster care is to consider older siblings as placement options.  The Main Youth Leadership Advisory Team recommends: “An older sibling ought to be considered as a placement option for younger siblings, provided the older sibling could adequately care for younger siblings with the same support that is provided to foster or adoptive parents and given that there is no danger of specific harm to a youth or it is not contrary to a youth’s best interest.”

Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services policy states that if the relative caregiver of the sibling(s) expresses interest in caring for the child (ren) needing placement, the worker of record is to complete a Caregiver Approval form.  The worker of record is to make diligent efforts to locate all adult siblings and contact them to assess their ability and willingness to provide support, visitation, placement and/or permanency for their siblings.  Adult siblings are to be referred to the Recruitment Department for foster care/adoption approval. 

If a sibling of a child entering foster care is already in care, best practice is to look to that child’s resource family for the child who has just entered care

New York State requires that foster parents be informed if any child placed with them has siblings or half-siblings and if so, their location.  Agencies are expected to approach foster parents about their ability to care for siblings.  Caseworkers are to document in progress notes that foster parents have been provided with information on the existence and locations of all siblings or half-siblings placed with them.

Best practice requires that child welfare agencies recruit families specifically to care for sibling groups through community outreach, the media, special events, faith-based organizations, photolistings, and websites.

Minnesota conducts specialized foster/adoptive parent recruitment for sibling groups.

North Carolina has developed guidelines and examples of how to do targeted recruitment of foster and adoptive families for sibling groups.

As foster and adoptive families are recruited, it is important to explore with them their ability to accept a sibling group

New York State requires that caseworkers document in progress notes that foster parents or prospective foster parents have been asked whether they will accept a sibling group, if appropriate.

Other best practices in recruiting foster and adoptive families are:

• Developing contracts with private agencies to offer specialized foster care programs designed specifically for large sibling groups

• Designating certain foster family resources for large sibling groups and offering incentives to hold them open for these placements

• When a family is recruited to foster sibling groups, not filling up the home with individual children just because the beds are there 

As foster parents and adoptive parents are recruited and are encouraged to accept sibling groups, they need specific training on sibling and grief issues.

The Missouri Resource Parent Handbook provides information for resource parents on sibling placement together and sibling visits.

Minnesota recognizes that agencies can promote and support sibling visitation by “educating foster parents on the importance of sibling relationships, engaging them in visitation planning, and providing services necessary to support their role in facilitating sibling visitation.”

The Foster Parent College offers online training for foster parents on grief and loss in the care system.  

Regina Kupecky has developed a 6-hour training, My brother, my sister: Sibling relations in adoption and foster care.  It consists of trainer’s note, activities, PowerPoint slides and a video. It can be ordered from the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, 12608 State Road, Suite 1, North Royalton, OH 44133.

The caregivers of siblings – whether relatives or unrelated foster parents – need ongoing support, including:

• Financial assistance

  Illinois’ 2001 policy,foster parents receive a reimbursement up to $50 per month for mileage (currently 32.5 cents per mile) or public transportation. The special service fee must be requested by the worker and approved according to the visitation plan developed for the child.  Foster parents who support sibling visitation by supervising visits may also request reimbursement through their worker at a rate of $25 per hour (excluding travel time) for a maximum of four hours each month. If the visit is overnight or longer, the foster parents can be reimbursed $50 for the entire visit.

  Kentucky  offers foster parents a financial incentive when they care for siblings groups of children. 

• Logistical supports such as transportation, assistance with such tasks as school registration, and day care

Minnesota assesses needs and provides services to support foster/adoptive parents caring for sibling groups.

• Sufficient material resources for families who care for large sibling groups such as additional household items.   Community members and businesses  can be asked to help support resource families by donating or provided at a lower cost items such as vans and bunk beds
  
  
• Supportive services such as respite care
  
  
• Support groups in which resource families can share and learn from one another.  Support families who have fostered or adopted sibling groups can act as mentors, support networks and recruiters.

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2006). Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption.  Available at:  http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/siblingissues/siblingissues.pdf