Imagine knowing you had three siblings, but not knowing where they are or how to contact them. For too many families whose children are ripped away by the foster system, this nightmare is their reality. We are Kathey and Rob Raskin of Las Vegas, and we are happy that for one group of siblings that were separated by the system, there has finally been a happy ending.

A Sister’s Search

After 23 years of searching, Brandie Ramey of Albuquerque finally found her long-lost siblings. In 1994 when the children were separated, Brandie was just eight years old. Despite her young age, her sister, who was not much older, had been more of a mother than their actual mother was. The young girl even had to steal milk and bread for her younger siblings from a nearby gas station. The children’s mother was a substance abuser who lived with her children in extreme poverty. Sometimes it is necessary to take children into custody, but it is never acceptable to break the sibling group up. These children have the right to grow up with each other, and Brandie spent ten years trying to find her sister and brothers to right the wrongs that were committed by them when child protective services intervened.

Brandie never gave up hope, and thanks to years of online searching she has finally brought the sibling group back together. Though they can never make up for the lost years, at least the siblings have the future to look forward to. Child welfare organizations need to put the children’s needs first, and that clearly is not the case when siblings who are already traumatized and frightened are kept from each other and pushed out of each other’s lives. If we band together, we can demand justice and fair treatment for these and other children who have been victimized by this unfair and corrupt system.