How to Become a Foster Parent in Illinois

Description

Foster care in Illinois provides temporary, safe, stable, and nurturing family-based care for children who cannot safely remain with their parents. Reunification is generally the initial permanency goal whenever it can be safely achieved. Foster parents provide daily care, supervision, transportation, educational advocacy, healthcare coordination, normal childhood experiences, and emotional support while working with the child's parents, siblings, relatives, caseworker, guardian ad litem, court, school, healthcare providers, therapists, and other members of the child's service team.

Agency

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, commonly called DCFS, establishes statewide foster-family-home licensing standards and directly licenses some foster homes. Illinois-licensed child-welfare agencies may also recruit, train, assess, supervise, and recommend foster families for licensure. Families generally work either with DCFS or with a private child-welfare agency contracted to provide foster-care services.

Who Can Apply

Adults who are at least 21 years old may apply. Illinois publicly states that foster parents may be married, in a civil union, single, divorced, or separated. Applicants must be stable, law-abiding, responsible, mature, financially secure, physically and mentally capable of caring for children, willing to accept agency supervision, and prepared to support children's relationships with their parents, siblings, relatives, and communities.

Average Time To License

No single completion period applies statewide. The licensing process includes an inquiry, orientation, application, 27 hours of preservice training, references, medical evaluations, criminal-history and child-protection background checks, interviews with applicants and household members, the Initial Foster Home Licensing Assessment, and inspection of the residence. Additional records, background-check waivers, repairs, or incomplete documentation may extend the timeline.

Website

Visit the official agency website

Minimum Age

Each Illinois foster parent must be at least 21 years old. This requirement is non-waivable. The supervising agency also evaluates the applicant's maturity, responsibility, judgment, physical ability, emotional stability, literacy, support system, and ability to safely supervise children.

Residency

Applicants generally work with Illinois DCFS or an Illinois-licensed child-welfare agency serving the area where they live. The residence must be available for assessment, inspection, licensure, ongoing supervision, and renewal visits. Applicants and household members who lived outside Illinois during the previous five years are generally subject to interstate criminal-history, sex-offender, and child-abuse or neglect checks.

Marital Status

Illinois permits qualified single adults and two applicants who are married to or in a civil union with one another to hold a foster-family-home license. DCFS public recruitment guidance also welcomes applicants who are divorced or separated. Other adults sharing the residence are subject to household-member health, safety, and background requirements, and the supervising agency evaluates how the household arrangement affects stability and caregiving.

Income Requirements

Applicants must have sufficient and stable financial resources to meet the needs of current household members and children placed in the home. The supervising agency reviews employment, income, expenses, debts, insurance, housing costs, and financial planning during the assessment. Foster-care reimbursement is intended to help cover the costs of a placed child rather than serve as the household's primary income.

Home Ownership

Applicants are not required to own their residence. A rented or owned house, apartment, condominium, manufactured home, or other suitable dwelling may qualify if it provides adequate space, sanitation, utilities, sleeping arrangements, privacy, emergency exits, and safety. Renters may need to provide landlord or lease information and must comply with applicable occupancy requirements.

Bedroom Requirements

The home must provide safe and appropriate sleeping space for each child. Illinois requires at least 40 square feet, excluding closets and wardrobes, for the first child occupying a bedroom and at least 35 additional square feet for each additional child sharing the room, unless a written child-specific exception is approved. Each child must have an appropriate bed, bedding, storage, privacy, and a sleeping arrangement suitable for the child's age, sex, development, relationships, behavior, and individual needs.

Transportation

Applicants must have a reliable plan for transporting children to school, family visits, medical and dental appointments, counseling, court-related activities, childcare, extracurricular activities, and emergencies. Vehicles used to transport foster children must be safely maintained, legally registered, appropriately insured, and operated by licensed drivers. Children must use seat belts, car seats, booster seats, helmets, and other restraints required by Illinois law.

Health Requirements

Applicants and household members must provide medical evidence showing that they are free from communicable diseases and physical or mental conditions that would interfere with safe caregiving. The licensing assessment reviews mobility, strength, chronic medical conditions, medications, mental-health history, substance-use history, treatment needs, immunization status, and any circumstances affecting the family's ability to supervise and care for children.

Pet Policy

Pets and other animals are permitted when they can be maintained safely around children. The supervising agency evaluates vaccinations, licensing, sanitation, temperament, aggression history, confinement, and the family's plan for supervising interactions between children and animals. Additional safeguards, restricted access, veterinary documentation, or removal may be required when an animal presents a foreseeable risk.

Firearm Policy

Firearms, ammunition, hunting equipment, and other weapons must comply with state and local law and remain inaccessible to children. The supervising agency documents the family's storage plan during the licensing assessment. Firearms must be unloaded and securely locked, ammunition must be safely secured, and keys, combinations, and access devices must remain under responsible adult control.

Contact Agency

Complete the Illinois DCFS online foster or adoptive parent interest form or contact a licensed Illinois child-welfare agency serving your area. A recruiter or licensing representative will explain local placement needs, orientation, training schedules, agency expectations, and the next steps in the licensing process.

Attend Orientation

Attend the orientation or introductory meeting offered by DCFS or the selected child-welfare agency. Orientation explains Illinois foster care, reunification and permanency, children's needs, Foster PRIDE training, background checks, the social assessment, home inspection, reimbursement, caregiver rights and responsibilities, and the effect fostering may have on the applicant's household.

Choose Agency

Decide whether to pursue licensure through Illinois DCFS or through a licensed private child-welfare agency. Private agencies may specialize in traditional foster care, relative foster care, therapeutic care, medically complex children, sibling groups, teenagers, or other populations. Training schedules, support, respite, placement types, and supervision may differ by agency.

Documents Needed

• Completed Illinois foster-family-home license application
• Government-issued identification and identifying information for each applicant
• Information about every adult and child living in the household
• Information concerning adults who regularly stay in the home or may provide care
• CFS 718 Authorization for Background Check forms for covered household members
• Fingerprint submissions for applicants and adult household members
• Authorization for Illinois State Police and FBI criminal-history checks
• Authorization for Illinois Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System checks
• Authorization for state and national sex-offender registry checks
• Out-of-state criminal, sex-offender, and child-abuse or neglect checks when applicable
• Residential-address history for the required review period
• Names and addresses of at least three non-relative references
• Name and address of at least one relative reference
• Medical-evaluation forms for each applicant
• Medical or health information for other household members
• Immunization verification when required
• Information concerning physical health, mental health, medications, alcohol use, tobacco use, or substance-use treatment when relevant
• Proof of household income and financial stability
• Employment and work-schedule information
• Marriage, civil-union, divorce, separation, or relationship information when applicable
• Housing, lease, rental, landlord, mortgage, or property information when requested
• Driver's-license information for adults who may transport children
• Vehicle-registration and automobile-insurance documentation
• Childcare, supervision, respite, and backup-caregiver plans
• Emergency, evacuation, fire, severe-weather, and disaster-preparedness plans
• Pet vaccination, licensing, or veterinary information when applicable
• Information concerning firearms, ammunition, weapons, pools, ponds, and other household hazards
• Information about prior foster-care, adoption, guardianship, childcare, or caregiving applications and licenses
• Documentation concerning previous child-welfare investigations, criminal charges, convictions, protective orders, or other legal matters when applicable
• Certificates showing completion of Foster PRIDE, Adopt PRIDE, or approved equivalent preservice training
• Educational advocacy, CPR, First Aid, medication, water-safety, or specialized-training documentation when required
• Any additional written explanations, waiver records, professional evaluations, or safety plans requested during licensing

Required

Yes

Description

Illinois foster-parent orientation introduces prospective families to the state's child-welfare system and the responsibilities of licensed foster parents. Topics generally include why children enter care, reunification, permanency, the role of parents and relatives, sibling connections, trauma and loss, Foster PRIDE training, licensing standards, background checks, home assessments, confidentiality, discipline, reasonable and prudent parenting, reimbursement, and ongoing agency supervision.

How To Register

Submit the official DCFS foster or adoptive parent interest form or contact an Illinois-licensed child-welfare agency directly. A recruiter or licensing representative will provide orientation dates, registration instructions, preliminary eligibility information, and the schedule for Foster PRIDE or another approved preservice curriculum.

Duration

Orientation length and delivery vary by DCFS region and private agency. Some agencies provide one introductory session lasting several hours, while others divide orientation across multiple meetings or incorporate it into the beginning of the Foster PRIDE program. Sessions may be offered in person, virtually, or through a hybrid format.

Application Process

Applicants submit the foster-family-home licensing application and supporting documents to DCFS or the licensed child-welfare agency supervising the home. The licensing representative initiates background checks, obtains references, reviews health and financial information, schedules preservice training, and begins the social assessment. The Initial Foster Home Licensing Assessment includes interviews with applicants and household members, evaluation of family functioning and parenting capacity, and inspection of the home and community environment. Once all licensing standards are met, the supervising agency submits or completes the licensing recommendation for approval.

Required Documents

• Completed application for a foster-family-home license
• Identification and personal-history information for each applicant
• Information identifying every adult and child residing in the home
• Information about household members, frequent visitors, and substitute caregivers
• CFS 718 Authorization for Background Check forms
• Fingerprint submissions for applicants and adult household members
• Illinois State Police and FBI criminal-history authorizations
• Illinois Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System authorizations
• Illinois and national sex-offender registry checks
• Out-of-state criminal, sex-offender, and child-abuse registry checks when applicable
• Residential-address history
• Names and addresses of at least three non-relative references
• Name and address of at least one relative reference
• CFS 604 Medical Evaluation of an Adult or current equivalent medical form for each applicant
• Medical reports or health information for household children and other members when required
• Immunization information when required
• Mental-health, medication, alcohol, tobacco, substance-use, or treatment information when applicable
• Proof of household income, employment, assets, expenses, and financial stability
• Marriage, civil-union, divorce, separation, or relationship-history documentation when applicable
• Housing, lease, landlord, rental, mortgage, or property information when requested
• Driver's-license information for adults who may transport children
• Vehicle-registration and automobile-insurance documentation
• Childcare, transportation, supervision, respite, and backup-caregiver plans
• Emergency, evacuation, fire, severe-weather, and disaster plans
• Pet vaccination, licensing, or veterinary documentation when applicable
• Information about firearms, ammunition, weapons, pools, water hazards, and other environmental risks
• Information about previous foster-care, adoption, guardianship, childcare, or caregiving applications and licenses
• Documentation concerning prior child-welfare reports, indicated findings, arrests, criminal charges, convictions, protection orders, probation, parole, or other legal matters when applicable
• Documentation showing completion of 27 hours of required preservice training
• Educational advocacy, CPR, First Aid, medication, water-safety, or specialized-care certificates when required
• Any additional records, professional evaluations, written explanations, background-check waivers, or safety plans requested by the licensing representative

References Required

Applicants must provide at least three references from people who are not related to them and at least one relative reference. The non-relative references must be able to attest to the applicants' reputable and responsible moral character, while the relative reference must be able to discuss the applicants' capability to care for children. The supervising agency may contact references in writing, by telephone, virtually, or through personal interviews and may request additional references when necessary.

Interview Process

The Initial Foster Home Licensing Assessment includes individual and joint interviews with applicants and age-appropriate interviews with children and other household members. The licensing worker may also contact adult children, former spouses or partners, references, substitute caregivers, medical professionals, therapists, or others whose information is relevant. Topics include motivation to foster, family and childhood history, relationships, communication, parenting philosophy, discipline, trauma awareness, support for birth parents and reunification, attachment and loss, physical and mental health, finances, employment, substance use, support systems, placement preferences, cultural responsiveness, and the family's ability to provide safe care and cooperate with agency supervision.

Required

Yes

Curriculum

Illinois requires prospective foster parents to complete Foster PRIDE, Adopt PRIDE, or another Department-approved preservice curriculum before licensure. Training prepares applicants to understand the child-welfare system; trauma, abuse, neglect, grief, loss, separation, and attachment; child and adolescent development; behavior as communication; positive discipline; family engagement; reunification; sibling relationships; permanency; cultural responsiveness; confidentiality; mandatory reporting; normalcy; the Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard; educational advocacy; healthcare coordination; caregiver self-awareness; and cooperation with parents, relatives, DCFS, private agencies, courts, schools, healthcare providers, and other members of the child's service team.

Required Hours

Applicants must complete 27 hours of approved preservice training before foster-home licensure. As a condition of license renewal, each foster parent must complete 16 clock hours of approved in-service training. A single foster parent and at least one foster parent in a married couple or civil union must also complete Department-approved educational advocacy training, which may count toward the 16-hour requirement when completed during the current licensing cycle. Supervising agencies may require additional training.

Online Available

Illinois agencies may provide approved preservice and in-service training through in-person, virtual, or hybrid formats. Availability varies by DCFS region and licensed child-welfare agency. Certain assessment activities, household interviews, licensing visits, safety inspections, and practical certifications must still be completed in the format required by the supervising agency.

Certification

Applicants must complete the approved preservice curriculum and any required supplemental education before licensure. Foster parents may also be required to maintain CPR, First Aid, educational advocacy, medication-related, water-safety, safe-sleep, trauma-informed, crisis-intervention, medically complex care, therapeutic-care, or child-specific certifications based on their agency, home environment, license type, and the needs of children placed with them.

Required

Yes

Interviews

Illinois requires an Initial Foster Home Licensing Assessment, sometimes described as the social assessment or home study. The licensing representative interviews each applicant and other household members individually or jointly as appropriate. The assessment examines the applicants' motivation, personal and family histories, relationships, parenting experience, communication, emotional maturity, health, finances, discipline practices, understanding of trauma and loss, support systems, cultural responsiveness, and ability to cooperate with parents, relatives, the supervising agency, and the child's professional team.

Home Visits

The licensing representative conducts one or more on-site visits to evaluate the applicants, household relationships, and physical environment. The residence is reviewed for sleeping arrangements, utilities, sanitation, ventilation, emergency exits, smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, first-aid supplies, medications, hazardous materials, firearms, animals, pools and water hazards, transportation, and other risks. Follow-up visits may be required to verify repairs, complete interviews, approve child-specific exceptions, or confirm correction of licensing deficiencies.

Topics Covered

• The applicants' motivation to become foster parents
• Understanding that foster care is temporary and reunification is generally the initial goal
• Willingness to support the child's service plan and permanency goal
• Ability to support visitation and relationships with parents, siblings, relatives, fictive kin, and other significant people
• Ability to cooperate with DCFS, private child-welfare agencies, courts, guardians ad litem, schools, healthcare providers, therapists, and service professionals
• Personal, family, and childhood history of each applicant
• Current household relationships, communication, and conflict resolution
• Marital, civil-union, partner, separation, or divorce history when applicable
• The effect of fostering on biological, adopted, guardianship, step, and other household children
• Parenting philosophy and previous caregiving experience
• Knowledge of child and adolescent development
• Understanding of trauma, abuse, neglect, grief, attachment, separation, and loss
• Ability to recognize behavior as communication of underlying needs
• Discipline beliefs and compliance with Illinois prohibited-discipline requirements
• Ability to provide supervision, nurturing care, structure, consistency, and age-appropriate independence
• Understanding and application of normalcy parenting and the Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard
• Physical health, mobility, stamina, and ability to meet children's needs
• Mental and emotional health
• Medication use when relevant to safe caregiving
• Alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, vaping, controlled-substance, and other substance-use history
• Domestic violence, protective orders, relationship violence, or other household-safety concerns
• Criminal-history, sex-offender, and child-protection information
• Previous foster-care, adoption, guardianship, childcare, or caregiving experience
• Employment schedules and work-related responsibilities
• Financial stability and household budgeting
• Childcare, respite, substitute-caregiver, and supervision plans
• Reliable, legal, and safe transportation
• Emergency, fire, severe-weather, and disaster-preparedness plans
• Family, community, faith, cultural, peer, and professional support systems
• Cultural, racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, disability, sexual-orientation, gender-identity, and gender-expression awareness
• Ability to preserve a child's identity, culture, community, religion, language, and significant relationships
• Confidentiality and protection of children's personal information
• Mandatory-reporting responsibilities
• Educational advocacy and protection of children's educational rights
• Household members' expectations, concerns, and willingness to participate in foster care
• Pets, firearms, pools, water hazards, smoking, vaping, cannabis, and other environmental risks
• Bedroom arrangements, square footage, beds, storage, privacy, ventilation, and proposed capacity
• Placement preferences regarding children's ages, number, sibling groups, medical needs, developmental needs, behaviors, and levels of care
• The family's strengths, limitations, training needs, and support needs
• Ability to maintain records and cooperate with supervision, monitoring, and license renewal

Timeline

Illinois does not establish one guaranteed statewide timeframe for completing the Initial Foster Home Licensing Assessment. Timing depends on completion of preservice training, household interviews, references, medical evaluations, background checks, home visits, documentation, and correction of any unmet safety standards. The assessment remains open until the supervising agency has enough information to determine whether the applicants and residence comply with Illinois licensing requirements.

Bedroom Rules

Each foster child must have an individual bed or crib. Foster parents may not co-sleep with a child in care and must follow safe-sleep guidance. Related children of opposite sexes who are both under age 6 may share a bedroom, and unrelated children of opposite sexes may share only when both are under age 2, provided each child has a separate bed or crib. A foster child generally may not share a bedroom with an adult except during a brief emergency, illness, documented supervision need, or another specifically approved circumstance. Bedrooms require at least 40 square feet for the first child and 35 additional square feet for each additional child, excluding closets and wardrobes, unless a written child-specific exception is approved. Adequate storage, privacy, seasonal bedding, ventilation, and safe emergency egress must be provided.

Smoke Detectors

The home must have at least one approved, working smoke detector on every floor level and within 15 feet of each room used for sleeping, including an occupied attic or approved basement sleeping area. Unless legally exempt, the home must also have at least one approved carbon-monoxide detector within 15 feet of every sleeping room. All detectors must remain operational and properly maintained.

Fire Extinguisher

The foster home must have at least one operable fire extinguisher that is readily accessible. The family must also maintain written fire and emergency evacuation plans, discuss and rehearse those plans with children at least quarterly, keep emergency telephone numbers posted prominently, and maintain appropriate first-aid supplies.

Medications

Prescription and nonprescription medications must be stored in places that are not readily accessible to children under age 12 unless a medication must remain immediately accessible because of medical necessity. Expired or unused medications, syringes, medical waste, and other medication-related materials must remain inaccessible to children during storage and disposal. Additional safeguards may be required based on a child's age, development, behavior, or known risk of misuse.

Cleaning Supplies

Dangerous household supplies, cleaning products, pesticides, fuels, sharp tools, pool chemicals, poisonous substances, and other hazardous items must be kept in safe locations inaccessible to children under age 12 and remain inaccessible during disposal. The supervising agency may require stronger protections based on the ages, developmental abilities, or behaviors of children placed in the home.

Firearms

All firearms and ammunition must be locked and stored separately at all times in places inaccessible to children. Loaded firearms may not be kept in a foster home unless carried or stored by a law-enforcement officer in compliance with the officer's agency safety procedures. No firearm possessed in violation of federal, state, tribal, or local law may be present in the home.

Pools

Swimming pools, hot tubs, spas, ponds, decorative water features, and similar water hazards must comply with Illinois safety requirements. In-ground pools generally require a fence at least five feet high with a locked, self-closing, self-latching gate. Certain above-ground pools may use secured or removed steps or another approved barrier. Hot tubs not enclosed by a compliant fence require a securely locked cover, and portable wading pools not enclosed by a compliant fence must be emptied daily. Approved lifesaving equipment and functioning filtration must be maintained when applicable. Foster homes with qualifying water hazards must maintain current CPR and First Aid certification, provide line-of-sight adult supervision, secure pool chemicals, and maintain required water-quality records.

Pets

The foster home must comply with all state, tribal, and local laws governing household animals. Rabies-vaccination certificates must be available for inspection when required. The supervising agency evaluates temperament, aggression history, health, sanitation, confinement, and child supervision. Animals that create a foreseeable risk may require restricted access, additional containment, a written safety plan, or removal.

Vehicle Requirements

Foster parents must have access to reliable, legal, and safe transportation, which may include public transportation. Household members who transport children must provide annual verification of their driver's license, automobile-liability insurance, and vehicle information as required by the supervising agency. Vehicles must be safely maintained, and children must use seat belts, child safety seats, booster seats, helmets, and other restraints required by law.

Fingerprinting

Foster-parent applicants and adult household members must complete fingerprint-based criminal-history checks as required by Illinois law and DCFS Rule 385. Fingerprints are used for Illinois State Police and FBI record searches. Adults who later join the household must complete required screening before residing in or regularly participating in care in the licensed home.

Child Abuse Registry

Applicants and covered household members undergo searches of the Illinois Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System and other child-protection records required by DCFS. When an applicant or household member lived outside Illinois during the applicable review period, the supervising agency may obtain child-abuse and neglect registry checks from each prior state of residence.

Criminal History

Illinois requires background checks for household members age 13 and older, except foster children. Adult applicants and household members receive the full background review, while household members ages 13 through 17 complete authorization for the partial checks applicable to minors. Screening may include Illinois and FBI criminal-history records, sex-offender registries, child-abuse and neglect records, and other information required by Rule 385.

Disqualifying Offenses

Certain convictions and findings prohibit foster-home licensure or household presence unless a waiver is legally available and approved. Serious crimes involving homicide, child abuse or neglect, sexual offenses, violent conduct, kidnapping, human trafficking, weapons, domestic violence, and other barrier offenses may be permanently or conditionally disqualifying. When a waiver is permitted, DCFS considers the nature and severity of the record, time elapsed, rehabilitation, circumstances, references, current behavior, and risk to children.

Additional Checks

The supervising agency may review state and national sex-offender registries, prior foster-care or childcare licensing records, previous home studies, child-welfare agency records, court and protective-order records, out-of-state criminal and child-protection records, driving history for adults transporting children, references, professional evaluations, and any additional information needed to determine the safety and suitability of the household.

Steps

• Submit an inquiry through Illinois DCFS or a licensed child-welfare agency.
• Attend the required foster-care orientation.
• Select the supervising agency that will complete the licensing process.
• Submit the foster-family-home license application and all required supporting documentation.
• Complete fingerprint-based criminal-history background checks and all required child-protection screenings.
• Provide required references, medical evaluations, and financial information.
• Complete 27 hours of approved preservice Foster PRIDE or equivalent training.
• Participate in the Initial Foster Home Licensing Assessment, including interviews with applicants and household members.
• Complete the foster-home safety inspection and correct any identified deficiencies.
• Provide any additional documentation, professional evaluations, waivers, or rehabilitation information requested by the licensing representative.
• Receive final approval and issuance of the foster-family-home license.
• Maintain annual training, cooperate with ongoing supervision, and complete annual renewal requirements to maintain licensure.

Average Timeline

Illinois does not establish a single statewide licensing timeline. Many families complete the process within approximately three to six months, although completion depends on training availability, background-check processing, references, interviews, home inspections, required documentation, and correction of any unmet licensing standards.

Renewal Requirements

Illinois foster-family-home licenses are generally renewed annually. Renewal includes verification that the home continues to meet licensing standards, updated home visits, review of household composition, updated medical or background information when required, completion of required annual training, and continued approval by DCFS or the supervising child-welfare agency.

Ongoing Training

Licensed foster parents must complete at least 16 hours of approved in-service training during each licensing period. Training may include trauma-informed caregiving, educational advocacy, behavior management, cultural responsiveness, reunification support, developmental disabilities, medically complex children, medication administration, infant care, water safety, therapeutic foster care, or other child-specific education identified by the supervising agency.

How Placements Work

After licensure, DCFS or the supervising child-welfare agency contacts foster families when children require placement. Placement staff consider the family's licensed capacity, experience, location, transportation resources, household composition, strengths, and placement preferences. Placement decisions also consider sibling relationships, school stability, family and community connections, cultural identity, behavioral and medical needs, permanency goals, and the child's overall best interests.

Can Decline Placements

Yes. Foster parents may decline any placement they do not believe they can safely or appropriately support. Families are encouraged to ask about the child's age, behaviors, medications, medical needs, educational needs, visitation schedule, transportation requirements, supervision needs, permanency plan, and available support services before accepting placement. Declining a placement does not automatically affect the foster-home license.

Emergency Placements

Illinois may request emergency placements whenever children require immediate protective care. Licensed foster homes may receive placement requests at any time of the day or night. Emergency placements with relatives or fictive kin may also occur when authorized by law while licensing or approval activities continue. Emergency placements remain subject to ongoing assessment, court oversight, and licensing requirements.

Sibling Groups

Illinois makes every reasonable effort to place siblings together whenever safe and consistent with their best interests. Placement staff evaluate the home's licensed capacity, available bedroom space, caregiver experience, supervision, transportation resources, and available support services when considering sibling-group placements. When siblings cannot safely remain together, the Department seeks to preserve sibling relationships through visitation, communication, and coordinated permanency planning whenever appropriate.

Age Preferences

During the licensing assessment, applicants identify the ages, number of children, sibling groups, medical conditions, developmental disabilities, behavioral needs, and placement types they feel prepared to support. Placement decisions balance these preferences with each child's individual needs and the family's demonstrated strengths and abilities.

Monthly Board Rate

Licensed Illinois foster parents receive monthly foster-care maintenance payments intended to offset the ordinary costs of caring for children placed in their homes. Payment amounts vary according to the child's age, level of care, placement type, and individual needs. Specialized foster-care programs may provide additional reimbursement. Current payment schedules should always be confirmed with DCFS or the supervising child-welfare agency.

Clothing Allowance

Routine clothing expenses are generally included within the monthly maintenance payment. Additional clothing assistance may be available for emergency placements, seasonal clothing, school clothing, uniforms, or extraordinary clothing needs as approved by the supervising agency.

Daycare Assistance

Childcare assistance may be available when necessary to support the child's placement and allow foster parents to maintain employment, attend required training, participate in court proceedings, or meet other approved responsibilities. Eligibility, provider approval, reimbursement procedures, and authorization depend upon DCFS policy and the child's circumstances.

Medical Coverage

Children placed in Illinois foster care generally receive Illinois Medicaid or another qualifying healthcare program. Foster parents coordinate medical, dental, behavioral-health, developmental, pharmacy, specialty-care, and emergency services through DCFS, healthcare providers, managed-care organizations when applicable, and other authorized service providers.

Mileage Reimbursement

Mileage reimbursement or transportation assistance may be available for travel required by the child's service plan, including family visitation, medical appointments, counseling, educational meetings, court appearances, evaluations, placement transitions, extracurricular activities, and other approved travel. Documentation requirements and reimbursement procedures are established by the supervising agency.

Additional Benefits

Depending upon the child's individual needs and placement type, additional assistance may include specialized foster-care payments, respite care, childcare assistance, transportation support, tutoring, educational assistance, behavioral-health consultation, developmental-disability services, independent-living services for eligible youth, and other state- or federally authorized support programs.

Respite Care

Respite care may be available to provide temporary relief for licensed foster families and help maintain placement stability. Approved respite providers must satisfy applicable licensing or agency requirements. Availability and funding vary according to the child's needs, placement type, and regional resources.

Support Groups

Illinois foster parents may participate in support groups sponsored by DCFS, licensed child-welfare agencies, foster-parent associations, nonprofit organizations, and community partners. Opportunities may include peer support, conferences, continuing education, caregiver networking, online meetings, and family activities.

Mentoring

Many foster families receive guidance from experienced foster parents, licensing workers, or peer mentors who provide encouragement, practical advice, and assistance navigating placements, reunification, documentation, visitation, educational issues, and communication with the supervising agency.

Counseling

Behavioral-health and counseling services for foster children are coordinated through DCFS, Illinois Medicaid providers, schools, hospitals, community mental-health agencies, developmental-service providers, private therapists, and other authorized professionals. Foster parents also receive consultation regarding trauma-informed caregiving, child development, educational advocacy, and behavioral support.

Crisis Support

Licensed foster parents receive assistance from their licensing worker, child-welfare caseworker, after-hours emergency contacts, behavioral-health providers, crisis-response services, law enforcement when necessary, emergency medical services, and other community partners. Foster parents are expected to immediately report significant medical, behavioral, legal, placement, runaway, abuse, or safety concerns involving children placed in their homes.

Available

Yes. Illinois allows licensed foster parents to be considered as adoptive resources when adoption becomes the child's approved permanency goal. Foster parents are expected to actively support reunification, family visitation, and the child's current service plan while understanding that some children may later become legally available for adoption if reunification and other permanency options are no longer appropriate.

Process

Children generally enter Illinois foster care with reunification as the initial permanency goal whenever it can be safely achieved. Throughout the case, DCFS evaluates reunification, placement with relatives or fictive kin, guardianship, and adoption. If the court changes the permanency goal to adoption, prospective adoptive families are evaluated. A foster family currently caring for the child may be considered based upon the child's attachments, stability, sibling relationships, family connections, cultural identity, special needs, wishes when developmentally appropriate, and overall best interests. Additional adoption-specific documentation, legal proceedings, subsidy negotiations, and court approval are required before adoption is finalized.

Legal Risk

Every foster-care placement involves legal uncertainty until parental rights have been voluntarily relinquished or terminated, all appeals have concluded, and the court approves adoption. Children may reunify with parents, be placed with relatives or fictive kin, enter guardianship, or achieve another permanency outcome. Foster parents are expected to fully support reunification and healthy family relationships regardless of whether they hope to adopt.

Adoption Subsidy

Eligible children adopted from Illinois foster care may qualify for Illinois Adoption Assistance. Benefits may include a negotiated monthly adoption subsidy, Medicaid coverage, reimbursement of qualifying non-recurring adoption expenses, and approved post-adoption services. Adoption-assistance agreements are generally negotiated and signed before adoption finalization.

Available

Yes. Illinois strongly encourages safe placement with relatives and fictive kin whenever appropriate. Kinship caregivers may include grandparents, adult siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, godparents, close family friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, or other adults who have a significant relationship with the child. Kinship placements help preserve family relationships, school stability, community ties, cultural identity, and continuity of care.

Licensing Differences

Illinois permits emergency placement with qualified relatives and fictive kin when authorized by law while licensing activities continue. Kinship caregivers may pursue full foster-family-home licensure to receive foster-care maintenance payments and ongoing foster-care services. Some kinship placements may follow modified approval procedures allowed under Illinois policy while continuing to satisfy child-safety requirements.

Financial Support

Available financial assistance depends upon the child's legal status, placement type, and caregiver eligibility. Resources may include foster-care maintenance payments for licensed kinship homes, Illinois Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, childcare assistance, Supplemental Security Income when applicable, Adoption Assistance, subsidized guardianship assistance, respite care, Kinship Navigator resources, and other state- or federally authorized support services.

Can I become a foster parent if I am single?

Yes. Illinois welcomes qualified single adults, married couples, and couples in a civil union who meet all licensing requirements.

How old must I be?

Applicants must generally be at least 21 years old.

Do I have to own my home?

No. Applicants may rent or own their residence provided it meets Illinois foster-home licensing and safety standards.

Can I work full time?

Yes. Foster parents may work outside the home if reliable childcare, supervision, transportation, and scheduling arrangements are available.

Do I need a certain income?

Applicants must demonstrate sufficient financial stability to support their household independently of foster-care reimbursement.

How much preservice training is required?

Illinois currently requires 27 hours of approved Foster PRIDE or equivalent preservice training before licensure.

Is annual training required?

Yes. Licensed foster parents must complete at least 16 hours of approved in-service training during each licensing period.

Do I have to complete a home study?

Yes. Every applicant completes the Initial Foster Home Licensing Assessment, including interviews, references, home visits, and evaluation of the family's readiness to foster.

Will everyone in my household undergo background screening?

Applicants and required household members complete criminal-history, child-protection, and other required background screenings before licensure.

Can I have pets?

Yes. Pets are permitted when they are healthy, properly supervised, appropriately vaccinated, and do not present a safety risk to children.

Can I own firearms?

Yes. Firearms must be unloaded, securely locked, and stored separately from ammunition in accordance with Illinois licensing requirements.

Can foster children share bedrooms?

Yes. Bedroom arrangements are evaluated according to Illinois licensing standards, children's ages, developmental needs, relationships, privacy, and safety.

Can I choose the ages of children I foster?

Yes. Families discuss placement preferences during the licensing assessment, including age ranges, sibling groups, medical needs, developmental disabilities, behavioral needs, and placement types.

Can I decline a placement?

Yes. Foster parents should accept only placements they believe they can safely and appropriately support.

Will I receive financial assistance?

Yes. Licensed foster parents receive monthly foster-care maintenance payments intended to help offset the ordinary costs of caring for children placed in their homes.

Do foster children receive healthcare?

Yes. Most children in Illinois foster care receive Illinois Medicaid or another qualifying healthcare program.

Is respite care available?

Yes. Approved respite services may be available through DCFS or the supervising child-welfare agency to support placement stability and caregiver well-being.

Can I adopt a child placed with me?

Possibly. If reunification and other permanency options are no longer appropriate and adoption becomes the child's approved permanency goal, the foster family may be considered.

Does foster placement guarantee adoption?

No. Foster placement alone does not guarantee adoption. The child's best interests always determine the permanency decision.

Does Illinois prioritize kinship placements?

Yes. Illinois gives priority to safe placement with relatives and fictive kin whenever appropriate and consistent with the child's best interests.

Who do I contact to report suspected child abuse or neglect?

Call the Illinois DCFS Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE (1-800-252-2873). Reports are accepted 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 911 immediately if a child is in immediate danger.

State Agency

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services

Phone

Foster Parent Information: 1-800-572-2390; Illinois Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-25-ABUSE (1-800-252-2873)

Email

[email protected]

Address

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, 406 East Monroe Street, Springfield, IL 62701