Foster Care & Family Support

by Marc Bermann, JCFS Foster Parent Recruiter and Support Specialist

1)  "I Appreciate You"......We often take friends and family for granted, especially when things are going well and we're not in a crisis. Where our children are concerned, both bio and foster, it's important to catch them doing something good and acknowledge how good we feel about that. Nothing makes children feel better than knowing they are appreciated by the people who are caring for them.

JCFS Chicago works to find caring, qualified foster parents for Chicago-area children with special needs, supporting the families who welcome, love and guide these children…whether toward reunification with their families or adoption by new families.

Right now, the need for foster parents is greater than ever with nearly 400,000 children and youth who need stability, mentoring, love and care. There is no ideal profile of a foster parent--the demographics are broad and include single adults or coupled partners—and while the challenges are very real, the experience is also rewarding for both child and foster parent. But what exactly are "special needs" and what should a prospective foster parent know? The following are some frequently asked questions about parenting a child with special needs:

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.

November is National Adoption Month , intended to raise awareness of foster care adoption and a time to celebrate all families created through adoption.  Not that we have to wait for November – we can celebrate the diversity of Jewish families created through adoption throughout the year! 

By Marc Bermann, Foster Parent Recruiter

There are approximately 20,000 children in foster care in the state of Illinois.

50% of them have chronic medical problems; 30% are victims of various forms of abuse and neglect. Many of them have significant issues of attachment and loss resulting from childhood trauma.

Prior to foster care, sometimes these children are removed from their home and taken into protective custody by the state.  They may be placed in a temporary shelter or substitute care with a relative. Biological parents can terminate their parental rights by choice or court mandate.