Indiana's focus on keeping siblings together

In Indiana, eighty three percent of siblings are placed together. Indiana has designed data information systems to track sibling placements. Whenever siblings are separated the effort to reunify them continues throughout the life of the case. The Department of Children Services continually conducts exhaustive searches to identify a placement option that can accommodate siblings being placed together. DCS has the authority to amend the licensing number limitation in order to keep sibling groups together. The case manager engages the Child and Family Team (CFT) and assesses all available alternatives. DCS will recommend to the court a change in placement, if the child can be placed with his or her siblings, unless there is a compelling reason that it would not be in the best interest of one or more of the children.  Read more.

The Fostering Connections Resource Center gratefully acknowledges the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators for providing these summaries of state approaches. Please visit NAPCWA for the complete implementation summary.