NJ Law Helps Foster Siblings Stick Together – And Kids Made It Happen

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — When Tawanna Brown was a youth in New Jersey’s foster care system, there was always something that she could turn to for comfort when things got tough: her siblings.

“Going through the child welfare system is a process within itself,” recalls Brown, now a 20-year-old Africana studies and political science major at Seton Hall University. “It can feel like you’re losing yourself.”

But thanks to a state law that she and other young people in New Jersey recently helped to push over the finish line, more than 1,600 foster children are now guaranteed a list of new “rights” when it comes to staying in touch with their brothers and sisters.

The Siblings Bill of Rights, which got a signature from Gov. Phil Murphy in January, cements the right for children placed outside their home to participate in permanency planning decisions of other siblings, and to invite siblings to participate in their own permanency planning decisions (when appropriate).

The law also adds several other rights for foster youth, including:

• Access to phone calls and virtual visits between face-to-face visits with their sibling
• The right to be placed in the “closest proximity possible” to other siblings who are not in out-of-home placement, if placement together is not possible
• The right to be “actively involved” in their siblings’ birthdays, holidays, and other milestones
• The right not to be denied visits with their sibling as a result of behavioral consequences when living in a resource family home or congregate care setting
• The right to be provided updated contact information for all siblings at least once a year, including a current telephone number, address and email address (unless it’s not in the best interests of one or more siblings)

According to the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF), about 54 percent of children who are placed outside of their home have at least one sibling.

In an attempt to get the perspectives of young people who have been involved in the state’s foster care system – and to gather their feedback on ways in which it could be improved – the DCF created a Youth Council in 2020 under the auspices of its Office of Family Voice.

That council, which includes Brown, didn’t waste time making sure their voices were heard.

The South Orange resident and her peers got to work developing the draft of the Siblings Bill of Rights, which they continued to push for over the next two years. Together, the youth met with key legislative leaders, creating a video to advocate for the bill’s passage along the way.

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DCF Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer said the drive for a Sibling Bill of Rights in New Jersey was a youth-led movement from start to finish.

“This bill represents the power of shared leadership and the importance of having individuals with lived experiences in a meaningful role at the table,” Beyer said.

Gov. Murphy also praised Brown and the other Youth Council members for their efforts, saying that he and other elected officials were “deeply moved” by their stories about what it was like to be in the foster care system.

“In what could very well be the most difficult time of their young lives, it is our hope that this bill will allow siblings in the child welfare system to maintain some measure of stability and continuity,” Murphy said.

“Sibling relationships are often lifetime relationships, and are important to give youth – and adults – a sense of stability, or connection to someone who has shared a big part of your history,” said Jack Auzinger, another member of the Youth Council.

“New Jersey has taken a stance on sibling rights – that they matter, they exist – and this is now the law,” Auzinger said.

Not content to coast on their achievement, Youth Council members continue to reach out to their peers throughout New Jersey in other ways, redesigning a youth-centered website, helping to create scripts for two mental health public service announcements, and issuing/awarding a request for proposal for a peer mentorship program.

But the Siblings Bill of Rights proves one thing, Brown says: foster kids can be their own best advocates.

“It has shown us that we are the agents of change, and we are deserving of being seen, heard, and felt in this world,” asserted Brown, who is eyeing a career in law and hopes to work with Court Appointed Special Advocates, an organization that trains volunteers to help represent the best interests of children in court settings.

“For me, being able to stay with my siblings allowed me reassurance that I would always have a sense of comfort and familiarity despite the series of changes,” she said. “This bill being signed into state legislation meant to me that more young people will be granted the same opportunity of comfort in knowing they’ll have access to their siblings, or will be placed with them.”

• See Related: 19 Kids Adopted In Essex County In Time For The Holidays

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