Keeping Siblings Together in Foster Care
When a child enters foster care, it is scary and overwhelming for them. They’ve experienced neglect and maybe even life-endangering situations. They are being taken from all they have ever known—their neighborhood, school, and friends, and being placed in situations with no familiarity or comfort. Often, the last sense of stability a child has is the relationships maintained with their brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, sibling groups are often separated when they enter foster care because there are not enough large homes to take them all in together.
Keeping sibling groups together is essential because it gives foster kids a sense of security when their world feels out of control. We want to keep families together.
For more than 130 years, kids in foster care have been placed in our group homes. Recently, federal legislation changed and no longer allows children under 13 to be placed in group homes. This change in legislation means that we would often have to split up sibling groups. For a child that has experienced abuse, neglect, or a potentially life-threatening situation, this adds even more trauma by separating them from the little family they have left.
We are being proactive in response to these changes to serve children of all ages by transitioning our group homes into foster care homes. By doing this, we can now take sibling groups of up to six. This is the only program of its kind in the state geared toward keeping large sibling groups together under one roof.
Your prayers and generosity have already impacted one set of siblings through this new program.
When Alex* and his two siblings first came into our care, he was in special classes because he caused disruptions and had behavioral issues in the classroom.
The simple power of a loving, stable environment, and staying together with his brother and sister allowed Alex and his siblings to thrive.
They received help with homework, tutoring, and intentional quality time with their foster parents. Alex is no longer in special classes for his behavior—he just tested for being gifted. He also recently received the Student of the Month Award and the Good Citizen of the Year award. He is excelling in the classroom and loves going to school.
Not only that, but his foster mom also shared that he loves going to church and reading his Bible. “He was just introduced to church [while in foster care] and got really involved. I really believe that he is called to be a pastor . . . he’ll tell you he’s going to be a preacher. You know when they’ve never been to church or heard about Jesus before, that it is truly life-changing for these kids when Jesus is their hope.”
Keeping siblings together in foster care and providing an environment where foster children can discover who God created them to be would not be possible without our partners who pray, serve, and give. Learn more here about how you can make a difference in the life of a hurting child.
*Name and photo has been changed to protect identity.