Revisiting Conventional Wisdom: What Do We Know from 30 Years of Research on Sibling Placement in Foster Care?

Background

Efforts to place sibling groups together in foster care have long been considered best practice and is required under federal law. Practice and policy guidance are based in part on the belief that sibling placement is in the best interests of children. In this article, we first review literature reviews on this topic to assess the extent to which prior efforts to characterize this body of research are thorough, objective, and based on research specific to the foster care population. We then assess the quality and volume of empirical evidence on the effects of sibling placement for the stability, permanency, and wellbeing of children in foster care to ascertain whether existing reviews accurately reflect the empirical evidence or extend beyond it without adequate empirical support.

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