Child Registration - Adoption Listing Steps



SITE MAP

Steps To Register a Child with the AICI for Listing on the Adoption Listing Service

The Adoption Information Center of Illinois (AICI) is the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’ agent for maintaining listings of children waiting to be adopted and families waiting to adopt. This program is called the Adoption Listing Service (ALS). Concurrent with policy for using the ALS (see DCFS 309.40 Rule), please use the following steps to facilitate the timely registration of waiting children.

There are five components included in the registration of a waiting child:

Complete a Listing Eligibility form (ALS-1a), to ensure the child is appropriate for the ALS.

Complete a Child Registration form (ALS-1).

Obtain the Guardian's consent .

Submit a photo* of a child for whom Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) has occurred. (Photo Requirements, Obtaining Payment)

Submit a signed CFS 600-3** for children 12 years and older.

Please retain a copy of the Child Registration form for your records. Listings are to be updated annually.INSTRUCTIONS:

Listing Eligibility Form (ALS-1a):

Complete Listing Eligibility form (ALS-1a) after discussing permanency options with current foster parents.Ensure that a Permanency Commitment form (CFS 1443) has been explained, reviewed, and signed by the foster parents indicating their intentions toward minor.
Ensure that documentation in case file supports answers to eligibility questions. Once it is determined no other resource exists, complete a Child Registration form. Submit the Listing Eligibility form (ALS-1a) along with Child Registration form to AICI.

Click here for the ALS-1a form Back to Top

Child Registration Form (ALS-1):

Completely fill out a Child Registration form (ALS-1), one ALS-1 form per child. Copies may be obtained from the AICI or the AICI web site www.adoptinfo-il.org.A legal status date (TPR, legal screening, pre-screening, or Guardianship) must appear on the front page of the ALS-1 form. The signature of the case manager’s supervisor must appear on page three verifying that the information on the ALS-1 form is accurate, diagnosed, and documented in the child’s case record.
Completed ALS-1 forms may be sent to AICI at 120 W. Madison, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60602, or faxed to the attention of the Listing Department, 312-346-0004. (Photos must be mailed or digital photos can be sent electronically to aici@adoptinfo-il.org.)

Click here for the ALS-1 form Back to Top

DCFS Guardian’s Consent:

The completed ALS-1 form must be signed by the DCFS Guardian (D. Jean Ortega-Piron), or an authorized agent, before the child may be listed in the ALS book.The Guardian’s signature on the top signature line consents to listing only. If TPR has occurred and the child is available for publicity, as indicated on the Child Registration form, the Guardian’s signature must also be obtained on the bottom signature line.
AICI Adoption Listing Specialists also may submit the ALS-1 to DCFS for the Guardian’s signature.

Department store photo centers — i.e., Sears, J.C. Penney, K-mart, etc.Professional photo studios.
School photos.

Obtain a 5" x 7" color photo — medium close-up shot for older children; full body shots for infants and toddlers. The child’s hair should be styled neatly.Siblings who are to be adopted as a group shall be photographed together and individually.Obtain the copyright release from the photographer (see below) and submit the release with the bill.Do not submit photo proofs — proofs may not be legally reproduced.
Do not submit Polaroid photographs.

Because professionally taken photos are copyrighted, a copyright release must be obtained from the photographer or the photo center before the image can be used for listing purposes.Prior to photographing, the worker shall complete Professional Photographer form (ALS-6). Copies of this form may be obtained from the AICI or the AICI web site www.adoptinfo-il.org.The worker shall file the pink copy of the ALS-6 in the child’s record.The worker shall give the white and yellow copy of the ALS-6 to the photographer.
The photographer shall send the white copy of the ALS-6, the bill, the name of the person to be reimbursed, and the photo to the AICI at 120 W. Madison, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60602.

Exception: School photos from Lifetouch or department store photos from Wal-Mart, Target, or J.C. Penny.

With photos from these sources, the photo copyright is held at a corporate level. The worker should still submit a completed ALS-6 form but omit the photographer signature. AICI will contact corporate personnel to obtain the proper approval on the copyright release.

Click here for the ALS-6 form Back to Top

Obtaining Payment:

The AICI will reimburse foster parents/workers directly for the actual cost of a current school photo package or department store package — up to $35 for 1 child, $40 for a sibling group of four or fewer, and $10 per sibling for a group of five or more.
To obtain payment, workers should include a copy of the bill and a note about who should be reimbursed along with the package that contains the child’s photo and the ALS-6.

Adoption Information Center of Illinois
120 W. Madison, Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60602
Ph: 800-572-2390
Fax: 312-346-0004

__________________________________* When TPR (Termination of Parental Rights) is pending, workers are not required to submit a photo of the child with the initial Child Registration form. When TPR occurs, workers must submit a current photo. The ALS book contains photos and descriptions of children for whom parental rights have been terminated and descriptions only of children for whom TPR is pending. Distribution of the ALS book is limited to agencies, licensed families who are registered with the AICI, and prospective families who have passed the non-negotiable licensing requirements, for use in matching waiting children with licensed families. **Submitting the CFS 600-3: A completed CFS 600-3, signed by a child 12 years and older with TPR, grants the AICI permission to include information about diagnosed emotional/behavioral, mental health, and physical/medical conditions in the ALS book.
Note: The AICI never includes information pertaining to physical/sexual abuse or HIV/AIDS status.