Section 315.125  Preservation of Sibling Relationships

Whenever a child enters care or requires a new placement, the Department shall consider the development and preservation of sibling relationships [20 ILCS 505/7.4(e)].  The Department shall:

a)         place children who come into its care with other siblings in substitute care in accordance with 89 Ill. Adm. Code 301.70 (Sibling Placement);

b)         encourage the child to develop and maintain a relationship with his/her siblings placed apart in substitute care, still residing with a birth parent or who have attained adulthood, and include those siblings, when possible, in the Sibling Visitation and Contact Plan;

c)         encourage the child to develop and maintain a relationship with any of his/her siblings who have been adopted or placed in legal guardianship as described in 89 Ill. Adm. Code 301.250 (Sibling Visitation and Contact with Adopted Siblings and Siblings in Private Guardianship) and, when possible, develop a Post-Permanency Sibling Contact Agreement; and

d)         encourage caregivers to actively support and nurture children in developing and preserving sibling relationships.

(Source:  Added at 40 Ill. Reg. 743, effective December 31, 2015)