Office of Children and Family Services

Sibling Placement in Foster Care in New York City

New York State’s foster care programs are administered by 58 local social services districts (57 counties and New York City) that are overseen by the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). According to State law and regulations, siblings placed in foster care should be kept together unless it is impossible or inadvisable to do so. If siblings in foster care are separated, provisions should be made for them to see one another regularly. In addition, the reason for their separation must be appropriately documented, as must each of their visits with one another.

We examined whether these requirements were being met in New York City. We found that the requirements generally were being met. However, in some instances, there was no documentation indicating that separated siblings had visited with one another as often as required. We recommended that such documentation be maintained.

For a complete copy of Report 2007-S-10 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.
For a copy of the associated follow-up report click here.