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Foster Care/Adoption Guide for Families
Children who are in foster care or adopted may find themselves separated from existing or future siblings. Despite agency policy or a caseworker's best efforts, a number of situations may lead to sibling separation. This can lead to permanent separation and be extremely devastating for a child, even more than losing their parent.
With sibling separation, facilitating regular contact is critical to maintaining healthy relationships and them being healthy human beings.
Arrange for regular visits. There is no consensus on the frequency of face-to-face contact; however, a minimum of twice a month has been recommended by some experts in the field. Most states require weekly visits.
Arrange other forms of contact. If the distance between siblings is great, workers need to assist foster and adoptive families in maintaining frequent contacts through letters, email, cards, and phone calls. Make sure that children have full contact information for all their siblings. For instance, providing older siblings with calling cards may facilitate sibling communication.
Involve families in planning. The adults in the siblings' families should be involved with developing a plan for ongoing contact. This meeting should include working through any barriers to visits.
Encourage sustained contact. Sustaining sibling contact often requires a unique understanding and commitment from parents. Many adoptive parents recognize the importance of their adopted children having contact with siblings living with their birth families or other adoptive families.
The more we can keep these relationships intact, the more children can use these opportunities to work through adoption identity issues that may arise, and can develop truly meaningful relationships with others.
