Thousands of Illinois families have opened their hearts and their homes to abused and neglected children by becoming licensed foster families. They provide secure and loving homes for children in need of a temporary home. Children come into foster care frightened and feeling alone. They've been seperated from their families, and moving into a foster home is scary.

Foster care is the oppurtunity to provide a temporary home to children who are under the guardianship of the state and cannot live with their birth parents. These children are in the care of the state because they have been abused, neglected or abandoned. Every child wants and deserves a permanent home and family. In foster care, the goal is to help foster children return to their birth families. When children cannot go home, an adoptive family is sought. Many foster families adopt the children for whom they have been caring.

They are ...

• Married or single.
• Parents of little children, teens, or adults, or adults with no children.
• Working outside the home or in the home.
• At least twenty-one (21) years of age.
• From various cultural, ethnic, or religious backgrounds.
• Financially stable. (Foster parents will receive reimbursements for food, shelter, clothing, and an allowance for each foster child. Medical costs are paid by the state.)
• Homeowners or renters
• Able to pass a criminal background check.

Foster Parents ...

• Protect and nurture children.
• Connect children to safe, nurturing relationships.
• Meet children's individual, educational, medical and developmental needs.
• Support children's relationships with their birth families.
• Work as members of a professional team. Foster parenting requires a strong commitment and a lot of hard work. Children who are suddenly uprooted from their homes are often upset and need extra understanding and patience. Your role as a foster parent is to provide stability and a loving and safe environment for each child in your care.

We need the kind of foster families who can parent ...

• Teenagers
• African-American males of all ages
• Teenage mothers and their babies
• Children with special medical and behavioral needs
• Brothers and sisters who need to stay together
• Babies born with HIV infection or with cocaine or alcohol in their systems.

Personal Support

The private child welfare agency or DCFS, whichever licenses your home, has developed services that include foster parent support groups, newletters, after-hours telephone numbers, and community resources.

Training

You will receive training before being licensed. Training continues while children are placed in your home. Sometimes you will receive additional training to care for children with special needs.

Financial Support

Foster parents receive a monthly payment to cover the child's food, shelter, clothing, and personal allowance. The amount of the payment is based on the child's age and any special needs. DCFS and private agencies also provide additional payments for daycare services, after-school care, and extracurricular activities for foster children such as music lessons, ballet, or scouting.

Medical Support

Each foster child receives a medical card that pays for most necessary medical care and prescriptions. Other medical support services may include physical therapy, counseling, and medical equipment.

It takes about three to six months from the time your completed application is submitted to finish the licensing and training process. After training and receiving your foster parent license, children can be placed in your home. Although the type of families needed differs in every geographical setting, the more flexible you are about the type of child you are able and willing to care for, the sooner a child can be matched to your home.