Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
Over the last decade, more than 15,000 children got the chance they deserve to love and be loved, and to reach their fullest potential thanks to families across our state that chose to adopt through DCFS. By providing a child with a loving and permanent home, adoptive families have discovered the unique joy of making a life-changing difference to a child. It is a feeling you can't get any other way.
At the same time, the decision to add a child to your family is serious and life changing. We want to help you make sure that opening your heart and your life to a child is the right decision for the child and your family. If you choose to adopt, DCFS and our non-profit partners are committed to providing your new family with the help you need.
Waiting children come from all across the state, from all ages and backgrounds. Many are in need of a loving home not only for themselves, but also a little brother or sister. We offer special supports to help families offer a loving home to children with medical difficulties or other special needs.
Services and information
- Traditional Foster Care
- Emergency Foster Care
- Respite Foster Care
- Adoption
Requirements to become a foster parent
You must meet minimum requirements to provide foster care for children in Illinois. To become a foster parent, you must:
- Be at least 21 years old
- Attend foster parent orientation
- Pass a background check
- Finish 30 hours of foster parent training
- Complete the Home Study
- Provide at least three references
- Clear a physical exam
- Maintain financial stability
Foster families must be able to provide a safe and comfortable home for a child. You must provide room for the child to have a bed and enough space for personal belongings.
Foster parents do not need to be married or have a partner. However, if married, couples must show a stable marriage of at least one year before they can foster a child in Illinois.
Foster parents need to meet a child's basic care needs, such as providing meals and clothing. Foster families must also support a foster child's education and assist them in developing social skills.
Contact the DCFS or a local licensed child-placing agency to learn more or begin the fostering approval process.
Ratings and Reviews
Average user rating
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Sep 20, 2023
Seemingly they don't care about children. A few bruises? Where? Traumatized kids? Leave them there. Smexual assault? My eyes are closed.
They will leave a child with evil people that it ultimately leads to death of the child and what do they say? "Oops,sorry". The department needs a deep cleanse of termination of the staff that sent these kids to their expectations.
Aug 08, 2023
I'm absolutely convinced the average DCFS case worker doesn't know what the 4th amendment or that itnapplies to them as they are no different than the police in terms of your rights(like the police they are an arm of the executive branch created by the the Illinois General assembly. In other words they are the government)
Jun 06, 2023
They are shady and don't give two fuxs about anything.
Mar 13, 2023
This agency does not follow their own procedures. I was told by the DCFC investigator that I would be able to foster my great nephew within a week of the hearing I attended after his removal from his home due to neglect. However, the DCFS social worker, that was newly assigned to the case, continued to tell me my background check was not back to the agency for months. (I know it doesn’t take months to get a background check back because I’m a teacher who must get frequent background checks). I later found out from counsel that this is a stall tactic, enabling time to run out, so a prospective foster parent cannot gain standing with the Court. Therefore, the child will remain where he or she has already been placed. The DCFS social worker refused to move him from the emergency foster home, even though I was his family. I had to hire an attorney to finally (he was seven months old) pressure DCFS to allow me to foster him. I fostered him for nine months with reoccurring issues from DCFS going back on their own policies, or simply not knowing what steps they should follow because I was a relative from another state living in Illinois to foster. Due to intervention from another agency, I was allowed to take him to my home state to foster, but had to bring him back once a month for his mother and grandparents to visit him (although his mother never showed up for her visits while I lived in Illinois with him). However, after bringing him to my state to live, DCFS refused to provide me with medical coverage (he had Medicaid coverage in Illinois). The Medicaid office in my state said they would provide him coverage, and all DCFS had to do was stop his coverage in Illinois, so they would be able to start coverage. DCFS in Illinois refused to stop coverage there to allow him to have coverage in my state. I pleaded with his social worker, her supervisor, and wrote an email to the next highest DCFS supervisor to just stop his coverage in Illinois, so my husband and I could receive coverage for him. The social worker and her supervisor belittled me on a phone call with them, and the supervisor stated, “You wanted to take him to [my state] now he’s your responsibility. You can take him to any hospital and they will have to treat him.” Yes, they have to stabilize him, but I could not get a pediatrician to take him as patient without insurance. He had several medical issues that required medical care from specialists and possible surgical procedures. He had also received early intervention services while we were in Illinois. The supervisor said if he needed to see a doctor, I should just take him to urgent care, and DCFS would “reimburse me.” I took him to urgent care and sent the bill to the social worker twice to pay (this was over six months ago). DCFS did not pay it. Why would I ever trust them? They would tell me they were going to do something (i.e. legal screen) and would never follow through on commitments. One major hospitalization, and we would never be able recover financially. I was told by the supervisor, “We told you this would be a long process, if you don’t want him then bring him back, and we will find him another placement here.” I told her that she had set us up for failure. How were we supposed to care for a child with multiple medical conditions without medical coverage? We could have put him on our insurance once we adopted him. However, there was zero support given to us when we left Illinois, and our adoption process was supposed to begin in our state. We could not provide for his medical needs, and after three months, were forced to make the most difficult decision of taking him back to Illinois where he would receive proper medical care. He is in a loving foster home. They will probably adopt him. But, he will not be raised in his family who also loves him. It will be up to the generosity of his adopted family if any of his biological family is ever allowed see him. DCFS states their main goal is to keep children and their families together, when in fact, their actions demonstrate just the opposite.
Mar 11, 2023
Dcfs helped me become a better person and a better mom by getting me the help that I needed to be healthy and happy I'm sober now because of them they are good people making a difference in lives keeping kids safe and out to help families not hurt them. IM SOHAPPY NOW AND SO IS MY KIDDO!