DCFS Cook County Permanency Enhancement Project Steering Committee
Foster Care & Family Support

DCFS Cook County Permanency Enhancement Project Steering Committee

In August of 2014, Angelo Militello of the JCFS Skokie Office was asked to co-chair the DCFS Cook County Permanency Enhancement Project Steering Committee. This committee meets The Illinois Permanency Enhancement Project (PEP) began in 2007 as a partnership between IDCFS, the African American Family Commission, the IDCFS African American Advisory Council and Illinois State University, School of Social Work/Center for Adoption Studies. The goal of the initiative is to improve permanency outcomes and reduce racial disproportionality within the child welfare system, through local, community-driven solutions. Community “Action Teams” made up of child welfare service consumers, human service professionals, educators, judicial officers, and concerned citizens, meet on a monthly basis to develop programs, policies, and collaborative initiatives aimed at improving permanency outcomes for children.

The Objectives of PEP are:

  1. REVIEW COUNTY LEVEL PERMANENCY OUTCOME DATA annually to obtain a “snapshot” of the State’s current permanency achievement rates and trends, including an examination of racial disproportionality.
  2. IDENTIFY BARRIERS TO PERMANENCY ACHIEVEMENT through the focus group process
  3. MOBILIZE COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS through regional permanency enhancement symposia to engage stakeholders in a focused dialogue around issues of permanency planning and achievement for DCFS involved youth
  4. DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY-SPECIFIC STRATEGIES (action plans) to increase family preservation rates, family reunification rates, and adoption/guardianship rates
  5. TRACK AND ASSESS SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM PROGRESS AND OUTCOMES for the Action Teams (see Central Region Action Team Annual Report)

PEP ACTION TEAMS

Community “Action Teams” made up of child welfare service consumers, human service professionals, educators, judicial officers, and concerned citizens, meet on a monthly basis to develop programs, policies, and collaborative initiatives aimed at improving permanency outcomes for children

Angelo was an original member of the Evanston/Niles Township Action Team, which recently merged with another Action Team called Chicago North side Families Safety Net

Cook Region Quarterly Meeting

Third Tuesday of March, June, September, December--10am – 12pm

DCFS Office 1911 S. South Indiana Chicago, Illinois

More information at permanencyenhancementproject.org/