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May Is National Foster Care Month
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Building Well-Being Through Support in Sibling Connections
Maintaining and supporting sibling relationships is essential to the healthy development and well-being of all children, and it is especially important for children who experience foster care. This section provides resources for child welfare professionals who seek to learn more about preserving connections for brothers and sisters in out-of-home care. Resources include State and local examples.
Foster Children Placed With or Separated From Siblings: Outcomes Based on a National Sample
Hegar & Rosenthal
Children and Youth Services Review, 33(7), 2011
Analyzes records from the National Study of Child and Adolescent Well-Being to compare outcomes for children in foster care who are placed with or apart from one or more of their siblings.
Practice Principles for the Recruitment and Retention of Kinship, Foster, and Adoptive Families for Siblings
(PDF - 384 KB)National Resource Center for Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Parents at AdoptUSKids (2011)
Explains the importance of keeping siblings together in out-of-home care and provides strategies for child welfare agencies.
Ten Myths and Realities of Sibling Adoption
(PDF - 215 KB)National Resource Center for Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Parents at AdoptUSKids (2010)
Dispels myths about sibling adoption and provides facts that highlight the benefits of sibling adoption.
State and local examples
Camp Connect: A Model To Follow
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Voice, March/April (2008)
Provides detailed information about a Baltimore County, MD, Department of Social Services summer camp that reunites siblings in foster care for other agencies considering developing a similar sibling camp model.
Camp To Belong
Reunites siblings placed in separate foster, adoptive, or kinship homes through summer camp programs and year-round events.
Sibling Connections
Provides support and year-round connection opportunities for siblings in foster care in Massachusetts so they can interact, maintain, and strengthen their bond.
Strategies to Support Joint Sibling Placement
National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (2011)
Shares responses from five States on how they support joint sibling placement in out-of-home care.