Living with Isabella and Liam

Isabella is 10 years old. She has lived in foster care for the past 4 years. Isabella’s biological parents had issues with drug and alcohol abuse. She witnessed a lot of trauma in her home. When she lived with her biological parents, she often took care of her infant brother, Liam. She really became a mini-mom. She became accustomed to feeding him, clothing him and caring for him all day long. When Isabella and Liam were removed from their home, they were separated and went to different foster homes.

Isabella missed her brother terribly. She acted aggressively in her foster home. She refused to eat, and often got in fights at school. She would not allow her foster parents to help her, and wanted to do everything alone. Liam, on the other hand, did quite well in his foster home. He interacted well with his family and at school. Isabella and Liam are soon going to be adopted. Social services have suggested that they be adopted as a sibling pair so that they can be raised together. Isabella’s foster parents think this will be an excellent idea for her, but Liam’s foster family is a bit concerned.