Who Is a Sibling? Social Work Professionals' Views on Definitions of Siblinghood in Foster Care in England

ABSTRACT

When children are placed in foster care, social work professionals decide whether they should and can be placed with their siblings. In England, this has become an important discussion within social work, as research has highlighted both the value of sibling co‐placement and the extent to which it often does not happen. We suggest that at the root of this decision lies a critical question that is rarely addressed: Who is a sibling? This study explored how social work professionals define siblings for children in care, how this reflects children's relationships and how recognition and recording of sibling relationships may be improved. Drawing on sociological concepts of family, a thematic analysis of interviews illustrated that views of siblinghood reflected contemporary diversity in familial relationships and the importance of the subjective salience of a sibling relationship for a specific child. However, operationalising these is challenging both conceptually and logistically; as a result, biological ties are more often reflected in case file data and tend to operate as the default in decision‐making. We highlight implications of these findings both for social work professionals' practice and children's experience of foster care placement.