89 Ill. Adm. Code 309.135
Post-Permanency Sibling Contact Agreement
Section 309.135
Post-Permanency
Sibling Contact Agreement
When a child in the
Department's care has a permanency goal of adoption or private guardianship,
and the Department is preparing to finalize the adoption or guardianship, the
child's caseworker
shall convene a meeting with the
prospective
adoptive parents or guardians
and the foster parents and
caseworkers
for the child's siblings
in substitute care
, and others as applicable.
The children should participate
when
developmentally appropriate.
Others, such as therapists and mentors, may participate as appropriate. At the
meeting, the Department shall encourage the parties to discuss
post-permanency
sibling contact
. The
caseworker
may assist the parties in drafting a
Post-Permanency Sibling Contact Agreement.
a)
Parties
to the Post-Permanency Sibling Contact Agreement shall include:
1)
the
adoptive parent or parents or guardian;
2)
the child's siblings
in substitute care
,
and the sibling's
current foster parents
or guardians
, and
siblings who are emancipated/ living independently; and
3)
the
child.
b)
The written consent of a child age 14 and
over to the terms and conditions of the Post-Permanency Sibling Contact
Agreement and subsequent modifications is required.
c)
In developing this Agreement, the Department
shall encourage the parties to consider the following factors:
1)
the
physical and emotional safety and welfare of the child;
2)
the
child's wishes;
3)
the interaction and interrelationship of the
child with the child's siblings who would be visiting or communicating with the
child, including:
A)
the
quality of the relationship between the child and his/her siblings; and
B)
the
benefits and potential harms to the child in allowing the relationships to
continue or in ending them;
4)
the child's sense of attachments to
his/her
siblings and adoptive family, including:
A)
the
child's sense of
well-being and
being valued;
B)
the
child's sense of familiarity and connectedness; and
C)
continuity
of affection for the child; and
5)
other
factors relevant to the best interest of the child.
d)
In considering the factors in subsection
(c)
, the Department shall encourage the parties to recognize the importance
to a child of developing a relationship with siblings, including siblings with
whom the child does not yet have a relationship, and the value of preserving
family ties between the child and
his/her
siblings, including:
1)
the child's need for stability and continuity
of relationships with siblings; and
2)
the importance of sibling contact in the
development of the child's identity.
e)
The parties to the agreement may modify or
terminate the Post-Permanency Sibling Contact Agreement. If the parties cannot
agree to modification or termination, they may request the assistance of the
Department or another agency identified and agreed upon by the parties. Any
and all terms may be modified by agreement of the parties. Agreements may also
be modified to include contact with siblings whose whereabouts were unknown or
who had not yet been born when the Order for Adoption or Order for Private
Guardianship was entered.
f) When an
Agreement is completed and signed by
the parties, the Department shall include the Agreement in the child's Post-Adoption
or Private Guardianship case record and in the case file of siblings who are
parties to the Agreement who are in the Department's custody or guardianship.
[20 ILCS 505/7.4(i)]