In Re Celine R.

In this case, three young children have been declared dependents of the juvenile court, and efforts to reunify them with their parents have failed. The time has come to establish and implement a permanent plan for them. At this stage of the proceedings, if an appropriate adoptive family is or likely will be available, the Legislature has made adoption the preferred choice. (Welf. & Inst.Code, § 366.26, subds. (b), (c).) [1] If it is likely the child will be adopted, the court must choose that option—and as a result terminate the natural parents' parental rights— unless it "finds a compelling reason for determining that termination would be detrimental to the child due to one or more" of specified circumstances. (§ 366.26, subd. (c)(1).)

Effective January 1, 2002, the Legislature added "substantial interference with a child's sibling relationship" to the circumstances that may permit the court to choose something other than adoption. (§ 366.26, subd. (c)(1)(E), added by Stats. 2001, ch. 747, § 3.) We must decide whether this new provision requires the court to consider the interests of all the siblings or only detriment to the specific child in question. We must also…