Or. Admin. Code § 413-110-0132 - Consideration of Sibling Separation

(1) A permanency committee is used to consider the permanent separation of siblings in the legal custody of the Department through adoption, unless an adoptive resource has been selected for one or more siblings.

(2) The permanency committee must consider the best interests of each child in the sibling group under consideration, and each of the following factors when making a recommendation:

(a) The current and lifelong needs of each child and of each sibling in the sibling group under consideration;

(b) The existence of each child's significant emotional ties to each sibling in the sibling group under consideration;

(c) The needs of each child and each sibling in the sibling group under consideration for each of the following:

(A) Physical and emotional safety;

(B) Ability to develop and maintain current and lifelong connections with the child's family;

(C) Continuity and familiarity;

(D) Appropriate educational, developmental, emotional, and physical support;

(E) Stability and permanency; and

(F) Maintaining his or her identity, cultural, religious, and spiritual heritage.

(3) The permanency committee considers all of the information, deliberates, and, when committee members agree, makes a recommendation to the Child Welfare Program Manager or designee including one or more of the following options:

(a) Separation of a child from one or more siblings in the sibling group under consideration is not in the best interest of the child or the siblings, and the caseworker must continue to make efforts to place the siblings together for the purpose of adoption;

(b) Separation of a child from one or more siblings in the sibling group under consideration for the purpose of adoption is in the best interests of the child or the siblings; or

(c) When there are multiple siblings, recommendations with respect to which siblings in the sibling group under consideration should remain together for the purpose of adoption and how those matches are in the best interests of each sibling.

(4) When the permanency committee cannot reach agreement, each permanency committee member makes his or her respective recommendations known to the committee facilitator.

(5) The Child Welfare Program Manager or designee who makes the decision on behalf of the Department must consider all of the following when making the decision:

(a) The considerations in subsections (2)(a)-(c) of this rule;

(b) The information presented to the permanency committee; and

(c) The recommendations of the permanency committee.

Notes

Or. Admin. Code § 413-110-0132

CWP 13-2010(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 7-1-10 thru 12-28-10; CWP 30-2010, f. & cert. ef. 12-29-10; CWP 6-2011(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 4-4-11 thru 10-1-11; CWP 21-2011, f. & cert. ef. 9-19-11

Stat. Auth.: ORS 418.005

Stats. Implemented: ORS 418.005, 419B.192