Caregivers often don't realize they're expected to help maintain a child or youth's connections with siblings and other important people. Without clear expectations, these relationships can fade while they are in care. Set clear expectations to help children and youth keep these important relationships throughout their time in care.

How to do this

Establish formal policies requiring sibling contact

Create and enforce policies that require regular sibling visits and ongoing efforts to reunite siblings when they're separated. Copy policy language that specifies minimum contact requirements, like Oklahoma's comprehensive policy or Washington's framework that requires 2 or more in-person visits per month.

Include key protections in your policy:

• Sibling visits can't be limited or used as sanctions for behavior.
• Visits must continue after termination of parental rights.
• Visit plans must be developed within 14 days.

Connect and train caregivers for collaboration

When siblings are separated in care, connect their caregivers right away (unless there are case-specific reasons not to). Caregivers should collaborate to help keep siblings connected through invitations to school events, birthdays, and other normal interactions.

Caseworkers should encourage caregivers to collaborate by checking in regularly about how sibling visits are going. If caregivers are hesitant, caseworkers should set up an initial visit to break the ice. Caregivers should be expected to facilitate sibling connections through phone calls, video chats, and in-person visits. They shouldn't be allowed to opt out of this responsibility.

Include connection expectations in training

Make it clear to new foster parents that they are responsible for helping to maintain sibling and kin connections. Include specific content on sibling connections in foster parent training, with details about how parents are empowered to connect with one another and bring siblings together.

Revise foster parent training to include formal expectations that foster parents will help maintain a child or youth's connections. For example, require that foster parents have to help develop kin connection plans.

Use parent visits strategically

Make it standard practice for court-ordered parent visits to include entire sibling groups. Don’t count visits with parents as sibling visits. These should be in addition to dedicated sibling time.

This strategy in action

Frederick County, MD requires separated siblings to have contact at least monthly per policy, explicitly forbids withholding sibling visits as discipline, introduces all caregivers of separated sibling groups, connects caregivers at the start of placements, and includes content on keeping siblings connected in PRIDE training.

Indiana and Washington State require at least 2 sibling visits per month.

Michigan requires a minimum of 1-hour visits monthly and connects caregivers of separated children at the start of placements.

Oklahoma has comprehensive policy requiring ongoing efforts to keep siblings connected with detailed monthly requirements for resolving barriers, encourages caregivers with separated siblings to bring children together as often as possible, and uses parent visits as opportunities to bring sibling groups together.

Washington, DC ensures caregivers understand expectations for sibling visits, with BOND Leads creating activities where separated siblings can engage and support workers helping families connect siblings independently.

Nebraska uses parent visits as opportunities to bring sibling groups together.

Resources

Washington State policy on visits with relatives

Guidance when youth or children in state care are visiting with parents, guardians, siblings, or other family members.

Learn more

Oklahoma policy on visits with parents and siblings

Rights to visitation when a child or youth is in state human services custody and an out-of-home placement.

Learn more