What’s the problem with how things have been done? Why are sibling connections important?

​

Sibling connections in foster care are incredibly important. When a child experiences a separation from their biological parents, they often rely more on their siblings and family connections for normalcy and a sense of stability and emotional support. The sibling connection in particular is the longest relationship that many people have in their lifetimes. Research has found that sibling relationships have impacts on everything from self esteem, and childhood grades, to future health outcomes and employability. 

When surveyed lived experience advisory councils across the country consistently placed sibling connections as one of their top concerns about the child welfare system, more common than any other issue. 

Remember, sibling separation isn’t a one time occurrence, and even short separations can be traumatic and lead to missed opportunities for connection. 

“Research shows that the failure to maintain sibling relationships in foster care harms children’s ability to form their identities, deprives them of a vital source of support as they grow and develop, and causes lifelong grief and yearning. Further, direct accounts from youth with lived experience in foster care describe how critical sibling relationships are and the trauma of sibling separation.  Roughly two-thirds of children in foster care in the United States have at least one sibling, many of them are separated– often forever – and courts rarely consider the damage such separation causes.”  See ABA Toolkit page 1. 

Unfortunately, child welfare practices, licensing standards, timelines, and bureaucratic hurdles often have made the separation of siblings a common, harmful experience across the country.