14.1.10 Adoption Planning for Sibling Groups |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
This chapter details the assessment of children in sibling groups and factors that may influence placing them for adoption together or separating them. It also deals with contact issues if sibling groups are separated once placed for adoption.
RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE
Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 (Regulation 13)
Adoption and Children Act 2002 Guidance (2011), Chapter 4
Adoption National Minimum Standards 2011, Standards 8 and 2
AMENDMENT
This chapter was updated in January 2016 with regards to the consideration of siblings and whether they should remain together or apart, as well as the permanence options for the children.
Contents
- Introduction
- Definition of Siblings
- Legal Position
- Policy
- Assessing Children in Sibling Groups
- Contact Issues if Brothers and Sisters are Placed in Separate Adoptive Families
1. Introduction
A high proportion of children who are looked after have brothers or sisters. Siblings who share a childhood and grow up together have potentially the longest lasting and closest relationships of their lives with each other. Looked after children often have very complex family structures and it is important that these are researched, that the significance of relationships to the child are assessed and that permanence planning takes this into account.
2. Definition of Siblings
The Department accepts the following definition of siblings:
- Children who share at least one birth parent;
and/or
- Children who live or have lived for a significant period with other children in a family group.
3.
Legal Position
3.1 | The main legal provision on the placement of siblings is contained in the Children Act 1989: “Where a Local Authority provides accommodation for a child whom they are looking after, they shall... so far as is reasonably practicable and consistent with his welfare, secure that... Where the authority are also providing accommodation for a sibling of his, they are accommodated together” (Section 23(7)(B)). |
3.2 | The Statutory Adoption Guidance (2011) Chapter 4, paragraph 12 states that: “Where it is not possible for siblings to be placed together for the agency should consider carefully the need for the children to remain in contact with each other and the need for adoption support... Where a placement is sought for a child whose siblings have already been adopted, it will be important to consider whether it is possible to place the child with the parent(s) who have already adopted the sibling(s) It must be recognised, however, that this could be placing too great a burden on the adoptive parent, and risk destabilising the existing adoptive family.” |
3.3 | LAC (99) 29 “Care Plans and care proceedings under the Children Act 1989” states that: “The Court will wish to scrutinise the care plans for each sibling child. It is important that the Court’s attention is drawn to any important differences between the respective plans reflecting the individual needs of the child”. |
3.4 | The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (2000) recognises that: “The quality of relationships between siblings may also be of major significance to a child’s welfare”. |
4. Policy
4.1 | Siblings who are looked after by Nottinghamshire County Council will be placed together in an adoptive home. |
4.2 | The decision to place brothers and sisters in separate placements will be made when a sibling assessment has been carried out and a Permanence Planning meeting has been held to give consideration of the individual needs of children. |
4.3 | Adopters will be assessed for financial support to facilitate the placement of sibling groups of three children or more. Sibling groups of three and above will be viewed as eligible children. |
5. Assessing Children in Sibling Groups
5.1 | It is important to undertake a full assessment of each individual child in a sibling group, as well as an assessment of their relationships with each other and the dynamics of the group. Even if it seems clear that the siblings should remain together, a full assessment will provide essential information for a new family and will enable the agency to anticipate the extra help and support that may be necessary. | |
5.2 | There are no current frameworks for the assessment of sibling relationships in general use. A Department of Health and Social Care publication (1991) includes checklists as a basic tool for studying the way siblings behave towards each other (see 5.3.6). | |
5.3 | The most recent publication on the subject ‘Assessing Brothers and Sisters for Permanent Placement’ (Lord and Borthwick CoramBAAF 2001) suggests the following should be considered during assessment: | |
5.3.1 | Clarify who the siblings are:
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5.3.2 | Who should be involved?
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5.3.3 | Are the children placed in separate foster homes?
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5.3.4 | Assessing each child’s needs
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5.3.5 | Context in which the relationship between the siblings has developed
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5.3.6 | Assessing a child’s attachment to and relationship with each sibling
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5.3.7 | Dynamics of the sibling group
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5.3.8 | What work could be done to improve relationships between siblings?
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5.3.9 | Exceptional circumstances, which may indicate that siblings should be placed separately If children are placed in the same family, it may be impossible (within a reasonable timescale) to help them recover from dysfunctional and destructive patterns of interaction from their birth family. Examples of these may be:
(Gerrilyn Smith, Clinical Psychologist) However it must be stressed that efforts must be made to address any issues of difficulty in sibling relationships before the serious decision to place separately is made. |
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5.3.10 | Identifying who should be placed with whom if a sibling group needs to be split
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5.3.11 | Recording It is vital that reasons for decisions about the placement of brothers and sisters are well recorded. Information should also be given to adopters and should be contained in the child’s life storybook and later life letter. When the children become adults, they may or may not agree that the right decision was made, but they should at least be assured that it was made with thought and care. |
6. Contact Issues if Brothers and Sisters are Placed in Separate Adoptive Families
6.1 | If brothers and sisters are unable to be placed together, it is essential that the Department ensures that robust contact arrangements are in place, which can be sustained throughout childhood. |
6.2 | There may be circumstances where children have lived together in a foster home and a significant relationship has developed. Consideration should be given to whether on-going contact with these children would be of benefit. |
6.3 | Adoptive parents of separated siblings will require information about how and why decisions have been made so that they can talk to their children in years to come. They also have specific needs in respect of contact, such as:
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6.4 | Adoptive parents managing sibling contact may also have to cope with issues in the other families impacting on their children, e.g. placement disruption or an older child’s reunion with members of their birth family. The capacity to tolerate periods of change and uncertainty need to be recognised and discussed during preparation and assessment and when discussing placements. |
References
Rushton A, Dance C, Quinton D and Mayes D (2001) Siblings in Late Permanent Placement. CoramBAAF publication
Department of Health (1991) Patterns and Outcomes in Child Placement, HMSO
Lord J and Borthwick S (2001) Assessing Brothers and Sisters for Permanent Placement, CoramBAAF Publication
Beckett, Shelagh (2001) Sibling Relationships: Planning for Permanent Placement - paper given to Seminar - Notts Dec 2001
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