Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) It
is the policy of the Department to place siblings together unless:
1) it is in the best interests of one or more
of the children to be placed apart or to remain apart from his or her
siblings;
2) the Department has
been unable to locate a joint placement for the siblings, despite a diligent
search by the Department as defined in subsection (f);
3) a court has ordered that the siblings be
placed apart; or
4) it is in the
best interests of the child or his or her siblings to be placed with a relative
and the relative is not willing to accept all the children.
b) When the caseworker determines
it is in the best interest of one or more siblings in substitute care to be
placed apart or to remain apart from his/her siblings, the caseworker shall
select a placement where the caregiver is willing and able to be actively
involved in supporting the sibling relationship to the extent that doing so is
in each child's best interest.
c)
When an examination of case records or consultation with the child's parents
reveals that a sibling of the child was adopted, was placed in subsidized
guardianship, or is emancipated, the caseworker shall determine, in
consultation with the child's parents, whether it would be in the child's best
interests to explore placement with an adopted sibling, a sibling in
guardianship, or an emancipated sibling who is at least 21 years of age. Unless
the parent objects, if the caseworker determines it is in the child's best
interest to explore the placement, the caseworker shall contact the adoptive
parent or guardian of the sibling or emancipated sibling to determine whether
that person is willing to be considered as a placement resource for the child
and, if so, determine whether it is in the best interests of the child to be
placed in the home with the sibling.
d) A determination that it is not in a
child's best interest to be placed with a sibling is a critical decision that
requires supervisory approval. The decision shall be documented in the child's
case record and on the Visitation and Contact Plan.
e) It shall be in the best interests of a
child to be placed apart from his or her siblings only if:
1) the child has special medical,
educational, behavioral, or emotional needs that require the child to be placed
apart from his or her siblings and the child has been placed or accepted at a
placement intended to address those needs;
2) the child is at risk of physical, mental,
or emotional harm if placed with his or her siblings and the specific risk and
the basis for assessing that risk are documented in the child's case file;
or
3) placement of the child with
his or her siblings would require that the child be removed from a current
foster home and it is in the best interests of the child to remain in that
foster home rather than move to a joint placement with his or her
siblings.
f) A diligent
search to locate a joint placement for siblings shall consist of written
documentation that:
1) the Department has
asked the siblings' parents and known relatives whether there are any relatives
who may be willing to become relative foster parents for the
siblings;
2) the Department has
asked any current foster parents of a child already in Department custody or
guardianship whether they can accommodate the child's siblings in accordance
with licensing standards; and
3)
the Department has asked the adoptive parents or legal guardians of any
siblings who were wards of the Department and adopted or placed in legal
guardianship whether they can accommodate the child's siblings;
and
4) the
Department has conducted a search of vacant Department and private agency
foster care placements and other appropriate placements within reasonable
proximity to the child's home (when the permanency goal is to return home) to
identify those placements that can provide a joint placement for the sibling
group and that meet the placement requirements for all Department cases as set
forth in this Subpart.
g) If siblings have not been placed together
at the time the Department is awarded custody of one or more of the siblings,
the diligent search to locate a joint placement for siblings shall be
conducted:
1) not later than 30 days after
the Department is awarded custody of a sibling group or of any child who has a
sibling in placement;
2) when the
Department changes the placement of any child with a sibling, unless it is in
the best interests of the child or sibling to be placed apart, as delineated in
subsection (b). Nothing in this Part shall preclude removal of a child from a
placement with a sibling when such removal is necessary due to an emergency. An
emergency includes but is not limited to situations such as a fire or natural
disaster destroying the caregiver's home, behavior on the part of the child
which poses a threat to the child or to others in the home, incidents of abuse
or neglect which put the child at imminent risk of harm, etc.
h) The placement decision can
prove to be critical in the life of a case. When a sibling group must be
removed from its home, the Department should do everything in its power to
place the children together in substitute care. This includes:
1) Selecting a foster family or relative
caregiver who can accept all of the children for placement. This may require
the caseworker to conduct a diligent search for family members or a licensed
foster family home that will accept all of the children. While it is preferable
for children to be placed together in one home, the placing worker shall
consider a plan for placement with two or more relatives when the relatives
indicate that they are willing and able to develop, nurture and support sibling
relationships.
2) Placing
step-siblings who enter care together initially, and re-evaluating continued
joint placement after the Integrated Assessment.
3) If the children must be separated,
identifying relative caregivers or foster family homes that will support
frequent sibling contact and visitation.
i) When a child enters substitute care or
requires a new placement, the Department shall determine whether a sibling of
that child is in the custody or guardianship of the Department.
1) If the Department determines that a
sibling is in its custody or guardianship, the Department shall then determine
whether it is in the best interests of each of the siblings for the child
needing placement to be placed with the sibling.
2) If the Department determines that it is in
the best interest of each sibling to be placed together, and the sibling's
caregiver is able and willing to care for the child needing placement, the
Department shall place the child with the sibling.
j) When siblings are placed apart, the
caseworker shall develop a Visitation and Contact Plan.
1) The Visitation and Contact Plan shall set
forth future contact and visits between the siblings to develop, preserve and
nurture the siblings' relationships. The Plan shall set forth the role of the
caregivers and others in implementing contact and visitation among the
siblings. The caseworker shall ensure that the Plan meets the minimum standards
regarding frequency of in-person visits provided in Sections
301.220
and
301.230.
2) The Department shall document in the
Visitation and Contact Plan why the siblings were placed apart and the efforts
made to place siblings together.
3)
The assigned caseworker shall file the Visitation and Contact Plan with the
Juvenile Court within 10 days, excluding weekends and holidays, after temporary
custody is awarded to the Department. The initial Visitation and Contact Plan
must be filed within 10 days after temporary custody is awarded, whether or not
a caseworker has been assigned to the case.
4) The Visitation and Contact Plan shall be
modified if one of the children moves to a new placement, or as necessary to
meet the needs of the children.
5)
The Visitation and Contact Plan may include contact and visitation with other
siblings not in the custody or guardianship of the Department, only with the
consent and participation of the parent or guardian of those siblings, or the
siblings themselves if over 18 years of age.
k) If an entire sibling group is not placed
together, the Department shall place as many siblings of the group together as
possible, considering their relationship and the best interests of the
children.
l) If the Department
determines it is not in the best interests of the child to be placed with his
or her siblings, the Department shall identify in the child's case plan the
reasons why the siblings were placed apart. If siblings have been placed apart
pursuant to subsection (a), the Department shall document in the case file the
efforts made to place siblings together.
m) If an entire sibling group cannot be
placed together, the Department shall make reasonable efforts to place siblings
within reasonable proximity to one another, taking into account the placement
requirements for all Department cases as set forth in this Part. The Department
may place a child at greater distance from his or her siblings if his or her
treatment needs require placement farther away.
n) If the Department places siblings apart or
siblings remain placed apart after a change in placement, the efforts made to
place siblings together and the reasons why the siblings are placed apart shall
be documented on the Visitation and Contact Plan and specifically reviewed at
the first administrative case review following the placement to ensure
compliance with the requirements of this Section.
o) The Department shall provide training for
all DCFS and purchase of service permanency workers, and their supervisors and
managers, regarding the importance of maintaining sibling relationships, the
child's sense of attachment to his/her siblings, the importance of maintaining
sibling relationships over the child's lifespan, and the impact on the child if
those relationships are severed.