Foster Care | Types

Types of
Foster Care

As of 2022, there are approximately 8,800 licensed foster homes in Illinois. However, there are around 20,000 children in the foster care system. If you want to positively impact a child’s life and help children build a better future, become a foster parent! As a CYFS foster parent, you will receive ongoing support from a caring team of professionals, access to training and support groups for foster families, opportunities to meet with Foster Parent Mentors who have walked the walk, and educational resources to support your foster child.

Types of Foster Care

Relative Foster Care

Research indicates when children must be removed from their own homes, placement with a loving and caring relative can help mitigate the trauma. The Center for Youth and Family Solutions Relative Foster Care Program is designed to provide relatives with the training, support, and services they need to care for related children. Relative caregivers first become certified. The flexibility of the certification process allows caregivers to learn about available resources and the foster care system while ensuring the children in their care are safe. Certification also ensures relative caregivers receive the same financial support as other foster parents, which is crucial for economic security and well-being of the youth in care. Certified foster caregivers then work toward licensure. The process of foster care licensure is lengthier than the certified process as it provides more training and more stringent standards. Both certified and licensed relative caregivers receive support and guidance from foster parent mentors, parent trainers, retention specialists, licensing and foster family workers.

Fictive Kin Foster Care

Fictive Kin Foster Care allows children in foster care to be placed with individuals who have a strong emotional connection with them, even if they are not related by blood or marriage. The importance of fictive kin relationships lies in their ability to provide a sense of belonging and stability for youth during this challenging time. Just like Relative Foster Care, Fictive Kin Care help ease the transition into foster care by maintaining existing emotional ties and ensuring continuity in the youth’s social and cultural life. Fictive kin foster parent can be a teacher, coach, minister, neighbor, friend’s parent or any individual who already is important to the youth. Our CYFS team will assist the fictive kin in becoming certified or licensed to provide care and to support them as they adjust to their new role as a fictive kin caregiver.

Traditional Foster Care

Research indicates that children also adapt to foster care placement better when they can remain in their same community and school setting. CYFS recruits and licenses foster parents throughout Central Illinois and the Quad Cities. When a relative placement is not a viable option for a child or sibling group, we place the children with a licensed foster family in or near their home community whenever possible. Traditional foster caregivers are families from the community that open their heart and home to comfort children who require out of home placement. We consider foster caregivers an integral part of our professional team, and we work together to meet the needs of the children placed in their home. Our foster caregivers are licensed and receive ongoing training and support in their critical roles.

Specialized Foster Care

This program is designed for children who exhibit more significant behavioral difficulties or have an identified mental health diagnosis. In addition to trained and skilled family workers and therapists on staff, our Specialized Foster Care Program develops specially trained foster caregivers to provide safe, stable, and nurturing care for these children. The foster caregivers are provided with additional training annually where they receive the knowledge, skills, and necessary tools and interventions to meet the needs of these children.

In addition to our skilled foster parents, the agency’s family workers provide frequent contact with the children and family to support, stabilize and help each child on a path towards permanency either through reunification, guardianship, or adoption.

The Center for Youth and Family Solutions is fortunate to have a working agreement with a licensed child psychiatrist, providing on-site services in our Springfield office and working with us to develop agency-wide access through telepsychiatry.

Medically Complex Foster Care

Our Medically Complex Program is designed for children who have been diagnosed with a medical condition and require intensive, ongoing medical assistance. Our foster caregivers receive individualized and specific training for each child placed in their care. We have a full-time nurse on staff to provide medical consultation to foster caregivers and parents to ensure the children are receiving the best medical care possible.

Foster Parent Recruitment

As of 2023, there are approximately 8,183 licensed foster homes in the state of Illinois. However, there are around 20,000 children in the foster care system. If you want to make a positive impact on a child’s life and help children build a better future, become a foster parent! As a CYFS foster parent, you will receive on-going support from a caring team of professionals, access to training and support groups for foster families, and educational resources to support your foster child.

Adoption Conversions

Our Adoption Conversion program helps children who are eligible for adoption transition from foster care to an adoptive family. When a decision is reached that a child in foster care cannot return to the care of the biological parents, the child’s foster family may be asked to consider becoming the child’s forever family.

Foster Care Success Stories

“When I first started meeting with my therapist I didn’t think it would help us. After time passed I started feeling better about my parenting skills. She was easy to talk to and non judgmental. I am so glad to have had the chance to meet her.”

“I feel my worker went above and beyond her “Job duty”. We were extremely happy with all of her help.”

“My caseworker truly was my foundation. She was always there for us and always followed through with every question, every issue, every concern”

“I have forty years’ experience in the mental health field and I can say CYFS was a tremendous asset to both my child and myself.”

“I will recommend CYFS to others I know who want to foster or adopt a child. CYFS has a wonderful staff who I hold in the highest respect.”

Foster Care

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Foster Care | Types

Types of
Foster Care