Imagine a group of children who have suffered the trauma of being removed from their biological parents due to abuse or neglect. These children bounce through the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) foster care system until they finally find a home with an adoptive family. Tragedy strikes again, however, when their adoptive parents die or become incapacitated, leaving these children parentless yet again.

This is the situation for thousands of children in the care of Illinois DCFS – true “orphans” who have experienced unimaginable losses. A DCFS program called Family Placement and Support Services, managed by The Cradle since 2006, is working to help these children to be re-adopted by family members of their deceased parents. This one-of-a-kind program serves families and children from throughout Northern Illinois, providing legal assistance to facilitate the new adoption, grief counseling, and practical assistance such as clothing, school supplies and beds, to help these children recover from their multiple losses and find the love of a family once again.

Family Placement and Support Services began in 2000 when DCFS requested support for the agency's Post-adoption Unit. An intense national effort launched in the late 1990s to find permanent families for children who were waiting in the foster care system resulted in a significant increase in the number of re-adoption cases. In some cases the foster families decided to adopt the children they were fostering. In many cases, relatives of the children came forward and legally adopted them. These relatives often were single, older individuals, including grandparents. Adoptive parents who may have been elderly or ill at the time of the adoption had been approved by DCFS and private agencies in order to place the children out of foster care. Subsequently, in the last six years a large number of children were left without a parent due to death or incapacitation.

A majority of the children placed through this program are considered to have “special needs,” such as prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs, trauma resulting from neglect or abuse, or the fact that they are in sibling groups. These needs qualify the adoptive family for an adoption subsidy, and in order for the child to continue to benefit from the subsidy they must have a legal parent or guardian. Under our contract with DCFS, The Cradle will handle the adoption procedures for the new family as well as the transfer of the adoption subsidy.

Program Director Nancy Crouch and her five permanency specialists serve families in Cook County and the collar counties. The team's varied duties include conducting initial and ongoing risk assessments; completing home studies and monitoring the home post-placement; providing medical and educational advocacy; and completing adoption/guardianship subsidies.

When The Cradle was approached by DCFS and asked if we might be interested in assuming oversight of this program, we were honored and proud, and looked at this challenge as an opportunity to assist even more children. As a leader in child welfare, we look forward to strengthening our relationship with Illinois DCFS and expanding The Cradle's role in the public child welfare sector.