Nine of the 68 (13 per cent) families had still not received their child’s life story book and n = 12/43 (28 per cent) parents who had used the book with their child rated it as unhelpful. It would appear, however, that the adoption agencies did not always share this belief: My son has just had a half sibling born. I see this is an old thread and haven't read anyone's post here but yours. It can be important for siblings to remain in touch if adopted into different families and such contact can be valuable for both adoptive families. Contact between siblings after adoption can be complex, particularly if some siblings remain in contact with their birth parents. Grotevant, H. D., Perry, Y. V., & McRoy, R. G. 2005. Looked after siblings or care leavers of unsettled residence can be difficult to keep track of and social workers of children in care can change frequently, making communication difficult. The Government published a consultation on post-adoption contact in August 2012. Macaskill (2002) emphasised the imperative for children to understand the decisions made to separate them from their siblings, suggesting that subsequent contact could be adversely affected by children lacking insight. At Wave 4, 7 per cent (5/68) of parents had not yet spoken to their child about adoption. Despite promises to do so, this had not routinely happened. Sibling conversations can also create tensions or pose risks (for example a sibling telling a birth parent where the adopted child lives). (, Selwyn J. Moyers, S., Farmer, E. & Lipscombe, J. 20-4151057 () Executive Director Christy Obie-Barrett . Further discussion among social work professionals is warranted to consider the features of best practice around supporting contact and how this can be established and maintained within teams. Simply having regular news about family members can be very important to children and adoptive parents. Logan, J. and Smith, C. 2005. Ashley, C. and Roth, D. 2015. The families were also asked to describe any changes to the original sibling contact plan. Often a simple opportunity to share feelings can make a considerable difference to contact satisfaction. post adoption sibling contact. September 2017;47(6):1781-1799. The parents and carers of siblings may also need similar help to think though the pros and cons of sibling contact. , Wijedasa D. This has dwindled in last year which certainly has not helped. (, Greenhow S. Kosonen, M. 1996. Young people prevented from seeing or not able to see siblings may make contact over social media exposing them to dangers of unsolicited communication from others in the birth family with whom they do not want contact. Children placed apart from brothers and sisters may have little, or possibly no, further direct contact with siblings. Letterbox contact letters are sent via the Birmingham Adoption Service and not directly to the birth parents, relatives and the adoptive parents. Actually, I think it’s really difficult. Psychological issues in adoption: Research and practice, 167-186. Some may seek to reconnect using social media. 1999. In contrast, all contact had ceased in Family B: We’ll do it (indirect contact with siblings) because that’s what we have agreed. All siblings quickly formed a bond and adoptive parents a good source of developmental information and support (Wave 4). Children and young people who are not able to see siblings may be very unhappy about this. Contact after adoption agreement (a) Applicability of rule This rule applies to any adoption of a child. Of n = 68 who participated at Wave 4, 28 per cent (n = 19) of the children were placed for adoption as part of sibling group, and 79 per cent had birth siblings living elsewhere (Table 2). Found in: Family, Local Government. Parents were also disillusioned by the lack of reciprocity with the indirect communication, with reports of children becoming upset or angry when they did not hear back from siblings. Face-to-face contact on the other hand, was considered negative, mixed or neutral by 23 per cent, and positive by 77 per cent. In addition, children's experiences were reported via their adoptive parents. British Journal of Social Work, 42(2), 283-299. Safe Contact? Where there is a strong need for siblings to stay in touch with each other after adoption, this should be given high priority in the matching process. E-mail: Beyond Together or Apart: Planning for, Assessing and Placing Siblings Groups, What is the impact of birth family contact on children in adoption and long-term foster care? Eighty-four per cent of children (n = 81) were known to have at least one sibling living elsewhere. The majority of adopted children (who have siblings) lose touch with at least some of their brothers and sisters. Adopted children’s online presence may provide opportunities to contact, or receive contact from, siblings living elsewhere. Where siblings remain in the birth family, direct sibling contact is often lost because no direct contact with the adult birth relatives is planned. Ethical permission was granted by the Research Ethics Committee at Cardiff University, School of Psychology. To determine the representativeness of the 96 families in the present study, we reviewed the social work records of all children placed for adoption by every local authority in Wales between 1 July 2014 and 31 July 2015 (N = 374). He was the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him (Interview). I said, ‘You can have all those, but you can have them all once a year, at the same time, and then you send them at the right time’ (Interview). Help to set up and maintain sibling contact may be important. What do we know about the sibling networks of adopted children? One mother described her son’s contact with his sister as ‘hard going’ because of the behaviour of the sibling’s guardian. , Coffey A. 2014. Meetings between brothers and sisters may not always be wanted by children or be practical or appropriate. For some children, sibling connections are maintained through post‐adoption contact plans, and adoption legislation in England and Wales (the Adoption and Children Act 2002) requires that contact with birth family members must be considered and proposed arrangements set out in the child's placement … Although some siblings may find contact after adoption a source of comfort and reassurance (Meakings et al., 2017), sibling relationships in adoptive families who have experienced a disruption or are in crisis, can be harmful (Selwyn, 2019). The present study focuses on the questionnaires completed by adoptive parents at 4 months (N = 96, Wave 1) and 4 years post-placement (N = 68, 71%, Wave 4), and a subsample of 40 families (42%) who were interviewed at 9 months-post placement. Think about the goals of contact when deciding on how much and what type of contact. He just took himself off and sat in the Play Centre on his own (Interview). Face-to-face contact post adoption: views from the triangles. 2009. In extreme cases, children may be subjected to physical, sexual or emotional abuse by siblings during contact. Amy L. Paine was funded by the Waterloo Foundation (Grant reference: 738/3512). Russell House Publishing, Dorset. Paternal half siblings are particularly likely to be ‘lost’ to the adopted child. Note: Percentages in brackets show sibling contact reported at 4 years post-adoptive placement that was in line with contact planned at 4 months post-adoptive placement. Our findings show the importance of adequately supporting and enabling adoptive parents to engage in and facilitate contact on behalf of their children, to ensure that relationships between siblings living apart are managed in a way that are as rewarding as possible for all involved. However, in your case, I would … care and can be adopted by separate families post termination of parental rights. SETTLEMIRE FORMATTED.DOCX (DO NOT DELETE) 12/5/2011 2:53 PM 2011 POST-ADOPTION CONTACT BETWEEN SIBLINGS 167 those children had four or more siblings.11 Having recognized the importance of the sibling relationship,12 New Jersey requires in its Child Placement Bill of Rights Act13 that the State make “best efforts” to place siblings together when they are removed from their … Even when a child is separated from siblings, sibling contact can help provide links to a child’s birth family. Children in Permanent Placement and Contact with Their Birth Relatives. Sibling connections: The importance of nurturing sibling bonds in the foster care system. The biggest discrepancy between the contact arrangements that had been planned and those which were occurring, involved indirect contact: n = 11/17 children with plans for indirect contact with siblings had no contact at Wave 4. Absolutely not. , Hackett S. [We have received] some letters and cards, but they always arrive when not agreed, always contain things they shouldn’t (Wave 4). Glasgow: University of Strathclyde. The majority of adopted children (who have siblings) lose touch with at least some of their brothers and sisters. , Palmer C. Just one mother identified an unmet support need to help facilitate contact with a recently born sibling. Several parents shared the difficulties they faced (or anticipated) in balancing efforts to bond as a newly formed adoptive family against the need to promote the importance of the birth family. The local authority, in its capacity as adoption agency, sought a declaration from the court … Letterbox contact is often used when children have been adopted and where direct contact is not appropriate. Child & Family Social Work 18: 67. Section 309.135 - Post-Permanency Sibling Contact Agreement. My daughter is angry (Wave 4). At interview most parents emphasised their commitment to sibling contact, however, some felt that decisions had been imposed upon them rather than negotiated. Attention should be paid to changing dynamics and personalities as siblings mature into independence or into different spheres of life (including reunification with birth parents for example). It should be noted that sibling contact arrangements were often complex. Nice, easy loving relationship - see them once a month (Wave 4). British Journal of Social Work, 26, pp.809-22. Contact plans were often seen as inflexible, with formalised and infrequent meetings. Available at https://www.frg.org.uk/images/PDFS/siblings-in-care-final-report-january-2015.pdf (accessed 15th May 2018). When a child in the Department's care has a permanency goal of adoption or private guardianship, and the Department is preparing to finalize the adoption or guardianship, the child's caseworker shall convene a meeting with the prospective adoptive parents or guardians and the foster parents and caseworkers for the child's siblings … Information about where their child’s brother was eventually placed was withheld from the adopters. Wojciak, A.S., McWey, L.M. A significant minority of adopted children are likely to have direct contact with a sibling, birth … Normalising contact as a family day out as one may meet with extended family members can work for some, at venues with activities for a mixture of ages and personalities. 2018. Therefore it is likely that step-parents, siblings and foster carers can make an application for contact. Siblings may have very different views about birth parents or the adoption. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (, Keeping Work and Family Separate: A Serial Mediation Analysis of Social Workers’ Work–Family Segmentation, Work–Family Enrichment and Job Performance in Australia, On a Wing and a Prayer! (Ed.). We want to do the right thing by her (Family A, interview). Contact orders in adoption 6 Q&As A 17-year-old child was joined to adoption proceedings, and a guardian appointed in accordance with Family Procedure Rules 2010, SI 2010/2955, 16.3. 324-334. But when you read further in the letter it says, ‘possible direct contact with siblings’, and I thought it was set in stone (Interview). (, Meakings S. She does however ask for contact and appears to enjoy seeing them for an hour twice a year (Wave 4). 6.2.5: Sibling Contact. Rather than balancing the rights of the adoptive parents with the rights of the siblings, most states require a best interests analysis to determine if siblings should have post-adoption contact (e.g., Florida). ‘Positive and enjoyable’ sibling relationships were reported, as were harmful experiences of contact, with siblings reportedly passing on inappropriate or inaccurate information to adopted children or modelling undesirable behaviours. This can be difficult for some children to manage, but sometimes these different views can provide a good opportunity for adoptive parents to talk to their child about their family situation. The British Association of Social Workers-commissioned enquiry into adoption (Featherstone et al., 2018) observed a reliance on indirect contact between adopted children and their birth families, even in circumstances where birth family were not considered a threat. , Doughty J. Mullender, A. When contact was reported to be working well, parents commented on the positive relationships with the parents or carers of their child’s sibling(s). It is important to stay focused on ensuring that the contact meets the children’s needs – whether this is continuing relationships, creating new relationships and long term links, slowly building familiarity and trust, or providing reassurance as to the sibling’s wellbeing. The Wave 1 and interview data highlighted the need for adoption agencies to help facilitate planned direct contact; not least by ensuring that all parties consented to the exchange of personal details. The idea of reviewing contact plans, post-adoption has also been suggested by the judiciary and in a recent publication from the Nuffield Foundation. He will be placed elsewhere. Unfortunately, siblings in foster care sometimes are separated through the adoption … Sibling characteristics derived from social work records, questionnaires and interview samples. (. Key factors to take account of when considering which siblings should have what contact are: Who the child views as a sibling, bearing in mind that children do always not class ‘family’ just in terms of ‘blood’. Postadoption Contact Agreements Between Birth and Adoptive Families. Sibling placement in foster care and adoption: an overview of international research. Other parents assumed a more passive stance, placing the responsibility for organising contact on the adoption agencies. Children and Youth Services Review 34: 396–402. Post-adoption contact should be considered only in relation to the needs and best interests of the child, with no presumption for or against allowing contact. In our study, the unmet need for professional help with life story work for a quarter of the families four years post placement is concerning. Meeting between siblings often pose fewer risks than meetings with parents and it is often not necessary for a worker to ‘supervise’ meetings. at issue, so too are siblings’ interests likely to be limited by those State interests, especially since they are particularly implicated in the foster care context. Current adoption practice usually carries an expectation of openness, in terms of contact between adoptive and birth families and the extent to which adoption is openly discussed within the adoptive family (Jones, 2016). Of the N = 96 children who participated in the longitudinal study, 30 per cent (n = 29) had been placed for adoption as part of a sibling group. Some States also allow other birth relatives who have significant emotional ties to the child to be included in the agreement, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings… Children and young people can dispersed over different households (including living with birth parents or independently, or residing in other adoptive families, kinship, foster or residential care). Children placed for adoption separately from brothers and sisters may have little or no further direct contact with their siblings and, unless placed together, they cease to have a legal relationship with each other. This paper examines the experience of post‐adoption direct sibling contact from the perspectives of adoptive parents and birth relatives, including adult siblings. , McHale S. This case concerned the issue of post-adoption contact between two half-siblings. Some may charge a nominal fee. Where an adopted child is the only child in their birth family, it is still important to assess prospective adoptive parents views about sibling contact as it is possible that further children will be born to either or both of the birth parents. Beyond establishing and maintaining contact with siblings, further attention must also be paid to supporting quality sibling relationships. Jones, C. 2016. Report for the Family Rights Group. There are widespread assumptions that the stability of adoption placements will be undermined by contact with siblings still living with or in contact with their birth relatives; that expectations of direct contact will deter potential adopters; and that post-adoption contact should only take place with the … Contact refers to any kind of contact between an adoptee and their birth family. 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