Become a Foster Parent
Consider opening your heart and home to become a foster parent.
Offer safe, stable, and secure housing to youth in the care and custody of the state of Illinois.
“Open Heart, Open Home”
Foster care provides temporary homes for children and adolescents who have been removed from their parents or biological family due to instability or unsafe circumstances by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). As a foster parent, you play a crucial role to provide children and youth with a safe, loving, and nurturing home while their biological parents work to improve the conditions that brought their kids into foster care to support reunification as the desired outcome.
If you feel called to become a foster parent, we’d love to talk to you.
Children’s Home provides foster care services in Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties.
Traditional foster care
Temporary placement for youth in care ages 0-21 needing a safe, stable home.
Specialized foster care
Temporary placement for youth in care ages 0-21 with significant trauma who develop chronic behavioral or emotional needs, or require extra medical attention.
Why foster:
- There are more than 20,040 youth in care in Illinois
- Peoria County remains in the top five counties in Illinois for total number of youth in care
- More than 30% of all youth in care are between 6-12 years old
- 231,527 calls were made to the Illinois Child Abuse Hotline last year
Possible outcomes for foster care:
- Reunification with biological parents or extended family
- Guardianship or adoption by loving, capable caretakers
- Transition into self-sufficiency young adulthood
Steps to become a foster parent at Children’s Home:
- Must be at least 21 years of age
- Successfully pass background checks
- Pass accommodation requirements for the home (extra room for potential foster child/children)
- Complete state training
- Must have an income to meet your current family’s needs
- Once accepted and approved, prepare for a placement at any time
Children’s Home support and perks for foster parents:
- Monthly stipend to help cover expenses
- Three-layered on-call support from Children’s Home exceptional foster care staff 24/7, 365 days a year
- Support and mentorship from Children’s Home staff specialists: consulting psychiatrist, education liaison, family therapist, permanency specialist, licensing worker, family finding specialist
Interested in learning more?
Read our blogs:
Dispelling Common Myths about Foster Care and What to Expect Upon Becoming a Foster Parent
Email Andrea Roberts, Licensing Supervisor, at [email protected] or call 309-210-1901.
Children’s Home Association of Illinois is an Illinois Licensed Child Welfare Agency, license #004259-14.