New collaboration launched advocating for the right to sibling contact

Date: 29th March 2018
Category: Care Experienced children

A multi-agency partnership has been launched with the aim of improving and changing legislation, policy and practice around sibling contact.

The partnership, entitled 'Stand Up for Siblings', is a collaboration between a number of child welfare, children's rights and legal organisations and academics within Scotland.

Several Together members are involved in the partnership including:

• The Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS)
• Clan Childlaw
• Who Cares? Scotland

Stand Up for Siblings will work to advocate for the rights of siblings in care, particularly in the following areas:

• Changes in the law to put sibling contact on the same legal footing as birth parent contact;
• Clear recording of children's sibling relationships in official records;
• National quality indicators for direct contact between siblings;
• A new national 'lifelong sibling relationships' assessment to replace the together/apart assessment
• Transparent recording of children's views regarding contact in Children's Hearings and court cases;
• A recruitment strategy to attract foster carers and adopters of sibling groups.
• Universal access to life story work for children permanently separated from birth siblings.

Stand Up for Siblings have a number of resources on their website for both young people and professionals who require support around sibling contact.

• Read more about the collaboration and access the resources here.

They are also asking people to take a pledge and show how they support the aims of the partnership.

• Make a pledge here.