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Most efforts to support siblings in foster care focus on sibling co-placement.

Sibling separation is sometimes necessary when sibling relationships are abusive or severely aggressive.

While in foster care, children’s well-being can be supported by promoting positive sibling relationships.

This post was co-written with Daniel Pollack, MSW, JD.

Sometimes one or more siblings in a family are placed in foster care. Most child welfare agencies try to place siblings together, but this doesn’t always happen. In fact, it is estimated that more than half of children in foster care who have siblings are separated from one or more of them.

Separate placements happen for many reasons, including siblings entering foster care at different times, a lack of foster homes that can take sibling groups, and differences in age, gender, or care needs between siblings.

Unfortunately, siblings are often separated for convenience or logistical reasons. Sometimes, caseworkers separate siblings with large age gaps so the older siblings do not feel responsible for caring for the younger ones. Sibling separation in these cases can cause stress for older siblings, who may feel responsible for and worried about their younger siblings. It also deprives both younger and older siblings of a potentially valuable source of love and support.

Some U.S. states have adopted a “Sibling Bill of Rights” that requires joint sibling placements and sibling visitation in foster care. Research shows that siblings placed together have better outcomes and are more........

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