The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is proudly recognizing May as Foster Parent Appreciation Month, a time to acknowledge and celebrate the extraordinary foster families and relative and kinship caregivers across the state who have opened their hearts, their homes and their lives to care for the state’s most vulnerable children. Illinois DCFS makes every effort to reunify children with their families whenever it is possible. In the small number of cases where reunification cannot occur – less than 4% of the time – the Department strives to ensure children remain connected to their community, school and the people they love. To make this possible, DCFS works diligently to recruit families in every area of the state to join the 6,352 licensed foster families who have already made the life changing decision to welcome children into their homes. Becoming a foster parent is a serious and meaningful commitment to a child. Illinois DCFS offers a wide range of services to ensure foster parents have the support they need to help the children in their home thrive. To learn more about some of the children in need of a foster family, visit the Heart Gallery of Illinois at https://letitbeus.org/heart-gallery-of-illinois/.  To learn more about becoming a licensed foster parent, fill out the online interest form on the DCFS website: https://dcfs.illinois.gov. Click on Loving Homes, then on Become a Foster or Adoptive Parent.