Sibling Bill Of Rights Crafted By Burlington Co. Woman, Other Former Foster Kids

MAPLE SHADE, NJ — A local young woman helped write and advocate for new legislation protecting sibling relationships in New Jersey’s child welfare system.

Brianna Moore of Maple Shade was one of the two dozen young people participating on a Youth Council through the The New Jersey Department of Children and Families.

Moore, a 24-year-old who works in Medford, and her fellow Youth Council members drafted the Siblings’ Bill of Rights, which Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law last month. This bill is designed to keep siblings connected and able to advocate one another, the youth advocates said.

According to the Department of Children and Families, about 54 percent of children who are placed outside of their home have at least one sibling. The bill affects those 1,638 children, declaring the importance of maintaining relationships between siblings – whether they are placed together or not.

Moore, a former youth in foster care, said she was “filled with joy” when she found out the bill was signed.

“A lot of people usually don’t think a sibling connection is important, but it’s actually very important,” Moore said in a statement. “Just being in the system away from your parents is hard enough, but being apart from your siblings as well is just traumatic. Now, those relationships are protected.”

The bill states that “it is in the best interests of the State to declare that policies and procedures allowing for all siblings in resource family or congregate care settings to be placed together are generally preferred unless such placements are not in the best interests of one or more of the siblings.”

Youth in foster care should be in “the closest proximity possible” to other siblings if they are not able to be placed together, and have access to phone calls and virtual visits in between face-to-face visits with their siblings, the bill says.

Under the bill, youth placed in a foster home have the right to be “actively involved” in their siblings’ lives, such as at birthdays and holidays. They also have the right to be “promptly informed” when one of their siblings moves to a new place or has a changed permanency goal, and be provided updated contact information for all siblings at least annually (unless it is not in one of their best interests).

Youth should also be allowed to participate in their siblings’ permanency planning decisions “when appropriate,” the law says, and each child/sibling’s recommendations and wishes will be documented in his or her case record.

Moore and the other young people on the Youth Council, which is part of the DCF’s Office of Family Voice, gave legislators feedback on ways the state foster system could improve. They shared personal stories of their time in the state child welfare system and concluded that youth have a more positive outcome when they’re able to stay with their siblings, or have frequent communication with them.

Another Youth Council member, Jordan, said he did not trust his DCF worker or foster family when he entered the system in 2008. He described how a bond with his older brother helped him, and said he has two younger brothers still in the system whom he keeps in contact with to encourage them.

“I try to keep a constant relationship with them just to make sure that they’re okay and tell them that they can get through whatever they’re going through.” said Jordan. “Because I’ve actually been in their shoes, and I know what it feels like to be inside group homes and foster homes.”

You can watch a video that the Youth Council made here.

DCF Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer said Moore and her colleagues “led the movement every step of the way.”

“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 in a statement. “I am so very, very proud of our Youth Council members who worked tirelessly to move this initiative forward.”

Moore studied business and liberal arts at Camden County College and works now as a peer mentor with Oaks Integrated Care. She aspires to be a public speaker and podcaster who advocates for youth in the child welfare system, she told the DCF. She also hopes to travel the world with her son, who is now seven, visiting historic Biblical sites “and other beautiful places.”

“Through this legislative process, I learned that it doesn’t matter where you come from or the traumatic past you’ve experienced,” Moore said. “It’s all about using those past experiences as motivation; to keep speaking up until change is made. If the foster care system can make a positive and resourceful impact on youth in care, we can make better futures for them.”