Foster Care

CPS has a variety of initiatives designed to increase placement options to better match the needs of each individual child. Foster care is meant to be temporary until a permanent living arrangement is found. Where can I find information on the comparison of financial and legal benefits of Foster Care, KinGap, Legal Guardianship, and Adoption?

Known as an attorney ad litem, this lawyer represents your child’s desires and/or best interest in court. The judge may think you do not care about your child if you do not appear at court hearings. You should always go to court when you get a legal notice or a phone call saying that there will be a hearing about your child. CPS may remove children from their homes in an emergency before going to court to ensure their immediate safety. CPS may go to court to remove children from their homes if it believes children have been abused or neglected or are at risk of future abuses or neglect and they need to be removed for their protection.

Elizabeth Berman

The county placing agency has a responsibility to make a diligent effort to place children with special needs into those foster family homes that have a higher level of skill, training, and certification, often called Intensive Treatment Foster Care (ITFC) or group home care. The licensing, approval or certification agency will provide you with any needed Training to ensure the success of the foster child’s placement in your home. In the cases where the child is already known to the county placing agency, the social worker will be able to provide you with the child’s Health Passport a fairly complete picture of the child’s health history, behavioral issues and emotional needs. Service Plan – This is an agreement between CPS and the parents of children in substitute care (foster care, kinship care, etc).

• When determining permanent placement, the county placing agency gives preferential consideration to relatives and concurrent homes – that is, homes that provide foster care and are willing to provide a permanent home for the child if reunification fails.
• However, placement decisions are made at the discretion of the county placing agency.
• Known as an attorney ad litem, this lawyer represents your child’s desires and/or best interest in court.
• What payment can the caregiver receive for the first months of placement when the child is in the home prior to licensure, approval, or certification?
• It is best to speak to your foster child’s social worker and your foster child’s primary care doctor first to request that your foster child have a health assessment – see Health Passport .

I feel that my foster child needs counseling and the county placing agency is not providing these services – what can I do as the caregiver to make this happen? A county placing agency has told a relative caregiver to apply for CalWORKs instead of foster care payments. If a license has been suspended or revoked, foster children in placement will have been removed and the county will not place children with the caregiver pending the investigation and outcome. If your communication with the social worker is not satisfactory, you can contact the social worker’s supervisor and your foster child’s attorney. The previous foster parent does not have the legal right to be the first choice for placement in the event that a child re-enters foster care. If you wish to become the child’s permanent caregiver, make your wishes known as soon as possible to the child’s social worker.

Overview of 12-month court process for child abuse and neglect cases Foster parents must be at least 21 years old and can be married, in a civil union, single, divorced or separated. As of July 1, 2026, child care licensure is managed by the Illinois Department of Early Childhood. Finally, your state’s foster parent association or coalition may also be of assistance.

Community-Based Care

It will be important that you are open and honest with the case social worker regarding your family’s values and culture so the social worker can determine if your home would be the best fit for the foster child. The caregiver has a Right To all non gamstop casino information that the County is legally allowed to provide in order to enable the caregiver to appropriately meet the needs of children in your care. At the time of placement, you have a Right To  receive child information in order to provide for meeting the needs of the children placed in your care. Will my family and I be able to review the foster child’s records before placement? Here is a letter written by a typical foster family to the parent of a child in foster care.

Parents Involved with CPS

Respite is especially helpful when foster children have behaviors such as seen in many therapeutic foster homes. Respite is a request by the foster child’s current foster family to have a break. If age appropriate, include the foster child in any discussions regarding the child’s need for additional services. If age appropriate, include the foster child in any discussions regarding the child’s need for counseling.