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 separated from their families, and moving into a foster home is scary.
In McLean County, 30 percent of children in foster care are placed in homes outside of the county. Only 38 percent of children placed in foster care live within five miles of their homes.
Most children in foster care change schools.
When children move away from their neighborhood, they may lose contact with their:
Teachers/classmates
Neighbors
Doctors
Local churches
After school programs
Family and relatives
The McLean County Foster Care Coalition is dedicated to developing a foster care network that gives priority to relative placement and is neighborhood-based, culturally-sensitive, and located in communities where children coming into care currently live.
The coalition was formed as a collaborative effort to recruit foster home resources. Cooperating agencies are:
The BabyFold
Catholic Charities
Illinois Department of Children & Family Services
The Children's Foundation/CHASI
One Church/One Child
McLean County Circuit Court
Help A Child Into A Home
What is foster care?
Foster care is the opportunity 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 we try to help foster children return to their birth families. When children cannot go home we find them an adoptive family. Many foster families adopt the children for whom they have been caring.
Foster parents are people just like you. 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 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
What do foster parents do?
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.
Can you do these things and more? If so, you may be ready to be a foster parent! Take a closer look.
What types of foster families are needed most?
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
What kind of services will you receive as a foster parent?
Personal Support: The private child welfare agency or DCFS, whichever licenses your home, has developed services that include foster parent support groups, newsletters, 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 monthly payments 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.
How long does it take to become a foster parent?
As soon as your completed application is submitted, it takes about three to six months to complete 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.
For more information, or to become a foster parent, call toll free:
1-866-304-6955