Sibling relationships are often the longest relationship we will experience in our lives. During Care Proceedings, the Local Authority recognise the importance of sibling relationships and therefore aim to keep siblings together where possible, when making decisions. It is important however, to recognise that every case is unique, and whether siblings can stay together depends on the circumstances, the adopting family/placement location and each child. Therefore, before assessments are completed, it is impossible to say whether a child is likely to be adopted/placed with their sibling, if that is the end result of proceedings.
The process of deciding whether siblings should stay together:
The Children Act 1989 emphasises the importance of siblings being placed together, however acknowledges that keeping siblings together is not always in the best interest of a child. To decide whether siblings need to be kept together, a sibling assessment will be completed by the Local Authority. Some of the factors that are considered during the assessment are the children’s ages, timescales, current relationships with each other and their individual wishes and feelings, if they are old enough to express them. If it is determined that siblings cannot, or should not stay together, the sibling assessment is also able to help determine how often contact between siblings should take place.
It is important to note that contact between separated siblings is more likely to take place if a child is placed in long-term foster care, rather than if they are adopted. Previously, post-adoption contact between siblings was uncommon, however, more recently there has been a shift away from the idea of ‘closed adoptions’, and there are now possibilities for adoptions where there remains some level of contact between an adopted child and their birth family, including their siblings.
If Social Services are currently involved with your family, please get in touch with Johnson Astills to see how we can assist. Please call us at our office in Leicester on 0116 255 4855 or our office in Loughborough on 01509 610 312 and ask to speak to a member of the Care Team. Alternatively, you may prefer to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.
