A Bulletin for 

professionAls 

December 2006 

Sibling Issues 

in Foster Care 

and Adoption

One of the most critical contributions that 

child welfare professionals can provide for 

children who enter care is to preserve their 

connections with their brothers and sisters. 

Children who come into foster care or are 

adopted often are separated from existing 

or future siblings. Approximately 70 percent 

of children in foster care in the United States 

have another sibling also in care (Shlonsky, 

Elkins, Bellamy, & Ashare, 2005). For a variety 

of reasons, many of these sibling groups are 

not placed together. 

What’s inside: 

•Defining a sibling relationship 

•The importance of siblings 

•Sibling relationships in abusive or 

neglectful families 

•Benefits of placing siblings together

•Barriers to placing siblings together 

•Policies and practices for keeping 

siblings together 

•When siblings cannot live together 

•Maintaining ties between separated siblings 

•Sibling issues within the foster 

or adoptive family 

•Resources for promoting 

intact placement of 

sibling groups 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau

Child Welfare Information Gateway 

Children’s Bureau/ACYF 

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW 

Eighth Floor 

Washington, DC 20024 

703.385.7565 or 800.394.3366 

Email: info@childwelfare.gov 

www.childwelfare.gov 
Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

This bulletin will explore research, intervention 

strategies, and resources to assist professionals in preserving connections among siblings. 

Defining a sibling 

relationship

The identification of siblings can be a challenging issue, especially in cases in which 

children have lived in more than one family. 

Children’s definitions of their siblings often 

differ from those of caseworkers or official 

legislative definitions. 

informal Definitions 

Children are less formal than adults in their 

view of who is a brother or sister. In particular, children involved with the child welfare 

system may experience a number of different families and may develop ties with other 

children with whom they may or may not have 

a biological relationship. In child welfare, the 

term “fictive kin” has been introduced to 

recognize types of relationships in a child’s life 

where there is no legal or biological tie, but 

a strong, enduring bond exists (Casey Family 

Programs, 2002). 

There are many types of relationships that 

might be defined as sibling relationships: 

•Full or half-siblings, including any children 

who were relinquished or removed at birth 

• Step-siblings 

•Other close relatives or nonrelatives living 

in the same kinship home 

• Foster children in the same family 

•Orphanage mates or group-home mates 

with a close, enduring relationship 

•Children of the partner or former partner of 

the child’s parent 

While laws and policies may have restrictive 

definitions of siblings that typically require 

a biological parent in common, child- and 

family-centered practice would respect cultural values and recognize close, nonbiological relationships as a source of support to the 

child. In these cases, the child may be one of 

the best sources of information regarding who 

is considered a sibling. 

legislative Definitions 

States vary in their definitions of sibling relationships as well as in the policies regarding 

sibling placement. In past practice, judicial 

enforcement of States’ statutory protections 

for siblings in child welfare has applied only 

to siblings who have established personal 

relationships prior to their entry into State 

custody (Shlonsky, et al., 2005). For instance, 

in a number of States, legislation requires 

that any sibling relationships be taken into 

consideration when determining the best 

interests of the child for the purposes of court 

custody decisions. In a few States, there are 

statutes and regulations that mandate what 

efforts caseworkers must make in terms of 

visits and placements to maintain ties among 

siblings in foster care. State-by-State information regarding postadoption contact can be 

found in Child Welfare Information Gateway’s 

Postadoption Contact Agreements Between 

Birth and Adoptive Families: 

www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/ 

laws_policies/statutes//cooperative.cfm 

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Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

California is an example of a State that 

has detailed legislation regarding sibling 

issues, defining a sibling as a child related to 

another person by blood, adoption, or affinity 

through a common legal or biological parent. 

California’s law allows any person, including 

a dependent child, to petition the court to 

request sibling visitation, including postadoption sibling contact or placement with or near 

a sibling (Herrick & Piccus, 2005; Christian, 

2002). The State of Washington also broadly 

defines “sibling” in legislation and includes 

language that refers to tribal law or custom for 

defining siblings of Indian children. 

importance of siblings

Sibling relationships are emotionally powerful 

and critically important not only in childhood 

but over the course of a lifetime. Siblings form 

a child’s first peer group, and children learn 

social skills, particularly in managing conflict, 

from negotiating with brothers and sisters. 

Sibling relationships can provide a significant 

source of continuity throughout a child’s lifetime and are likely to be the longest relationships that most people experience. 

The nature and importance of sibling relationships vary for individuals, depending on their 

own circumstances and developmental stage. 

Typically, there is rivalry in the preschool years, 

variability in closeness during middle childhood, depending on the level of warmth in 

the relationship, and less sibling closeness in 

adolescence when teens are focused on peers. 

An extensive body of research addresses 

issues of birth order, gender, age spacing, and 

other influences on sibling relationships. 

Research has demonstrated that warmth in 

sibling relationships is associated with less 

loneliness, fewer behavior problems, and 

higher self-worth (Stocker, 1994). Marjut 

Kosonen (1996) studied the emotional support 

and help that siblings provide and found that 

when they needed help, children would first 

seek out their mothers, but then turn to older 

siblings for support, even before they would 

go to their fathers. She also found that for 

isolated children (as is the case for many children placed into foster care), sibling support is 

especially crucial. For these children, an older 

sibling was often their only perceived source 

of help. 

sibling relationships in 

Abusive or neglectful 

families 

In many families involved with the child 

welfare system, sibling relationships take on 

more importance because they can provide 

support and nurture not consistently provided 

by parents. For children entering care, siblings can serve as a buffer against the worst 

effects of harsh circumstances. While sibling 

relationships in particular families experiencing adverse situations do not always compensate for other deficits, research has validated 

that for many children, sibling relationships 

do promote resilience—for example, a young 

child’s secure attachment to an older sibling 

can diminish the impact of adverse circumstances such as parental mental illness or loss 

(Werner, 1990; Sanders, 2004). Therefore, 

protecting these ties that offer support to 

children removed from their original families is 

especially important. 

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Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

A study of children’s perspectives on their 

important relationships among 90 children 

ages 8 to 12 who were or were not in foster 

care concluded that the foster children’s 

smaller networks of relationships with important persons made siblings proportionally 

more important (Kosonen, 1999). Foster 

children experienced more losses of significant 

others, meaning sibling relationships were 

often one of their only sources for a continuing significant relationship. Nearly one-third of 

the related siblings named by foster children 

in this study were not known to their social 

workers—most were half- or step-siblings. 

Kosonen’s study also underscores the importance of obtaining children’s perspectives on 

their family relationships. When siblings could 

not all be placed together, workers often 

decided to keep those closest in age together, 

resulting in placements that did not necessarily fit the preferences of the children. 

Benefits of placing 

siblings together

For children entering care, being with siblings 

can enhance their sense of safety and wellbeing. They are not burdened with wondering where their siblings are and whether or 

not they are safe. Siblings in the same home 

can provide natural support to each other 

and some sense of stability and belonging. 

Continuity of sibling relationships assists children in maintaining a positive sense of identity 

and knowledge of their cultural, personal, and 

family histories. 

Sibling placement may also affect permanency 

outcomes. A recent study found that placing 

siblings in the same foster home was associated with a significantly higher rate of family 

reunification (Webster, Shlonsky, Shaw, & 

Brookhart, 2005). 

For agencies, placing siblings in the same 

home can streamline some processes such as 

visits by caseworkers. Also, caseworkers are 

relieved of the obligation to arrange and carry 

out visits among siblings if they are already 

living together. Communication between 

birth and foster families is also made more 

manageable when there is only one foster 

family involved. 

Conversely, a body of research has established 

that separated siblings in foster care are at 

higher risk for a number of negative outcomes, 

including placement disruption; running away; 

and failure to exit the system to reunification, 

adoption, or guardianship (Leathers, 2005; 

Courtney et al., 2005). Girls separated from 

all of their siblings are at the greatest risk for 

poor mental health and socialization (TarrenSweeney & Hazell, 2005). 

A foster youth advisory team described separation from siblings entering foster care as 

being “like an extra punishment, a separate 

loss, and another pain that is not needed” 

(YLAT, 2002). Even for very young children, 

separation from a sibling deprives them 

of developing a relationship that might be 

expected to offer them significant support 

over the course of their lives. 

Barriers to placing 

siblings together

A substantial proportion of the approximately 

70 percent of children in foster care who have 

siblings in care are not placed with those 

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Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

siblings. Two studies provide some statistics 

about siblings separated in foster care. 

•In a study of California foster children with 

siblings in care, about 46 percent were 

placed with all their siblings who were in 

care, and 66 percent were placed with at 

least one sibling (Shlonsky, Webster, & 

Needell, 2003). 

•In a longitudinal analysis of placement patterns of more than 168,000 foster youth 

with siblings in care in New York City over a 

15-year period, initial placement status was 

a strong determinant of sibling placement 

over time (Wulczyn & Zimmerman, 2005). 

Forty-three percent of siblings entered 

care on the same day, with another 10 

percent entering within 30 days. A substantial number (41 percent) entered care 

longer than 6 months apart, and these 

siblings were at the highest risk of being 

separated. In fact, for siblings not entering 

care together, two-thirds were not placed 

together initially; however, when siblings 

entered care together, 78 percent were 

placed all together. 

factors Associated With placing 

siblings Apart 

Besides entering foster care together, a 

number of other demographic and situational 

factors are associated with the likelihood 

that siblings are placed in the same foster 

home (Hegar, 2005; Shlonsky, et al., 2003). 

These include: 

•Size of sibling group—larger groups are 

more often split 

•Age gap—wide age span leads to splitting 

•Differences in the needs of siblings 

•Type of placement—siblings placed with kin 

are more likely to be together 

•Differences in relatives—kin may want 

to foster only children to whom they are 

related, and not include half-siblings or 

step-siblings who are not blood relatives 

•Behavior problems—a sibling with a behavior problem is more likely to be removed, 

while brothers and sisters may remain in 

the placement 

•Organizational policies and procedures 

•Adequacy of placement resources and 

supports 

•Agency rules regarding the maximum 

number of children who can be placed in a 

foster home 

Beliefs Associated With placing 

siblings Apart 

Beliefs and attitudes of foster parents, 

workers, agency personnel, and therapists also 

contribute to separating siblings. In a study of 

foster parents’ and workers’ views on placing 

siblings, over half of the foster mothers (55 

percent) did not believe it was easier for a 

foster child to fit into the foster family if placed 

with siblings. As explained by one foster 

parent, “the siblings depend on one another 

too much and shut other people out” (Smith, 

1996). Approximately 45 percent of foster 

parents believed that children placed with 

siblings were easier to foster because they felt 

more secure having their siblings with them. 

In this same study, over half the caseworkers indicated that it was difficult to find foster 

parents willing to accept sibling groups (Smith, 

1996). Most caseworkers also believed that 

the presence of siblings made it harder for 

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Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

the foster parents to incorporate the child 

into the family. However, the vast majority of 

caseworkers personally believed in the county 

policy of placing children with their siblings, 

unless separation was in the best interests of 

the child. 

Recommendations of therapists may be the 

basis of some placements. However, best 

practice indicates that the therapist should 

have experience with siblings in child welfare 

and that the same therapist should see all of 

the siblings in order to make a recommendation that is beneficial for the group. Some 

clinical judgments that have been used to 

justify separating siblings are not necessarily 

best practice. 

Although each of the following reasons has 

been used in the past to separate siblings, 

child welfare professionals now generally 

agree that these are not reasons to keep 

siblings apart: 

•There is too much conflict or rivalry 

between particular siblings to keep them 

together. 

•The special needs of a single child require a 

separate placement. 

•An older child is too involved in taking care 

of a younger brother or sister. 

•A sibling born after older siblings have 

been removed from the home can be considered separately for purposes of permanency goals, because the children do not 

have an established relationship. 

In many of these cases, therapy and services 

will help all the siblings, and the benefits 

of being together will outweigh those of 

being separated. 

policies and practices 

for Keeping siblings 

together 

Decisions regarding sibling placement may be 

more straightforward when siblings come into 

care at the same time, when their needs are 

similar, and when the sibling group is small. In 

such cases, placement together is both more 

feasible and likely. When there are more barriers to placement together, as listed above, 

caseworkers may have to make more difficult 

decisions regarding placement. 

Connie Maschmeier (2001) developed a 

decision-making matrix to help agencies 

make decisions around the placement of 

siblings. The matrix takes into consideration 

the degree, duration, quality, and intensity 

of the sibling relationships; any safety risks 

associated with placement; possible long-term 

benefits; the family’s ability to meet the needs 

of all siblings; and the children’s preferences. 

Standards to guide workers in placement 

decisions and other practice related to siblings are included in the Child Welfare League 

of America (CWLA) Standards of Excellence 

for Adoption Services (2000). Standard 3.7 

specifies: 

Siblings should be placed together both 

in out-of-home care and adoption unless 

the serious, specific needs of one or 

more of the siblings justifies separation. 

The decision to separate siblings should 

be based on a carefully documented 

and reviewed determination that such 

separation is necessary. 

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Family-centered practice suggests that children and youth should be included in developmentally appropriate discussions and decisions about being placed with their siblings. 

thorough Assessment of sibling 

relationships 

During intake, workers need to complete a 

thorough assessment of sibling relationships 

and individual children, including the experience and feelings of each child. They should 

talk with children individually and ask ageappropriate questions, such as: 

•Which sibling does the child enjoy spending time with? 

•Who will play a game with the child? 

•Which sibling would the child turn to if he 

were afraid or hurt? 

•Who would listen to a story? 

If separate placements must be made for very 

large sibling groups, this assessment will help 

the worker make decisions about which sibling 

relationships are most essential to the wellbeing of specific children. 

In completing assessments, it is important 

to recognize that sibling relationships vary 

greatly in both positive and negative qualities. In evaluating the quality of sibling relationships, the worker will want to look for 

warmth or affection between siblings, rivalry 

and hostility, interdependence, and relative 

power and status in the relationship, as well as 

determining how much time the siblings have 

spent together. 

strategies for placing siblings 

together 

Agency policy, along with the individual circumstances of each sibling group, will affect 

whether or not siblings are placed together. 

The following are policy and practice strategies designed to address the needs of sibling 

groups more effectively: 

•Designate certain foster home resources for 

large sibling groups, and offer incentives to 

hold them open for these placements. 

•Recruit families specifically to care for 

sibling groups through community outreach, the media, special events, faithbased organizations, photolistings, 

and websites. 

•Educate foster, adoptive, and kin families 

about sibling and grief issues. 

•Have contracts with private agencies to 

offer a specialized foster care program 

designed specifically for large sibling 

groups (examples of these include the Hull 

House Neighbor to Neighbor program in 

Chicago, Neighbor to Family in Florida, and 

the Jewish Child Care Association Sibling 

Houses program in New York). 

•If efforts are being made to recruit an 

adoptive family for a sibling group, list 

them as a group with a picture of the entire 

sibling group. 

•Have a system in place to track the location 

and status of all siblings. 

•Seek kinship placements first, because they 

are generally more open to taking a sibling 

group, and because such placements 

offer the further advantage of preserving 

family connections. 

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•Conduct a thorough social work assessment 

of sibling groups as a whole, as well as of 

each individual child, including children 

in discussions. 

•Assign all siblings to the same caseworker, 

no matter when they enter care. 

•If siblings must be separated in an 

emergency placement, provide for a 

review within the first week to plan 

for reunification. 

•At regular case reviews, discuss sibling 

issues and include children or youth in 

these discussions. 

•Provide training for caseworkers and foster 

parents on the importance of preserving 

sibling connections. 

•Provide sufficient resources for foster 

families who take in large sibling groups 

and may need additional household items 

and services. 

•Ensure that information about siblings is 

included in each child‘s Lifebook. 

When siblings Cannot 

live together 

Despite agency policy or a caseworker’s best 

efforts, a number of situations may lead to 

siblings being placed separately. This initial 

separation can lead to permanent separation if 

an agency does not make ongoing, concerted 

efforts to place the children together. Both 

policy and practice should promote ongoing 

efforts to reunite separated siblings. Common 

dilemmas regarding separated siblings include 

the following: 

•An infant may come into care and be 

placed in a foster or pre-adoptive home 

before workers have determined that the 

infant has siblings already in foster care 

or in adoptive homes. The foster or preadoptive parents of the infant may then 

argue against the removal of the infant 

from their home. To avoid this dilemma, 

agencies should establish whether or not 

any infant or child coming into care has 

siblings already in placement. If so, strong 

efforts should be made to place the infant 

with siblings. 

•In some cases of separated siblings, foster 

parents may want to adopt only the sibling 

placed with them. Workers are put in 

the unenviable position of choosing the 

lesser of two evils—allowing the child to 

be adopted without his or her siblings, 

or keeping the child in foster care until a 

family can be found who will adopt all of 

the siblings. To reduce the likelihood of this 

situation, foster parents should always be 

told at the time of placement that reuniting siblings is a top priority of the agency. 

Whatever decision is made, there should be 

provisions for maintaining connections with 

both the foster parents and siblings. 

•A similar dilemma occurs when a sibling 

group placement disrupts because the 

foster parents cannot handle one of the 

sibling’s behavior but they want to continue 

parenting the others. The worker must 

decide whether to remove just the one 

child or the entire sibling group. Another 

alternative would be to have a temporary 

specialized placement for the sibling with 

behavior problems if the foster parents are 

willing to work toward reintegrating this 

child into their family. 

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When a sibling is Abusive 

Whenever there is a concern that one sibling 

poses a safety risk to another, a thorough 

assessment needs to occur. Distinctions 

need to be made between sexually reactive 

behavior (inappropriate sexual touching or 

fondling between children close in age) and 

sexual abuse by a more powerful sibling of 

another. If there is significant abuse that does 

not respond to treatment or if the risk of 

re-occurrence is high, the abusing sibling may 

need to be moved to another placement. 

Physical aggression within the normal range 

of sibling relationships needs to be differentiated from physical abuse or victimization of a weaker sibling. Also, the severity of 

the abusive behavior needs to be assessed 

and a determination made as to whether 

the safety risks are moderate and can be 

managed through closer supervision, therapeutic parenting, and clinical treatment to 

change behaviors. 

Victimization of one sibling by another should 

not be ignored. Research indicates that the 

impact of sexual abuse by a sibling is just as 

harmful to the victim as sexual abuse by a 

parent or stepparent. In fact, one study found 

that penetration occurred more commonly 

in sibling incest (71 percent), than in incest 

between a father or stepfather and a child 

(35 percent) (Cyr, Wright, McDuff, & Perron, 

2002). Hence, children should be protected 

from abuse by a sibling just as they are protected from abuse by caretakers. In some 

cases, it may be possible to work toward 

reunification after a period of treatment for 

the offending sibling. 

Maintaining ties 

Between separated 

siblings

When siblings cannot be placed together, 

facilitating regular contact is critical to maintaining these relationships. Regular contact 

may even affect permanency outcomes. 

Findings from the Child and Family Services 

Reviews (CFSRs) conducted in all States found 

a strong association between visiting with 

parents and siblings and the outcomes of 

reunification, guardianship, and placement 

with relatives (Children’s Bureau, 2004). 

States vary considerably in their protection of siblings’ right to contact in statute or 

child welfare policies. Even States that have 

extensive statutory protections governing the 

treatment of siblings who come under court 

protection often do not offer much protection 

of the right of siblings to associate with each 

other if they are not placed together. In the 

end, workers and foster or adoptive parents 

have to understand the importance of sibling 

contact for the children for whom they are 

responsible in order to maintain their commitment to making these contacts happen. 

strategies for preserving sibling 

ties in separate placements 

Some promising practices from the field 

suggest ways to maintain ties among separated siblings. 

• Place with kinship caregivers who have 

an established personal relationship. 

Even when siblings cannot be placed in the 

same home, they are more apt to keep in 

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close contact if they are each placed with 

a relative. 

• Place nearby. Placing siblings in the same 

neighborhood or school district ensures 

that they will be able to see each other 

regularly. Also, keeping children in their 

same schools contributes to better educational outcomes. 

• Arrange for regular visits. While there is 

no consensus on frequency of face-to-face 

contacts, a minimum of twice a month for 

siblings separated in foster care has been 

recommended by some experts in the field. 

At least two States (Missouri and Utah) 

require weekly visits (National Resource 

Center for Family Centered Practice and 

Permanency Planning, 2005). Also, visits 

with birth parents can be arranged to 

occur at a time when all the siblings can 

be together. 

• 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 the worker in developing a plan for 

ongoing contact. This meeting should 

include working through any barriers to 

visits, and the plan needs to be reviewed 

and revised as needed, at least yearly. 

Sometimes there are value differences 

between families or other issues that cause 

parental discomfort with visits. Such differences need to be discussed and resolved. 

• Plan joint outings or camp experiences. Siblings may be able to spend time 

together at summer or weekend camps, 

including camps specifically for siblings, or 

through short-term outings. For instance, 

Camp To Belong is a camp for siblings 

separated by foster care. Such camp experiences help siblings build and maintain 

their relationships. 

• Arrange for joint respite care. Families 

caring for siblings may be able to provide 

babysitting or respite care for each other, 

thus giving the siblings another opportunity 

to spend time together. 

• Help children with emotions. Sometimes 

sibling visits stir up emotional issues in 

children, such as the intense feelings they 

may experience when visiting birth parents. 

Children need to be helped to express 

and work through these feelings; this does 

not mean visits should not occur. Visits 

should provide some opportunities for joint 

Lifebook work with siblings. If siblings are 

in therapy, they should be seeing the same 

therapist, and it may be possible to schedule appointments either jointly or back to 

back. Children may also need help with 

feelings of guilt if they have been removed 

from an abusive home, but other siblings 

were left behind or born later. 

• 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. Some families even travel across 

the country or to other countries to give 

their children the opportunity to get to 

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Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

know their siblings. Some States offset the 

costs of such visits through their adoption 

subsidy plans. The earlier these relationships can begin, the more children can use 

these opportunities to work through adoption identity issues that may arise, and the 

sooner they can develop truly meaningful 

relationships with siblings. 

Many States have adoption registries that 

can help adult siblings separated by foster 

care or adoption re-establish contact later 

in life. The caseworker needs to make sure 

that all pertinent information on each sibling 

is entered in the registry at the time of each 

child’s adoption. 

sibling issues Within 

the foster or Adoptive 

family 

Facilitating healthy attachments and interactions among all siblings in foster and adoptive families, including all birth, foster, and 

adopted children, is an essential therapeutic 

goal. A single family may contain birth and 

foster children as well as adopted children 

coming from different backgrounds or types of 

adoptions. Negative interaction patterns can 

result when children have different statuses in 

their families or special needs that require an 

inordinate amount of parental attention, create 

stress for other family members, or both. 

Other dynamics lead to tensions as well; for 

example, one adopted child may have extensive information about his or her background, 

as well as ongoing contact with birth relatives, 

while another may have neither of these. Or 

an adopted child who maintains contact with 

his or her siblings who are still living with the 

birth family has difficulty integrating into the 

adopted family. 

Two social workers in Minnesota developed 

a model for supporting children already in 

families when older children are adopted. The 

model was developed after the agency experienced an adoption disruption related to other 

children in the family (Mullin & Johnson, 1999). 

This model advocates having a social worker 

assigned to the sibling group who meets 

with them at strategic points. It is essential 

to prepare children for both the positive and 

negative changes in the family that are likely 

after a new placement and to assist parents 

in developing strategies to communicate and 

cope with their children’s needs. 

Some important strategies for parents and 

workers in addressing the needs of all children 

in the family include: 

•Encourage children to share their thoughts 

and feelings; empathize with, and do not 

minimize their concerns. 

•Provide opportunities for fun and positive interactions between children to 

promote attachment. 

•Promote reciprocity between children in the 

family; for example, if a child destroys the 

property of another, find a way for the child 

to make up for the loss, such as earning the 

money to replace the item. 

•Find ways for parents to have meaningful 

one-on-one time with each child. 

•Teach children skills to resolve their own 

disputes to the extent possible. 

•Develop a support group for siblings, either 

informally or through an agency. 

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Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

resources for promoting 

intact placement of 

sibling Groups 

States and agencies have developed special 

programs or resources to facilitate meeting 

the needs of siblings in out-of-home care. 

Below is a list of some of the resources that 

help professionals to address the needs of 

sibling groups. Additional resources may be 

found in the reference list. 

•Both professionals and foster parents may 

be helped to appreciate the child’s perspective on the importance of sibling connections and the painful impact of separation from siblings by reading the following: 

	 Herrick, M. A., & Piccus, W. (2005). 

Sibling connections: The importance 

of nurturing sibling bonds in the foster 

care system. Children and Youth Services 

Review, 27(7), 845-861. 

www.sciencedirect.com/science/ 

journal/01907409 

	 Folman, R. D. (1998). “I was tooken”: 

How children experience removal from 

their parents preliminary to placement 

into foster care. Adoption Quarterly, 2(2), 

7-35. 

http://dx.doi.org/DOI:10.1300/ 

J145v02n02_02 

• My brother, my sister: Sibling relations in 

adoption and foster care. This 6-hour training curriculum by Regina Kupecky emphasizes the importance of sibling relationships. It consists of trainer’s notes, activities, 

PowerPoint slides and video. Order from 

the Attachment and Bonding Center of 

Ohio, 12608 State Road, Suite 1, North 

Royalton, OH 44133. 

•The Proceedings of the National Leadership 

Symposium on Siblings in Out-of-Home 

Care (May 19-20, 2002) may be downloaded from the website of Casey Family 

Programs. This volume contains many 

resources, including an appendix on policies and laws on sibling placements (pp. 63-

70) as well as a variety of materials useful in 

trainings. 

www.casey.org/Resources/Archive/ 

Publications/SiblingSymposium.htm 

•The Sibling Practice Curriculum from the 

National Resource Center for FamilyCentered Practice and Permanency 

Planning utilizes materials developed by 

Casey Family Programs. 

www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/ 

info_services/siblings.html 

•Samples of State policies and links to many 

complete policies regarding sibling placement and visitation can be found in documents available from the National Resource 

Center for Family-Centered Practice and 

Permanency Planning. 

www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/ 

info_services/siblings.html 

•The Oklahoma Department of Human 

Services has developed a video on the 

importance of keeping siblings together 

in adoption. The Sibling Connection: 

Keeping Brothers and Sisters Together 

Through Adoption is available by contacting Deborah Goodman at 918.588.1735 or 

Deborah.Goodman@okdhs.org 

•The Maine Youth Advisory Leadership 

Team, composed of youth in care and 

their guardians, caseworkers, and others, 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 1 Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/siblingissues/index.cfm. 
Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

prepared a position paper on siblings in 

out-of-home care that was adopted by the 

Bureau of Child and Family Services as its 

sibling policy. 

www.ylat.org//leadership/policy/sibling/ 

siblingpolicy.htm 

• Minnesota has developed Program 

Improvement Plan (PIP) tips to help counties in their efforts to improve practice 

related to Child and Family Services Review 

issues. Two of these publications deal with 

siblings (placement issues and visitation). 

www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/groups/county_ 

access/documents/pub/dhs_id_028205. 

hcsp 

• There are some unique programs around 

the country to facilitate foster or adopted 

siblings’ contact with each other. A wellknown program is Camp To Belong, which 

was developed in Colorado by sisters who 

had been in foster care themselves. This 

program has been replicated in at least five 

other States and in Canada. Some States 

have developed regular weekend camps 

specifically for children who are separated 

in foster care or adoption. 

www.camptobelong.org/ 

references

Casey Family Programs (2002, May). Proceedings of the National Leadership Symposium on 

Siblings in Out-of-Home Care. Retrieved August 2005 from www.casey.org/Resources/Archive/ 

Publications/SiblingSymposium.htm 

Child Welfare League of America. (2000). CWLA Standards of Excellence for Adoption Services. 

Washington, DC: CWLA Press. 

Children’s Bureau. (2004). General findings from the Federal Child and Family Services Review. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children 

and Families. Retrieved February 2005 from www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwrp/results/ 

statefindings/genfindings04/genfindings04.pdf. 

Christian, S. (2002, May). Summary of legislation. Paper presented at the National Leadership 

Symposium on Siblings in Out-of-Home Care, Daytona Beach, FL. 

Courtney, M., Skyles, A., Miranda, G., Zinn, A., Howard, E., & Goerge, R. (2005).Youth who run 

away from substitute care. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children. 

Cyr, M., Wright, J., McDuff, P., & Perron, A. (2002). Intrafamilial sexual abuse: Brother-sister incest 

does not differ from daughter and stepfather-stepdaughter incest. Child Abuse and Neglect, 26 

(9), 957-973. 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 1 Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/siblingissues/index.cfm. 
Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

Folman, R. D. (1998). “I was tooken”: How children experience removal from their parents 

preliminary to placement into foster care. Adoption Quarterly, 2(2), 7-35. 

Hegar, R. L. (2005). Sibling placement in foster care and adoption: An overview of international 

research. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(7), 717-739. 

Herrick, M. A., & Piccus, W. (2005). Sibling connections: The importance of nurturing sibling bonds 

in the foster care system. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(7), 845-861. 

Kosonen, M. (1996). Maintaining sibling relationships—neglected dimension in child care practice. 

British Journal of Social Work, 26, 809-822. 

Kosonen, M. (1999). ‘Core’ and kin siblings: Foster children’s changing families. In A. Mullender, 

(Ed.), We are family: Sibling relationships in placement and beyond (pp. 28-49). London: British 

Agencies for Adoption and Fostering. 

Leathers, S. (2005). Separation from siblings: Associations with placement adaptation and 

outcomes among adolescents in long-term foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 

27(7), 793-819. 

Maschmeier, C. (2001). The sisters and brothers together project. Warren, OH: Northeast Ohio 

Adoption Services. Includes Appendix B, Sibling Decision Making Matrix. Available from the 

Child Welfare Information Gateway Library, CD-36775: 

www.childwelfare.gov 

Mullin, E. S., & Johnson, L. (1999). The role of birth/previously adopted children in families 

choosing to adopt children with special needs. Child Welfare, 78(5), 579-591. 

National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice. (2005). Policies on sibling visits in out of 

home care. Retrieved February 2006 from www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/downloads/ 

policy-issues/Sibling_Visiting_Policies.pdf 

Sanders, R. (2004). Sibling relationships: Theory and issues for practice. Hampshire, England: 

Palgrave Macmillan. 

Shlonsky, A., Webster, D., & Needell, B. (2003). The ties that bind: A cross-sectional analysis of 

siblings in foster care. Journal of Social Service Research, 29(3), 27-52. 

Shlonsky, A., Bellamy, J., Elkins, J., & Ashare, C. J. (2005). The other kin: Setting the course for 

research, policy, and practice with siblings. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(7), 697-716. 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 1 Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/siblingissues/index.cfm. 
Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption www.childwelfare.gov 

Smith, M. C. (1996). An exploratory survey of foster mother and caseworker attitudes about sibling 

placement. Child Welfare, 75(4), 357-375. 

Staff, I., & Fein, E. (1992). Together or separate: A study of siblings in foster care. Child Welfare, 71, 

257-270. 

Stocker, C. M. (1994). Children’s perceptions of relationships with siblings, friends, and mothers: 

Compensatory processes and links with adjustment. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 

35(8), 1447-1459. 

Tarren-Sweeney, M., & Hazell, P. (2005). The mental health and socialization of siblings in care. 

Children and Youth Services Review, 27(7), 821-843. 

Webster, D., Shlonsky, A., Shaw, T., & Brookhart, M. A. (2005). The ties that bind II: Reunification 

of siblings in out-of-home care using a statistical technique for examining non-independent 

observations. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(7), 765-782. 

Werner, E. E. (1990). Protective factors and individual resilience. In E. J. Meisels & S. J. Shonkoff 

(Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention (pp. 97-116). New York, NY: Cambridge 

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Wulczyn, F., & Zimmerman, E. (2005). Sibling placements in longitudinal perspective. Children and 

Youth Services Review, 27(7), 741-763. 

YLAT (2002). Youth Leadership Advisory Team position paper: Siblings in foster care and adoption. 

Retrieved August 2005 from www.ylat.org//leadership/policy/sibling position.htm. 

Acknowledgment: This bulletin was developed by Child Welfare Information Gateway, in partnership with Susan L. Smith, Program and Project Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption 

Institute. This document is made possible by the Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, 

Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services. The conclusions discussed here are solely the responsibility of the authors and do 

not represent the official views or policies of the funding agency. 

Suggested Citation: Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2006). Sibling Issues in Foster Care 

and Adoption: A Bulletin for Professionals. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services. 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare 1 Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/siblingissues/index.cfm.