Siblings are defined as children who have one or more parents in common either biologically, through adoption, or through the marriage of their parents, and with whom the child lived before his or her foster care placement, or with whom the child would be expected to live if the child were not in foster care.
A. Sibling Separation
1. The Child Welfare Case Management Provider (CWCMP) shall make reasonable efforts to keep siblings placed together in a family like setting unless placement together is contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings. If siblings are not placed together when they enter out of home placement, a plan shall be made to move them into the same placement as soon as possible.
a. If siblings remain apart after 90 days:
i. A staffing meeting which includes the children (if appropriate), parents, relatives/kin and other significant people, shall be held to review the actions taken to reunite siblings and plan further actions needed to accomplish this goal.
ii. The impact of separating siblings in placement or in permanency, the efforts to place the siblings together, or explain why they should not be placed together shall be considered and documented on the PPS 5146 Sibling Separation Staffing at minimum, every 90 days the siblings remain separated until the siblings are placed together unless a Sibling Split Request has been approved. The PPS 5146 shall be sent to the DCF Liaison within 5 days of the staffing.
B. Sibling Split
1. A Sibling Split Request shall be submitted when it is determined by a child’s permanency team it would be in his/her best interest to be permanently separated from his or her siblings who also have case plan goals of adoption, after all attempts to maintain the siblings together have proven unsuccessful. Sibling splits shall not be considered until parental rights have been terminated or at least one sibling has been relinquished into custody. Sibling Split Requests shall be forwarded to the CWCMP Sibling Split Request Review Team for approval.
2. Sibling Split Review Process:
a. The CWCMP shall convene a review team to determine if the sibling split is in the children’s best interest. Document the team's recommendations in the PPS 5147 Sibling Split Staffing Form. The review team shall consist of:
i. CWCMP Case manager
ii. CWCMP Supervisor
iii. CWCMP Program Director
iv. Guardian ad Litem, either in person or through submitted input
v. DCF, as needed
vi. CASA, either in person or through submitted input
b. Consider the following in a Sibling Split Request:
i. Birth Family Information:
a. Reasons for children entering care.
b. Siblings' relationships within the birth family.
ii. Shared Trauma History:
iii. History of Out-of-Home Placement:
a. Timing and reasons for any separations.
b. History of efforts made to place siblings together.
iv. Therapeutic attempts and interventions in addressing behaviors or needs that prevent sibling placement together.
v. Short- and long-term impacts of sibling separation.
vi. Current Sibling Visitation and/or Contact Plans:
a. Existing visitation and contact arrangements including behavior management plans, safety plans, and sibling interactions.
b. Detailed plans for maintaining contact if sibling split request is approved.
vii. Resource Family Information:
a. Details about potential or current resource families.
viii. Supporting Documentation including input from family members, therapist reports, letters from placement providers, and any other relevant documentation.
c. Sibling Split Request Approval and Distribution:
i. Distribute the approved Sibling Split Request to the DCF Foster Care Liaison and GAL within 5 days of the staffing.
d. When a request to split siblings is granted, the CWCMP shall seek to secure a commitment from adoptive, custodians, or foster/relative/kin families to maintain ongoing connections (e.g., visitation, communication).
See PPM 3237 regarding sibling visitation.