Mother argues foster care shouldn't split up siblings

LINCOLN - At age 3, Bridget Christensen and David Lathrop's adopted son had one wish for Santa Claus.

Bring back my baby brother, he pleaded.

And for nearly two more years, he kept asking his parents about the biological brother who had been placed with them for a few months, then taken away.

The Lincoln couple tried to explain that his brother was living with another foster family and they hoped they would see him again.

Later, Christensen said, they simply told their son that they had no power over what would happen with his brother.

What she and Lathrop didn't tell their son, but did tell state lawmakers Friday, was that his heartbreak resulted from the state Department of Health and Human Services not following federal and state foster care laws.

Those laws require siblings to be placed together in foster or adoptive homes, unless doing so would not be in their best interest.

If siblings are not placed together, the laws require that HHS provide for them to visit or interact regularly.

Christensen told the Judiciary Committee that it was nearly five years before her son saw his brother again - and met a second sibling that the family had never been told about.

"No other child should have to go through what our son has gone through," she said.

Toward that end, she and others testified in support of Legislative Bill 411, introduced by State Sen. Kate Bolz of Lincoln.

The bill would strengthen state laws about keeping siblings together. It would require that siblings be placed together, even if they did not previously know each other, such as in the case of an infant.

It would require child welfare case workers to file reports with the courts about efforts to find siblings and either place them together or allow them to visit each other.

In addition, the bill would give children the right to intervene in a sibling's court case to ask for joint placement or visitation.

Kim Hawekotte, executive director of the Foster Care Review Office, supported the proposal, saying national research shows the importance of sibling relationships, in childhood and throughout life.

Those relationships are particularly important for children who suffer the trauma of being removed from home and placed in foster care, she said.

But cases reviewed by her office show that one-third of sibling groups in Nebraska are not kept together when placed in foster care.

Only 41 percent of children who were not placed with their siblings have regular contact with them, Hawekotte said. An additional 20 percent have contact with some, but not all, of their siblings.

She said it is unclear whether the courts are getting enough information about siblings in child welfare cases.

Robert McEwen, legal director with Nebraska Appleseed, said courts often do not get an explanation why HHS has not placed siblings together or arranged visitation.

He said giving siblings the right to intervene in a court case is important because other parties, including guardians ad litem, do not consistently raise questions about siblings.

But Doug Weinberg, the director of children and family services for HHS, argued in opposition to LB 411.

He said the bill could lead to additional hearings and appeals in child welfare cases, which would mean keeping children in foster care for longer periods.

HHS officials estimated that allowing siblings to intervene in cases would cost the state about $3 million a year. The cost includes additional foster care payments and case workers.

The estimate assumes that half of the 786 state wards who were not placed with all their siblings would go to court and that the proceedings would lead to keeping cases open for an additional six to 12 months.

Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln challenged those estimates, saying that there would be no need for intervention if HHS was complying with the law.

Weinberg said the department's practice calls for placing siblings together. He said HHS has increased the proportion of state wards placed with at least one sibling from 78 percent in June 2013 to 83 percent now.

The proportion placed with all of their siblings has increased from 56 percent to 65 percent.

"We do make our best effort to do that when it's in everyone's best interest, the child's best interest," he said.

martha.stoddard@owh.com, 402-473-9583