Foster Care - Sibling Groups

Content

  • Introduction
  • Sibling Group Overview
  • Sibling Group Identifier
  • Adding a Case to a Sibling Group ID
  • Sibling Groups Listing
  • Sibling Splits

 

Introduction

This article is meant to assist you with Creating a Sibling Group. If you have a question not addressed here, you can contact support at support@extendedreach.com. 

 

Sibling Group Overview

In extendedReach, each sibling’s information is maintained in a separate case.

If a child is part of a sibling group, they should be “linked” to their siblings using a “Sibling Group ID”.

Linking sibling cases provides the following benefits:

  • Move all or some siblings at once to an initial or subsequent placement
  • Copy social work contacts and reports to all or some siblings
  • Apply changes in information (such as a rate changes) across the entire sibling group
  • Discharge all siblings at the same time
  • Sibling split-tracking – determine which siblings are placed together (or split)

 

Sibling Group Identifier

A “Sibling Group ID” must be a unique identifier you choose to refer to a particular set of siblings. Your agency should determine what naming convention to use for a “Sibling Group ID”.

Here are some examples:

  • The biological mother’s last name (or older sibling’s last name), followed by the month and year of admission: “Smith 01-2014” (January 2014).
  • Referring organization case # (if case number is the same for all siblings, or use the oldest sibs’s case number).
  • Court case # (if the number is the same for all siblings, or use the oldest sibs’s court case number).

 

Adding a Case to a Sibling Group ID

Siblings can be added to the system in two ways and will depend on if the siblings have been entered as separate case records or siblings need to be added that do not have a case record in the system. 
For case records already in the system, the same “Sibling Group ID” must be entered on each sibling group member’s Case Screen. The Sibling Group ID should be entered on the People Tab on the Case Screen.

Image: “Sibling Group ID entered in People Tab”

 

Place the screen in “Edit” mode and type in the Sibling Group ID (using your agency’s naming convention) for the first sibling. Click the “Save” button to save the case.

Image: “Adding a Case to Sibling Group”

 

Then go to each of the remaining sibling’s case screens and type the same Sibling Group ID (or click the magnifying class to select from the list of available sibling ids).

Once the Sibling Group ID has been entered, you will see a list of linked sibling cases appear (matched by an identical Sibling Group ID).

Image: “Sibling Group ID Links”

 

In situations where additional siblings are going to be placed with a sibling already in the system or there is a new sibling group to add, use the “Add Sibling” button to copy information between the siblings and tie their cases together as a sibling group.   Add the first sibling and save the record if a new group or edit the first sibling record if an existing case and go to the People Tab > Sibling Group section and click the “Add Sibling” button.

 
A new case record will open with some information defaulted:
  • Program
  • Caseworker
  • Admission date and type
  • Referral date/time, referral source and who took referral
  • Branch, if applicable
  • Last name, Race, Ethnicity
  • Funding Org

 

Complete the appropriate information and save the record. Both siblings will display in each case record on the People tab under Sibling Group section.

Additional siblings can be added from any sibling case record using the “Add Sibling” button to default information and tie the group together. 

 

Sibling Group Listing

To see a list of all of the active sibling groups, go to Case Rosters on the side menu and click on Foster Care Cases.

Image: “Active Sibling Groups Access”

 

Hover over “Group Cases” and click on “by Sibling Group ID” from the drop down.

Image: “Active Sibling Groups”

 

Sibling Splits

The creation of a split or end of an existing split is specified on the Placement Screen (if the child is part of sibling group).

Image: “Case Screen Side Menu At-A-Glance”

Current active splits are tracked in the system in “Foster Care Cases” under “Cases Rosters” on the side-menu.

Image: “Active Sibling Splits Access”

  • To view a listing of current active splits, hover over “Group Cases” and click on “by Sibling Group Split” from the drop down.

    Image: “Active Sibling Splits”

Historical splits are located in “Placements” under “Casework” on the side-menu.

Image: “Historical Sibling Splits Access”

  • To view a listing of historical splits, hover over “Group Placements” and click on “by Sibling Splits” from the drop down.

    Image: “Historical Sibling Splits”
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