By James McCabe, editor · How this site is researched
Two brothers come into care on a Friday night. One goes to a foster home with an open bed. The other goes to an aunt two towns away. By Monday the paperwork calls that a placement. Nobody has called it a separation yet. For a volunteer GAL or CASA, that gap is where the work starts. This guide covers the federal rule, two state versions of it, and the questions, visit plans and report lines that keep separated siblings connected.
The short version of the law
Since the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, every state taking federal foster care money has promised "reasonable efforts" on siblings. The rule is 42 U.S.C. 671(a)(31), part of the Title IV-E state plan. Subparagraph (A) requires reasonable efforts "to place siblings removed from their home in the same foster care, kinship guardianship, or adoptive placement." Subparagraph (B) says that when siblings are not placed together, the state must "provide for frequent visitation or other ongoing interaction between the siblings." Both duties have the same exit: the state must document that the placement or visitation "would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any of the siblings."
Two words carry most of the advocacy. "Documents" means a worker's judgment alone is not enough. "Frequent" is not defined, which is why your state statute and the case plan matter. Paragraph (29) of the same section requires notice within 30 days of removal to relatives including "all parents of a sibling of the child" who have custody of that sibling.
How states write it down
Florida. Florida Statutes section 39.4024 names guardians ad litem among those responsible for fostering sibling relationships (subsection (1)(d)). If a suitable caregiver will take the whole group and the multidisciplinary team agrees, the group "must be placed together" (subsection (3)(b)). When siblings are separated, the department must reassess at least every six months (subsection (5)(a)), may not withhold contact as punishment (subsection (4)(a)9), must document in writing the efforts to keep the children together and the contact plan (subsection (6)(c)), and must "promptly provide a child with the location of and contact information for his or her siblings" (subsection (6)(a)).
Washington. RCW 13.34.136 requires the permanency plan to state "what steps the department will take to promote existing appropriate sibling relationships and/or facilitate placement together or contact." Under subsection (2)(b)(iii), no one "may limit visitation or contact between a child and sibling as a sanction," any limit must be approved by a supervisor and documented, and "the child, parent, department, guardian ad litem, or court-appointed special advocate may challenge the denial of visits in court."
Your state's version will differ. The state pages on this site, for example Florida and Washington, list the dependency statute and program resources where the sibling rule usually appears.
Why it is worth the effort
The Children's Bureau's Child Welfare Information Gateway bulletin Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption (June 2019) calls sibling connections "a protective factor for children who have been removed from their birth homes." A training deck hosted by Ohio CASA reports that about two thirds of children in foster care have a sibling also in care, more than half of those are separated, and siblings placed together at the start have a 79 percent chance of staying together, against 51 percent for those separated at first placement.
Questions to ask in the first 30 days
- Who are all of the siblings, including half-siblings and children the child calls a brother or sister? Ask the child, each parent and the caseworker. The lists rarely match.
- Was a joint placement offered to anyone? If the answer is "no home could take three," ask whether a relative or the current caregiver was asked, and whether a bed count was the only barrier.
- What does the case plan say about contact? Look for a frequency, a place, a transportation plan and a person responsible. "Sibling visits as arranged" is a plan to have no visits.
- Where is each sibling placed, and if contact has been limited, who approved it and where is the reason written down?
Building a visit plan that actually happens
Sibling visits fail on logistics, not on will. A plan that survives typically names a frequency (weekly is common for young children who lived together), a fixed day and time, who drives each child, a place, and a backup when a caregiver cancels. It names contact between visits: video calls, letters, one birthday party instead of two. Ask that it be written into the case plan or the court order, not agreed in the hallway. Then attend a visit yourself. How a four-year-old greets her brother after three weeks apart belongs in your notes. The monthly visit checklist covers planning and recording visits.
What it looks like in your court report
Keep the sibling section factual, counted and dated. A workable paragraph reads: "J. (7) and M. (4) have been placed apart since removal on March 2. The case plan calls for weekly sibling visits. Since the last hearing, 4 of 11 scheduled visits occurred; 5 were cancelled for transportation and 2 for illness. No written safety concern is in the file. At each of my three visits, each child asked when they would see the other. I recommend weekly visits with the agency responsible for transportation, and that the department report whether any relative or either current caregiver can accept both children." Do not characterize the caregiver who cancelled; the count does the work. The case notes guide covers logging each missed visit so the count holds up.
When separation is justified
Sometimes it is, for example when one child has harmed another. Your job then shifts to the paperwork. Is the safety reason written and specific? Is it set for review, as Florida requires every six months? Has anyone considered "other ongoing interaction," the federal phrase for letters, supervised calls or therapist-led contact, instead of ending everything? Be careful what you share with the other sibling's caregiver; each child's file is confidential, and the confidentiality guide covers what can pass between households.
Expect five questions from your supervisor: Did you speak with each sibling? Have you seen them together? What does the plan say, and is it happening? Who is responsible for each piece? What are you asking the court to do? More volunteer guides are in the guides hub.
Common questions
Does federal law require siblings in foster care to be placed together?
It requires reasonable efforts. Under 42 U.S.C. 671(a)(31), states must make reasonable efforts to place siblings in the same foster, kinship guardianship or adoptive home, unless the state documents that a joint placement would be contrary to the safety or well-being of any sibling.
How often do separated siblings have to visit?
Federal law says only that the state must provide for frequent visitation or other ongoing interaction. The frequency comes from your state statute and the case plan, so a volunteer's first step is usually to get a number, a day and a responsible person written into the plan.
Can a foster parent cancel sibling visits as a punishment?
Some states say no in so many words. Florida Statutes 39.4024(4)(a)9 and Washington RCW 13.34.136(2)(b)(iii) both bar limiting sibling contact as a sanction, and Washington requires any limit to be approved by a supervisor and documented.
What should a CASA volunteer write about siblings in the court report?
Facts with dates and counts: when the children were separated, what the plan calls for, how many visits actually happened and why others did not, what you observed between the children, and a specific recommendation for the court.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state, county and courtroom, and they change. Verify anything time-sensitive with your supervising GAL staff, the court or a licensed attorney in your state.