Development and feasibility of a sibling intervention for youth in foster care.

Due to their ubiquity and possible influence on youth mental health, academic, and other outcomes, sibling-focused intervention strategies may be important for the development and implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in child welfare. However, there is no rigorous evidence as to either the best methods for, or feasibility of, incorporating the sibling link within existing clinical treatments for foster youth. This paper applies the literature on evidence-based practices (EBP) and implementation research in child welfare to sibling-focused intervention; and presents data concerning the development, delivery, cost, and feasibility of a novel sibling-focused intervention program, Supporting Siblings in Foster Care (SIBS-FC).

Intervening to Improve Outcomes for Siblings in Foster Care: Conceptual, Substantive, and Methodological Dimensions of a Prevention Science Framework.

In recent years, the child welfare field has devoted significant attention to siblings in foster care. Policymakers and practitioners have supported efforts to connect siblings via shared foster placements and visitation while researchers have focused on illuminating the empirical foundations of sibling placement and sibling intervention in child welfare. The current paper synthesizes literature on sibling relationship development and sibling issues in child welfare in the service of presenting a typology of sibling-focused interventions for use with foster youth.