{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/grassley-kaine-introduce-bill-to-improve-sibling-connections-in-child-welfare-system", "Grassley, Kaine Introduce Bill to Improve Sibling Connections in Child Welfare System", "2013-12-10", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Tim Kaine", "K000384", "www.kaine.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Grassley, Kaine Introduce Bill to Improve Sibling Connections in Child Welfare System\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, December 10, 2013\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia today introduced legislation to improve sibling connections in the child welfare system.\u00a0\r\n\u201cChild welfare experts tell you and common sense tells you children benefit when they\u2019re kept together and have strong relationships,\u201d Grassley said.\u00a0 \u201cOur bill removes barriers to federal law that prevent families of siblings from knowing when a child is placed in foster care or siblings from losing ties when parental rights are terminated.\u00a0 This will help maintain sibling relationships and in turn help the kids.\u201d\u00a0\r\n\u201cEnsuring that children in the child welfare system remain connected to their siblings provides them with continuity and support,\u201d said Kaine.\u00a0 \u201cMy wife Anne is a longtime advocate for foster children and during my term as Governor we successfully strengthened permanent family connections for older children in foster care through the \u2018For Keeps\u2019 initiative and increased funding to recruit more foster and adoptive parents. Today I\u2019m proud to introduce the\u00a0Sibling Connections Act\u00a0that\u00a0will\u00a0keep brothers and sisters together\u00a0and\u00a0result in fewer emotional and behavioral problems\u00a0down the line.\"\r\nGrassley and Kaine said the Grassley-authored Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 made great strides to improve child welfare but several obstacles impede sibling relationships.\u00a0 The Sibling Connections Act introduced today follows the example of at least five states, including Iowa, that have passed legislation or regulation that recognizes the parents of siblings as \u201crelatives\u201d for foster care placement.\u00a0\u00a0 That means the parents of a child\u2019s siblings are notified when the child enters foster care, allowing the adult guardians to try to maintain the sibling relationships. \u00a0\r\nAlso, the Grassley-Kaine bill would correct the current situation in which siblings lose their status as siblings when their parents\u2019 rights are terminated.\u00a0 The loss of sibling status undermines the requirement of the Fostering Connections law that siblings be placed together whenever possible.\u00a0\r\nGrassley said he is inspired in this effort by parents including Robert and Sharon White of Ames.\u00a0 The Whites are long-time advocates for adoption and quality foster care, including keeping siblings together. The Whites have adopted several children and have recently decided to become foster parents.\u00a0 They also have worked with Iowa state legislators to pass legislation making it easier for children in foster care to be adopted with their siblings.\u00a0\r\nGrassley is a long-time advocate for adoption and improving foster care, especially the challenges facing those who age out of the system.\u00a0 He is the co-founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Caucus on Foster Youth.\u00a0 He has secured several key legislative improvements to promote adoption.\u00a0 More information is available here.\r\nMore information on the value of sibling relationships is available here.\r\n\u00a0###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/grassley-kaine-introduce-bill-to-improve-sibling-connections-in-child-welfare-system"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5808241441845894, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}