INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:75-6-85.3
Revised 9-1-11
1. (a) Judicial findings related to sibling placement. The Oklahoma Children's Code requires the court at various hearings to determine whether Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) has made reasonable efforts to:
(1) place siblings, who have been removed, together in the same foster home, guardianship, or adoptive placement; and
(2) provide for frequent visitation or other ongoing interaction between siblings who have been removed and who are not placed together.
(b) Reasonable efforts to place siblings together. Examples of reasonable and ongoing efforts to place siblings together include, but are not limited to:
(1) conducting family team meetings that address sibling placements;
(2) diligent search for relatives and important people in the child's life who are appropriate and capable of providing placement and connections for the sibling group; [OAC 340:75-6-85.2]
(3) ongoing discussions with the foster care specialist or county of placement specialist regarding placing siblings together; and
(4) requesting that placement providers for the siblings notify the Child Welfare (CW) specialist or foster care specialist when there is an opening in the placement provider's home for a sibling(s).
(c) Review of sibling placements by Children and Family Services Division (CFSD). CFSD permanency planning (PP) staff review reports and queries monthly from sources such as the YI684 and KIDS Contacts screens to review whether siblings are placed together in the same placement.
(1) When siblings are not placed together, CFSD PP staff contacts the assigned CW specialist or supervisor to discuss the barriers to placing siblings together. Examples of barriers may include, but are not limited to:
(A) a sibling placed with his or her father or other family member who is unrelated to the other siblings;
(B) placement of a sibling in a higher level of care to address that sibling's individual treatment needs; or
(C) it is not safe to place the siblings together due to behavioral health or similar issues of one or more of the siblings.
(2) CFSD staff offers the CW specialist and supervisor assistance and guidance regarding placing siblings together when appropriate. Examples of assistance and guidance by CFSD staff includes, but is not limited to:
(A) review and assessment of case information, related to sibling relationships, provided from all parties including behavioral health professionals and placement providers;
(B) additional diligent search when needed for relatives and important people in the child's life who are appropriate and capable of providing placement and connections for the sibling group;
(C) participation in family team meetings to develop a plan to reunite the siblings in placement, or when factors prevent placement together, a plan to keep the siblings connected; and
(D) training for units, counties, and areas, as requested.
(d) Sibling placement review at family team meetings. At each family team meeting, a review is conducted of the placement of each sibling to determine whether each child is placed with relatives and whether siblings are placed together. During each family team meeting:
(1) when siblings are not placed together, a plan is developed or updated to reunite the siblings in placement when feasible;
(2) when placement of siblings together is not feasible, a plan is developed or updated to maintain sibling connections when possible; and
(3) Form 04MP046E, Family Team Meeting Guide and Summary, is used to guide the meeting and document the plan for sibling reunification or maintenance of sibling connections.
(e) Sibling separation. Sibling separation may be in the child's best interests when:
(1) a sibling physically or emotionally endangers the health and well-being of another sibling and efforts to address the behaviors with counseling or therapy have failed;
(2) adoption is the permanency plan, and the:
(A) CW specialist and an adoption specialist have thoroughly explained adoption and answered any questions the sibling may have about adoption; and
(B) the sibling of the age to consent to adoption does not wish to be adopted;
(3) siblings are placed with different relatives and a plan is in place for continued sibling contact;
(4) a licensed mental health professional has determined, and provided a signed letter or report; that movement of the sibling from the current caregiver would be detrimental to the sibling's emotional health, development, and well-being; and
(5) efforts to place the siblings together have been exhausted and documented in the Relative/Kinship Connections screen, on Form 04KI009E, Court Report, or 04KI014E, Individualized Service Plan (ISP) Progress Report, and in the Contacts screen.
(f) Permanency plan of adoption and sibling separation. When the permanency plan is adoption, the CW specialist, prior to initiating a sibling separation request, assesses:
(1) the length of time the siblings have been separated;
(2) the efforts made to place the siblings together;
(3) the factor(s) that led to the disruption of the placement, if the siblings were previously placed together in out-of-home placement;
(4) the day-to-day behavior of the children at home, in school, and at other public gatherings;
(5) the type and frequency of contact between the siblings;
(6) whether the children have been in counseling together or separately;
(7) the recommendations of any counselor(s) or therapist(s) involved with the children; and
(8) whether the children desire to be placed together.
(g) Inappropriate reasons for sibling separation. Examples of inappropriate reasons for the separation of siblings include:
(1) the children have been separated in out-of-home placement and no efforts have been made to place them together;
(2) an infant is not placed with older siblings and is determined to not have a relationship with these siblings; and
(3) siblings have been in separate placements and no efforts have been made to facilitate contact; therefore, the children do not know one another.
2. During sibling separation, the CW specialist facilitates contact between the siblings through frequent visits, phone calls, letters, and other ongoing interaction and enlists the current providers in the facilitation and maintenance of the contacts.
(1) The CW specialist inquires, during each required monthly visit with the provider, regarding the type and amount of any additional sibling contact facilitated by the provider during the previous month.
(2) The additional sibling contact information is documented in KIDS in the Contact screen.
(3) When no sibling contact has been held in the previous month, the CW specialist facilitates a sibling visit, phone call, letter, or other interaction within two weeks.
3. (a) When siblings are placed separately and there are no documented reasons for separation, the CW specialist informs the current providers during the required monthly visit that:
(1) ongoing efforts are being made to place the siblings together;
(2) the move will be implemented at the first available opportunity;
(3) it is possible the provider's home may not be considered as a permanent placement; and
(4) the plan to place siblings together does not negate the foster parents' right to object to the movement or the five-day notice, when applicable.
(b) The CW specialist documents ongoing efforts to place siblings together in KIDS in the Family/Kinship Connections screen, contacts, and on Form 04KI009E, Court Report, or 04KI014E, Individualized Service Plan (ISP) Progress Report.
(c) The court determines whether reasonable efforts have been made to place siblings, who have been removed, together or whether frequent visitation and other ongoing contact is occurring for the siblings not placed together.
4. Examples of ongoing efforts are:
(1) exploration of relatives who are appropriate and capable of providing placement for the sibling group during family team meetings or through other means; [OAC 340:75-6-85.2]
(2) informing the county or area foster care specialist or county of placement specialist of the need for a placement for the sibling group; and
(3) requesting the providers for siblings notify the CW specialist or foster care specialist when an opening occurs that is available for the other sibling(s).