In the UK, and in other countries, child protection policies have moved towards earlier intervention in the lives of vulnerable children and achieving permanence more quickly for looked after children. This comes from evidence that stability of placement and early permanence result in better outcomes for children who cannot be returned to their parents’ care. In this blog two of Stand Up For Siblings members, Ruth Woods and Gillian Henderson, ask if early removal of children into permanent out of home care may be having unintended consequences for their relationships with siblings.

This question arose from our research on changes in complexity in child protection in Scotland[1]. We compared 110 children born in 2003 with 117 born in 2014, all of whom were placed on Compulsory Supervision Orders before they were 3 years old. We found that children born in 2013 were significantly more likely to be removed from their parents’ care at birth, to reside away from their parents throughout the first 3 years of their lives, and to have permanence plans in place by 3 years old.

We went onto see if this trend towards early removal of children into care had other consequences for children and their families[2]. We found there was a greater use of foster care for the children born in 2013. This indicates an increase in family fragmentation and not only separation from parents but also other relatives including siblings.

In our study, 55% of the children born in 2003 and 69% of those born in 2013 were separated from at least one of their siblings (although not all these separations were as a result of child protection measures). Across both groups, 95% of the children who were removed from their parents at birth were separated from their siblings. These new born children are unlikely to be returned to their parents’ care and may also never have the opportunity to develop relationships with their siblings.

So while early intervention and permanence provide vulnerable children with the stability and safety they would not have otherwise, it also means family fragmentation and separation of siblings[2]. Separation from siblings deprives a child of these important relationships and may impact on their sense of identity.

To answer our original question – yes there are unintended consequences of the move to earlier intervention and permanence, and these are greater disruption of sibling relationships for children in care. This makes what Stand Up For Siblings aims to achieve even more important – that sibling relationships of looked after children must be given much greater prominence in policy, law and practice.

Dr Gillian Henderson
Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration
Gillian.henderson@scra.gsi.gov.uk

Dr Ruth Woods
Robert Gordon University
r.woods3@rgu.ac.uk

[1] Woods, R., Henderson, G., Kurlus, I., Proudfoot, P., Hobbs, N. & Lamb, D. (2018). Complexity in the lives of looked after children and their families in Scotland: 2003 to 2016. Available at:   https://www.scra.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Complexity-in-the-lives-of-looked-after-children-and-their-families.pdf

[2] Woods, R. & Henderson, G. (2018). Changes in out of home care and permanence planning among young children in Scotland, 2003 to 2013. Adoption & Fostering 42(3), 282-294.

CELCIS has been focussing on evidence into practice with its digital publication, REACH. Each day new articles, blog posts, podcasts and film interviews have been telling the stories of projects that are happening right now across Scotland to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families.

In this audio clip Shannon from Kilmarnock talks about her experience of being brought up in care. She shares her views on sibling contact and how important it is for brothers and sisters not to lose touch with each other when taken into care.

Shannon is part of Connecting Voices, a participation group of care experienced young people, run with the support of East Ayrshire Council.

No matter each organisation’s role and function, Scotland’s corporate parents share the same goals – to uphold the rights and safeguard the wellbeing of care experienced children and young people. Achieving these goals requires a whole range of activities, and with competing priorities, it is not always easy to know where to begin.

In this blog Lizzie Morton of CELCIS and David Faith, formerly of Who Cares? Scotland explore what corporate parents can do to improve siblings’ experiences of care as part of their statutory duties.

Are we treating sibling relationships as a priority?

• When children and young people become looked after away from their birth parents, evidence tells us the majority experience separation from some or all of their siblings.[1] This can be for a range of reasons, including concerns around safety, and sometimes because children themselves may prefer not to see their sibling at certain points in their childhood. But often, estrangement is due to a lack of resources and the limited availability of carers who can accommodate sibling groups.

• Concerningly, children’s views in relation to contact with their siblings is poorly documented in case files, and evidence shows that (where recorded) sibling contact appears to diminish over time.[2]

• In many cases, limited practical steps are taken to maintain, support and develop the relationships between siblings who live apart. This can be for a range of reasons, including resource constraints.

• Where arrangements are in place for brothers and sisters to spend time together, often these are not conducive to having quality time together, or nurturing siblings’ relationships in their own right.

Much can be done to improve the current situation. Together, we can support brothers and sisters to spend quality time together, both face to face, and in other ways by maximising safe opportunities provided by technology and social media.

What can I do as a corporate parent?

As corporate parents, there is a duty under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 to be alert to matters which adversely affect the wellbeing of care experienced children and young people, so an awareness of the issues of sibling separation is necessary. But awareness alone is not enough; corporate parents also have statutory duties to promote the interests of care experienced children and young people, and to provide accessible opportunities to participate in activities designed to promote wellbeing. Corporate parents must take meaningful actions to meet these duties, and supporting sibling relationships for children and young people with care experience is a key step in doing so.

In spite of their varied, differing roles, all corporate parents have an important part to play. Corporate parents will wish to consider:

• Including actions to support sibling relationships in your corporate parenting plan.
• Staying informed about the issues of sibling separation, and keeping up to date with the latest news on the Stand up For Siblings website.
• Making a pledge to show your support for Stand Up For Siblings.
• Using your voice and position to highlight the issue of sibling separation and contact whenever the opportunity arises.
• Making commitments and taking actions to ensure brothers and sisters stay together (if this is within your remit as a corporate parent).
• Considering how you can provide opportunities for brothers and sisters to spend quality time together (or how you can collaborate with other corporate parents to do this).
• Ensuring children’s views about their sibling relationships and contact are listened to, and that they form part of the Child’s Plan.

However you decide to meet your duties and responsibilities as a corporate parent in relation to supporting siblings, please let us know what you’re doing so we can share good practice, and please get in touch for advice and support!

[1] Jones, C. & Henderson, G. (2017) Supporting Sibling Relationships of Children in Permanent Fostering and Adoptive Families, Glasgow: University of Strathclyde

[2] ibid

Stand Up For Siblings has responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the Review of Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and creation of a Family Justice Modernisation Strategy. You can review the response here. If you have any questions about the response, please contact Dr Christine Jones, at the University of Strathclyde.

CELCIS (Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children) and SCRA, both partners in the Stand Up for Siblings movement, have worked together to produce a new research report. The report ‘Contact Decisions in the Children’s Hearings System’ is available to read here. The research considered – When and how, if at all, do decisions relating to contact by Children’s Hearings differ from social work report recommendations?

The key findings included:

• Children and young people’s views on contact are often not recorded in Hearings’ documentation.
• The majority of Hearings’ contact decisions reflect social work recommendations.
• Hearing decisions and social work recommendations are justified using similar reasons.
• Reasons for Hearings’ decisions and social work recommendations are often not well recorded.
• Reasoning for both Hearings’ decisions and social work recommendations is variable.

The report recommends a number of action points going forward.

Sibling contact is one of the issues the Scottish Government is seeking views on as it reviews the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and shapes its family justice modernisation strategy.

This is a great opportunity to speak up for changing the law and guidance to help brothers and sisters keep in contact when there is family disruption or children are looked after outside the family home, whether that’s with kinship or foster carers, in residential care or with adoptive parents. The deadline for responding to the consultation is 7 August 2018.

The consultation covers lots of issues, but three main questions relate to protecting sibling relationships:

Child-friendly questions

Importantly, there are a separate set of child-friendly questions which aim to encourage more children and young people to give their views. You can view these here.

 Child Contact Centres

The consultation is also looking for views on regulating child contact centres (question 6), which include centres where siblings can go to spend time together.  You can read the consultation document here.

Please consider giving your views to send a clear message to government that legislation, policy and practice must stand up for siblings!

For further information, potential changes to the law in Scotland are discussed in a paper on Prioritising Sibling Relationships for Looked After Children by Fiona Jones of Clan Childlaw and Dr Christine Jones of the University of Strathclyde from February 2018.