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Summary: A Nebraska Supreme Court case will address the rights of siblings to be homed together when put into foster or adoptive care.
[3 March 2011] - The picture shows three young children, smiling, sitting on the gorilla statue at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. Two of the children -- a brother and sister -- live in Minnesota with their adoptive parents. The youngest, another sister, lives in Nebraska with foster parents. The picture is an exhibit filed with the Nebraska Supreme Court, and the three children are at the centre of a case, argued Thursday, that could break ground by clarifying the rights of siblings in Nebraska. The most important relationship after a child's parents are her siblings, said Omaha attorney Christine Costantakos, who is representing the siblings in the case through their adoptive parents. The joys, mischief, even difficulties they share bond them for a lifetime, Costantakos told the court. Growing up in the same home strengthens their bonds and their sense of history, she said. But these siblings are separated by a seven-hour car ride, and no guarantees of when -- or if -- they will see each other again. The attorney would like the court to overturn a lower court ruling that denied a change of placement for the youngest sibling. Their story is this: The two Minnesota siblings were adopted in 2004 by Jeffrey and Karen Halverson, after their parents relinquished their parental rights. Their baby sister was born in 2007, while their mother was temporarily residing in Nebraska. Their biological father died in a car accident two weeks before her birth. When she was 3 months old, the baby was removed from her mother after the mom was arrested for drunk driving and being in an accident. The infant was in the car, but unharmed. She became a ward of the state and was placed in foster care. The girl's mother, and her maternal grandparents, asked the state to place her with her siblings and the Halversons in Minnesota, where the grandparents also lived. The Department of Health and Human Services opted to keep the infant in Nebraska and try to reunify her with her mother. When the mother failed to reach her goals for reunification, the court terminated her parental rights Sept. 1, 2010. Costantakos said HHS had recommended adoption by the Halversons in June 2009 because, the recommendation said, it is the department's policy to place children with relatives when possible. HHS changed its recommendation three weeks later, and said the child should be adopted by her Nebraska foster parents. A Sarpy County Juvenile Court judge decided in September 2009 that the child was to remain with her foster parents, where she had lived for 28 months. Costantakos argued the lower court's denial of a change of placement for the girl went against public policy of preserving sibling relationships, and against state law, federal law and HHS regulations and policies. Carla Heathershaw Risko, attorney for HHS, argued that when a parent-child relationship is terminated, the legal relationship between the child and siblings also terminates. Federal law does not require that states make reasonable efforts to place siblings who have no pre-existing relationship in the same home, Risko said. HHS takes into consideration other state laws and policies when making decisions, she said, and must consider the best interest of the child. Costantakos said the little girl is resilient, healthy and on track in her development. She adjusts easily to new surroundings and has no psychological problems. A Minnesota study of the siblings' home highly recommended the girl's placement with her brother and sister, she said. Further Information: