We present adoptive parents’ views and experiences of the contact over four years, together with an analysis of factors that were thought to have prevented, hindered and/or enabled contact between adopted children and their birth siblings. At Wave 4, support for direct sibling contact was barely mentioned by the adoptive parents. Although UK national guidance encourages local authorities to maintain sibling relationships, contact may diminish or be lost following adoption (Ofsted, 2012). (Interview). There are a lot of siblings and the local authority wanted birthday cards, Christmas cards and a letter [to each child]. If the siblings get on very badly with each other 5. Children and Youth Services Review 27: 717–739. The regulations accompanying this Act in England and in Wales1 include support for post adoption contact in the list of prescribed support services. Meakings, S., Coffey, A. Frequently asked questions about sibling contact When the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (ACA 2002) came into force there was some expectation that the previous approach to post-adoption contact, which heavily relied upon a “closed” adoption model with, at most, modest “letterbox” contact… The dynamics of the relationship between siblings, including where siblings may need help to repair or improve their relationships in order to make contact successful. Letterbox contact is often used when children have been adopted and where direct contact is not appropriate. Ethical permission was granted by the Research Ethics Committee at Cardiff University, School of Psychology. Jones, C., & Henderson, G. 2017. Available at https://www.frg.org.uk/images/PDFS/siblings-in-care-final-report-january-2015.pdf (accessed 15th May 2018). It was therefore not possible to establish whether these children were maternal half siblings or full siblings. Often a simple opportunity to share feelings can make a considerable difference to contact satisfaction. Parents complained about inappropriate, missing and inaccurate information. Adopted children who are the youngest in their family are likely to have subsequent siblings born to either or both of their parents after they are adopted. Demographic characteristics of social work records, questionnaires and interview samples. This paper examines the experience of post‐adoption direct sibling contact from the perspectives of adoptive parents and birth relatives, including adult siblings. London: Birkbeck. Nevertheless, they wanted to provide the children with an opportunity to develop their sibling relationship via direct contact. Research and practice feedback suggests that separation from siblings is a particularly damaging part of some past adoption placements for the children concerned. There were reports of parents being too emotionally exhausted to maintain contact, or troubled by the experience: I find it really difficult having contact. I just hope it doesn’t break down and I just hope that we can all remain in contact. Children in Permanent Placement and Contact with Their Birth Relatives. Unfortunately, siblings in foster care sometimes are separated through the adoption process. Search for other works by this author on: Correspondence to Katherine H. Shelton, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK. Foster children’s sense of sibling belonging. In the UK, contact arrangements between adopted children and birth siblings living elsewhere usually take one of two forms: (i) direct, or, face-to-face contact; and (ii) indirect, or, letterbox contact, where letters or cards (passed through an adoption agency) are exchanged between the adoptive family and the sibling(s). Where there is a strong need for siblings to stay in touch with each other after adoption, this should be given high priority in the matching process. One father observed: We’re trying to build up this family unit, but you’ve still got to keep bringing in all these other people (Interview). I know social work theory says it’s really important all the rest of it, I’m not so sure it’s very good to have a constant reminder that he has siblings and is now an only child… I think most adoptive parents would tell you that the whole contact thing is very emotive, and you do what you have to do. E-mail: Beyond Together or Apart: Planning for, Assessing and Placing Siblings Groups, What is the impact of birth family contact on children in adoption and long-term foster care? Successful contact has occurred using a multitude of forms of communication including cards, phone calls, videos, skype and email. These comprised: (i) talking openly about adoption; (ii) children’s reactions to contact; (iii) support for contact and (iv) rapport between families. Maternal adverse childhood experiences, executive function & emotional availability in mother-child dyads. Just one mother identified an unmet support need to help facilitate contact with a recently born sibling. Please contact the MN ADOPT Post Search Specialist at 612-746-5135 for more information. Social media did not emerge as an immediate concern, but several families were worried about the future. Other ways of keeping in touch can be considered during planning. Because again, we’ve not known when to introduce any of this sort of stuff (Interview). Jones, C., & Hackett, S. 2011. for contact after the finalization of an adoption. Adoptive parents shared many observations about their experiences of indirect contact. Sibling characteristics derived from social work records, questionnaires and interview samples. , Hostetler M. L. Contact. Adopting Your Own Sibling. The adequate preparation of children for direct contact was considered important. Children often have strong feelings about who they want to stay in touch with and who is ‘family’ – that may include people they are not biologically related to, for example step siblings or foster siblings. Despite promises to do so, this had not routinely happened. In some case however there may be a role for workers in facilitating contact for example but ensuring meetings start and end smoothly, encouraging positive relationship building, offering emotional support, managing practical issues etc. Boyle (2017) observed that adoptive parents and children consistently identified the importance of maintaining sibling contact and children were clear in their desire to have more. * Adopted at birth, closed adoption, 31 years ago, always knew I was adopted, completely love my adopted family ("real" parents & sibling, etc.) , Coffey A. J. Psychological issues in adoption: Research and practice, 167-186. This is important in case contact arrangements change and risk assessments need to be revisited post adoption order. have the right to ask for an assessment of their needs for post-adoption support. Some described how they had assumed responsibility for negotiating arrangements and had taken it upon themselves to organise contact without involving the adoption agencies: [Sibling contact] is being managed by us and other adoptive parents with no knowledge by social services (Wave 4). Adoption creates many different kinds of sibling relationships – siblings who are related genetically but growing up in different adoptive families or split between birth and adoptive families; siblings who are not genetically related … ‘What is the impact of birth family contact on children in adoption and long‐term foster care?’A systematic review. Sibling placement and contact in out-of-home care. If the siblings are of very different ages so that they have little in Parents were also disillusioned by the lack of reciprocity with the indirect communication, with reports of children becoming upset or angry when they did not hear back from siblings. The sibling relationship in the context of child maltreatment: What do we know? siblings born after children are placed for adoption). Ashley, C. and Roth, D. 2015. Therefore, our policy is to place siblings … We don’t know what to do about it (Wave 4). Sibling Connections: An Exploration of Adopted People’s Birth and Adoptive Sibling Relationships Across the Life-Span. , Mills S. (, Featherstone B. Parents were dissatisfied with agency protocols, viewing the convention as too rigid, superficial, or demanding. For practical ideas and resources on how to include and explore ‘contact’ during training of prospective adopters see the Working with adopters page. For some children, sibling connections are maintained through post‐adoption contact plans, and adoption legislation in England and Wales (the Adoption and Children Act 2002) requires that contact with birth family members must be considered and proposed arrangements set out in the child's placement … This is illustrated in the following quotes from adoptive mothers where both families had agreed to indirect contact with their child’s siblings. The court will inquire as to the status of the development of a voluntary postadoption sibling contact agreement at the time of the first review hearing and all subsequent hearings after parental rights are terminated. They described this contact model as poorly resourced, with birth family and/or adoptive families stopping contact independently, without any formally recorded account of why. I see this is an old thread and haven't read anyone's post here but yours. Neil et al., 2018). Sibling relationships can be a relevant factor at every stage of public law proceedings. There was also anxiety and uncertainty about the first sibling contact experience, for which some parents identified an unmet need for emotional support; however, this need, it is suggested, is routinely outweighed by other matters (Monk and Macvarish, 2018). Three powerful assumptions may outweigh the promotion of anything other than indirect contact: that expectations of direct contact will deter potential adopters; that post-adoption contact should and can … Parents shared varied observations about the importance of retaining contact with siblings who did not have an existing positive relationship with their child, including birth siblings born after the child was placed for adoption. The present study focuses on the questionnaires completed by adoptive parents at 4 months (N = 96, Wave 1) and 4 years post-placement (N = 68, 71%, Wave 4), and a subsample of 40 families (42%) who were interviewed at 9 months-post placement. The influence of adoption on sibling relationships: Experience and support eeds of newly formed adoptive families. adoption: 1. Absolutely not. Some contact had been complicated by the children’s difficulties in coming to terms with their new circumstances and reconfigured family forms. Some parents had wanted to honour their promise to retain contact with siblings, so had written without involving their child. Others had received communication from siblings, which they had not shared with their child for fear of confusing, unsettling or upsetting them: We had a letter at Christmas time which we haven’t shown to [Child] or anything yet because to be honest with you it’s a bit, bit heart-breaking. Even if a child can’t stay in touch with all their siblings, they are likely to value this information about them. If adoption is right for one sibling, but not for another 4. British Journal of Social Work, 36 (4), 541– 559. Although some siblings may find contact after adoption a source of comfort and reassurance (Meakings et al., 2017), sibling relationships in adoptive families who have experienced a disruption or are in crisis, can be harmful (Selwyn, 2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcx097, Monk, D. and Macvarish, J. Maintaining Sibling Relationships – Neglected Dimension in Child Care Practice. She does however ask for contact and appears to enjoy seeing them for an hour twice a year (Wave 4). In contrast, all contact had ceased in Family B: We’ll do it (indirect contact with siblings) because that’s what we have agreed. In the UK, contact arrangements between adopted children and birth siblings living elsewhere usually take one of two forms: (i) direct, or, face-to-face contact; and (ii) indirect, or, letterbox contact, where letters or cards (passed through an adoption agency) are exchanged between the adoptive family and the sibling(s). At Wave 4, n = 16/68 (24 per cent) of the adoptive parents identified an unmet need for professional help with life story work. Some may charge a nominal fee. Furthermore, parents were not always sure whether their letters had been passed on to siblings, or when not acknowledged by the agency, even received by those responsible for coordinating the correspondence. The Maintenance of Traditional and Technological Forms of Post‐Adoption Contact. We harnessed prospective, longitudinal data to determine the extent to which plans for contact between adopted children and birth siblings living elsewhere materialised over time. , Shelton K. , Wrighton P. Some less complex sibling contact situations may require little support (for example visits between two adoptive families who get on well). Contact with other adopters was particularly appreciated: [Direct contact is a] very positive experience. Siblings, contact and the law: an overlooked relationship? However, in your case, I would … Cossar, J. and Neil, E. 2013. Although some evidence suggests that online networking may have positive outcomes, the unpredictability and immediacy of (particularly unwanted) online contact may have harmful consequences (Greenhow et al., 2015). Normalising contact as a family day out as one may meet with extended family members can work for some, at venues with activities for a mixture of ages and personalities. 1). Future research could also consider how social work practitioners can work with families to sustain safe and meaningful sibling relationships in a manner that can be realistically achieved. have the right to ask for an assessment of their needs for post-adoption support. siblings whose family lives have been so disrupted they have ended up in foster care; and (2) psychological loss that siblings experience when they are separated through adoption. What are the directions for the future? Post-adoption contact and openness in adoptive parents' minds: Consequences for children's development’, The Joys and Challenges of Adoptive Family Life: A Survey of Adoptive Parents in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region, Centre for Research on Children and Families, Sibling relationships in adoptive families that disrupted or were in crisis, More than just a letter: Service user perspectives on one local authority’s adoption postbox service, Beyond the Adoption Order: Challenges, Interventions and Adoption Disruption, Sibling Groups and Social Work: A Study of Children Referred for Permanent Substitute Family Placement. Re TJ (Relinquished for adoption: sibling contact) [2017] EWFC 6. She's had some issues since the adoption of our son, and we don't want to make things worse for her… I’m not sure [my daughter] would be happy with another girl saying she’s our son’s sister (Wave 4). , Sakuma K. , Meins E. Eighty-four per cent of children (n = 81) were known to have at least one sibling living elsewhere. The biggest discrepancy between the contact arrangements that had been planned and those which were occurring, involved indirect contact: n = 11/17 children with plans for indirect contact with siblings had no contact at Wave 4. Siblings can continue to be a source of support in adult life. Adoptive family experiences of post‐adoption contact in an Internet era. Post adoption contact. & Shelton, K. H. 2017. Wojciak, A.S., McWey, L.M. , Meakings S. post adoption sibling contact. Brodzinsky (2005) described the practice of exploring the meaning of adoption within the adoptive family as ‘communicative openness’. Sibling connections: The importance of nurturing sibling bonds in the foster care system. This page contains practical guides for practitioners involved in planning contact between siblings and also resources for those involved in initiating and supporting contact. , Doughty J. One mother described her son’s contact with his sister as ‘hard going’ because of the behaviour of the sibling’s guardian. Sometimes poor communication, misunderstandings or simply lost contact details can lead to missed opportunities for a connection or a closer relationship to be developed and a review and brief social work input can move contact forward. This paper examines the experience of post‐adoption direct sibling contact from the perspectives of adoptive parents and birth relatives, including adult siblings. Siblings may have very different views about birth parents or the adoption. Where siblings remain in the birth family, direct sibling contact is often lost because no direct contact with the adult birth relatives is planned. Child & Family Social Work, 22(S1), 44-52. Consideration should therefore be given to investing in sibling connections that have the potential to evolve into meaningful relationships. Plans for indirect (letterbox) contact were prone to breaking down: n = 11/17 children with plans for such contact at Wave 1 had no correspondence with siblings at Wave 4. Mason, L. and Gupta, A. Letterbox contact is a formal arrangement for birth parents, relatives and the adoptive parents to share information about the child(ren) when and if appropriate. Rather than balancing the rights of the adoptive parents with the rights of the siblings, most states require a best interests analysis to determine if siblings should have post-adoption contact (e.g., Florida). Arranging contact between larger siblings groups often poses practical challenges in terms of the need to contact multiple families, and finding a suitable date, location and activity that will work for all. Life story work is intended to help provide adopted children with an age appropriate, coherent narrative of their life experience. Think about if and how the venue and activities might enable children to interact. Many children had more than one sibling and, not unusually, contact experiences differed between each sibling dyad. Contact with family members and its impact on adolescents and their foster placements. Parents expressed their need for support early in the placement as they prepared to set in motion plans for meeting their child’s sibling(s). Eye to the Future in Adenomyosis Research. These research requests come from Sue Austin (University of Bristol) and Yewande Reece (University of Birmingham). Siblings placed together for adoption will need to renegotiate their relationship in the context of their new family. He will be placed elsewhere. Once complete, quotes were attributed to themes to illustrate the data. Their findings exposed the complex networks that existed between the families, which connected some siblings, but not others. The enquiry called for a significant rethink of approaches to contact. Let us review your family’s situation today and explain the first steps you would need to take to seek custody of a sibling. Neil, E., Beek, M. & Ward, E. 2013. The families were also asked to describe any changes to the original sibling contact plan. This exchange of information may be helpful (for example an older sibling reassuring a younger sibling that adoption was the right decision, or passing on valued news about other family members). , Meakings S. These cases require special attention. Several parents shared the difficulties they faced (or anticipated) in balancing efforts to bond as a newly formed adoptive family against the need to promote the importance of the birth family. If any of the siblings presents a risk to the safety of a brother or sister 2. Norwich: University of East Anglia. Contact ideally needs to be reviewed periodically and adapted to changing needs. By Dawn J. Occasionally parents were themselves asked to change the style or tone of letters they had written. She [Nan] is quite a forceful character, but apparently, she likes us so that’s good enough for me! * Jurisdiction changed their adoption laws to make identifying information available to adoptees and birth parents, unless a veto was filed. In some cases interaction between siblings may need to be encouraged to help build relationships. Contact after adoption poses challenges for adoptive families and birth relatives in negotiating changing kinship ties. When contact was reported to be working well, parents commented on the positive relationships with the parents or carers of their child’s sibling(s). At first, letterbox [indirect] contact was good and sharing information about half siblings helped. 2015. Neil, E., Young and Hartley. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(3), 386. means contact. Adopted children and children in care generally want contact with their separated siblings. This complicated plans for sibling contact; there were instances where contact had not happened because of the children’s insufficient understanding of their life history. Some States also allow other birth relatives who have significant emotional ties to the child to be included in the agreement, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings… Presentation 27th January 2015. Another mother described how her family had been approached by the local authority to consider adopting their son’s newborn brother. Think carefully about venues and activities. In trying to manage the competing and conflicting needs of her two children, whilst promoting their sense of siblingship, one mother explained her decision to renege on the plan made for her son to have direct contact with his birth sister: We were supposed to have direct contact with his sibling, but don't want to because we fear it will upset our birth daughter as she thinks she is our son’s only sister. It is recognised that children who grow up separately from siblings and who lack contact with or knowledge about them, risk being deprived of support afforded by the sibling relationship in adult life (Kosonen, 1996; Herrick and Piccus, 2005). To determine the representativeness of the 96 families in the present study, we reviewed the social work records of all children placed for adoption by every local authority in Wales between 1 July 2014 and 31 July 2015 (N = 374). Think about the goals of contact when deciding on how much and what type of contact. In the past two decades, there has been increased recognition of sibling relationships as crucial, particularly for children who are removed from their birth parents. At four years post placement, most plans for indirect contact with siblings had not materialised. Contact after Adoption: A Follow Up in Late Adolescence. Others had not talked about the existence of birth siblings or had shared very little information about them. He just took himself off and sat in the Play Centre on his own (Interview). , Ottaway H. My daughter is angry (Wave 4). The parents and carers of siblings may also need similar help to think though the pros and cons of sibling contact. Where there is history of abuse between siblings consider how children can be helped to feel safe during contact. Others were dissatisfied by the insensitive or inappropriate content of correspondence they received (despite it having been passed through a co-ordinator in the adoption agency). I believe they should eventually have contact, but [Child’s] social worker does not seem to agree (Wave 4). Herrick, M. A., and Piccus, W. 2005. At Wave 4, 7 per cent (5/68) of parents had not yet spoken to their child about adoption. Are you an adopted person who was separated from your birth siblings… Several parents reported feeling frustrated by not knowing the contact intentions of the sibling’s family; some did not know why contact had been refused or withdrawn. British Journal of Social Work, 26, pp.809-22. British Journal of Social Work, 35 (1), 3–35. Macaskill (2002) emphasised the imperative for children to understand the decisions made to separate them from their siblings, suggesting that subsequent contact could be adversely affected by children lacking insight. They also observed the difference between sibling contact and contact with adult birth relatives, noting that because sibling contact was unlikely to generate the same level of emotional fallout, it had the potential to occur more regularly. Archive • 16.02.2017 • . There were instances where sibling contact had not occurred because neither parents, nor the adoption agency had set plans in motion: We are supposed to do letterbox [indirect] contact, but no one has contacted us to do this. Adopters should be encouraged to create a climate of openness and honesty so they can talk through with their child any worries they have after talking with siblings. I like the life story idea… it’s trying to find that balance between giving the child enough information so that they know who they are and they understand their identity and that they’ve got a joint identity really… we don’t want [Child] ever to come to us and say, ‘You didn’t keep up contact with my siblings’. It can provide children with a sense of belonging and a shared history, a chance to identify biological connection and likeness. A realistic appraisal needs to be made as to whether this does actually pose serious risks to the adopted child. Post by winni » … Reassuring older children that their younger adopted siblings are well looked after may be important, alongside acknowledging and valuing the experience of the older sibling in caring for their brother or sister. Three powerful assumptions may outweigh the promotion of anything other than indirect contact: that expectations of direct contact will deter potential adopters; that post-adoption contact should and can … Amy L. Paine was funded by the Waterloo Foundation (Grant reference: 738/3512). The Adoption UK study on post-adoption contact in Northern Ireland (MacDonald, 2017) identified that face-to-face arrangements frequently characterised sibling contact, especially when siblings were also living in adoptive families or were fostered. For four families, contact was beset by complications resulting from poor planning, inadequate preparation, and insufficient support. A redoubling of effort is needed to ensure that support for life story work continues to be prioritised and undertaken in a timely manner. Available at: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute/scwru/mrc/events2015/27Jan15-LMasonandAGupta.pdf (accessed 15th May 2018). (, Feinberg M. E. Sibling relationships of children in foster care and adoption: A review of international research, Children & Society, 30(4), pp. Children in Permanent Placement and Contact with Their Birth Relatives, Adoptive Parents’ Experiences of Post Adoption Contact and Their Support Needs, The influence of adoption on sibling relationships: Experiences and support needs of newly formed adoptive families, The support needs and experiences of newly formed adoptive families: Findings from the Wales Adoption Study, Siblings, Contact and the Law: An Overlooked Relationship, We are Family: Sibling Relationships in Placement and Beyond. 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