By: Ashmar Mandou

May is National Foster Care Month and this year’s theme “Engaging Youth. Building Supports. Strengthening Opportunities,” aims to raise awareness about the importance of involving youth in the decisions being made about their welfare, the significance of maintaining connections to important people in their lives and how to best support youth as they transition out of foster care.

“Every child and youth in our care deserves to feel safe and loved” said Illinois DCFS Director Heidi E. Mueller. “It is because of our incredible foster parents across the state that children, youth and siblings can have a home and foster parent who has opened their heart, home and even their family so that a child can have the love and stability they need during a very difficult time.” DCFS works diligently to recruit foster families in every area of the state to join the 7,291 currently licensed foster families who have made it their life’s mission to open their hearts and homes to children in need.

In late 2024, the department created Foster Emergency Resource Homes (ERH), which are licensed foster parents who have agreed to take a new youth in care for up to 10 days while the DCFS caseworker works to identify relative caregivers, fictive kin or a suitable home for the youth to reside. These ERHs have helped to significantly reduce the need to have youth sleeping in offices.

Becoming a foster parent is a major commitment. Illinois DCFS provides a wide range of supports and services to ensure foster parents have what they need to help the children in their home thrive, including ongoing training and a monthly stipend for the child’s basic needs, such as food, clothing and housing costs.

The department also provides medical coverage specifically designed for Illinois youth in care; therapeutic, educational, recreational and crisis support services and access to caseworkers and peer groups to support the needs of the youth and their foster family. The DCFS Startup Funds Program, launched last year, provides preloaded Visa cards to foster families when the child is initially placed in the home, enabling caregivers to purchase bedding, clothing, personal hygiene and other essential items for the child quickly and easily. 

To learn more about becoming a licensed foster parent as well as learning more about becoming an Emergency Resource Home, fill out the online interest form on the DCFS website: https://dcfs.illinois.gov.