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GOOD MORNING AMERICA: Family of four fosters, then adopts four siblings to keep them all together: ‘We want these kids to thrive’

VIDEO: How one couple helps foster siblings stay together Staci said she and Keith couldn’t imagined their lives without the kids.

Good Morning America Features Circle of Care Work To Keep Foster Siblings Together

Good Morning America has produced a three-part series titled Home Sweet Home spotlighting foster care issues nationwide, the 2nd story involves OKUMC, Circle of Care.

Group’s Mission: Keep Siblings Together In Oklahoma Foster Care

More than 700 children in the Oklahoma foster care system are currently separated from their siblings. One group in Oklahoma City is on a mission to raise $5 million to keep separations from happening. Circle of Care is working on creating foster homes to accommodate larger sibling sets.

Oklahoma group building homes so siblings in foster care can stay together

It’s an amazing gift for area foster children on Christmas Eve. Circle of Care and the Avedis Foundation are building homes specifically for sibling sets in foster care.

Circle of Care gets moving on expansion

Two United Methodist churches already have stepped forward to partner with Circle of Care on a sibling foster care initiative, Legacy of Care, that launched this year.

Each month in Oklahoma, there are over 700 siblings in state custody who are separated from one another while in foster care. It is a challenge to find a home that can accept more than 2 children at a time, much less 3, 5 or 7. And yet, children who experience parental loss, neglect and abuse depend upon one another to survive. They turn to each other for support leading to bonds that are stronger than those of siblings from well-adjusted families. Being with siblings in foster care helps to mitigate the impact of separation and loss and offers continuity, support and sense of safety and security.

Circle of Care has developed a plan to address the needs of large sibling groups in the foster care system that will keep them together in safe and healthy settings. We are embarking upon a $5 million capital campaign to build and endow 8 large new foster homes in various communities throughout the state. Each site will include 2 homes and 1 activity clubhouse to form a foster community and a home base for Circle of Care recruiting, training and support of other foster families in the area.

Rendering provided by Kenyon Morgan Architects, PLLC.

Oklahoma United Methodist Circle of Care provides Christian help, healing and hope to children and families in crisis to assure a safe, healthy and spiritual future.

Total Dollars Raised To Date

Children in state custody in Oklahoma. Of those, 683 are siblings who are separated from one another (as of May 17, 2019).

Of all children that are part of a sibling group, 50% of those children are not placed with all of their siblings.

A sibling group of 3 has only a 65% chance of being placed together.

A sibling group of 5 has 0% chance of being placed together. Statewide, there's 1 sibling set of 8, 1 sibling set of 7, 3 sets of 6, 19 sets of 5 and 44 sets of 4. All of these children are likely to be separated.

According to a 2002 National Youth Leadership Advisory Team position paper, foster youth describe the experience of being placed in separate homes as“an extra punishment, a separate loss, and another pain that is not needed”