Siblings in Adoption and Foster Care

Deborah N. Silverstein is Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Vice President at the Kinship Center, an agency that develops and offers mental health programs for families and children. Silverstein is also a psychotherapist in private practice working with children and adults on family, individual, and marital issues.Susan Livingston Smith is Professor Emerita of Social Work at Illinois State University and Program and Project Director at the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. Also a contract social worker for Mandala Adoption Services, she is a professional trainer who has delivered more than 50 workshops to adoption professionals in several states. A member of the Post Adoption Support and Preservation Task Force of the National Association of Social Workers, she received the Angels in Adoption Award from the U.S. Congress in 2006. She is also a recipient of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Adoption Excellence Award.

• Forward Preface List of Abbreviations Introduction: All in the Family: Maintaining and Making Connections Chapter 1: Full, Half, Step, Foster, Adoptive, and Other: The Complex Nature of Sibling Relationships Chapter 2: Siblings in Foster Care and Adoption: What We Know from Research Chapter 3: Sibling Connections: The Importance of Nurturing Sibling Bonds in the Foster Care System Chapter 4: The Experience of Sibling Loss in the Adjustment of Foster and Adopted Children Chapter 5: The Rights of Siblings in Foster Care and Adoption: A Legal Perspective Chapter 6: Sibling Issues in Open Adoption Arrangements: Non-Biologically Related Adopted Siblings Experiences with Birthfamily Contact Chapter 7: Keeping Sibling Connection Alive Chapter 8: The Creation of a False Self: A Survival Strategy for Siblings of Wounded Adopted or Foster Children Chapter 9: Suddenly Sisters! Sibling Adjustment in Reunion Chapter 10: Practice Strategies to Preserve Sibling Relationships Chapter 11: Mental Health Strategies to Support Sibling Relationships: Nonverbal Interventions to Process Trauma and Maintain the Sibling Bond Chapter 12: Permanency for Siblings in Kinship Families Conclusion: What Have We Learned? Where Do We Need To Go? Appendix Notes Glossary References About the contributors