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Children in foster care: witnesses, youth and attorneys urge law to prioritize keeping siblings together
Summary
Supporters of House Bill H.268 (and companion bills to strengthen visitation and parenting time) told the Joint Committee that sibling separation in foster care increases trauma and that the state should require DCF to prioritize joint placement or provide frequent sibling visitation when placement together is not possible.
House Bill H.268 would require the Department of Children and Families to prioritize placing siblings in the same foster home and, when joint placement is not possible, to facilitate frequent sibling visitation. Testimony at the Joint Committee hearing included youth who had been separated from siblings, service providers who cited research on the benefits of joint placement, and attorneys urging judges to be able to order specific parenting time when appropriate.
Why it matters: Multiple witnesses said sibling relationships are a primary protective factor after a child is removed from a home. Speakers described emotional and educational harms when…
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