Illinois post-adoption support

Below are post-adoption support services available to families who live in Illinois. Services may not be available in all areas and/or may be dependent upon the circumstances of the placement. Please check with your post-adoption services provider about the availability of specific post-adoption or guardianship support services for your family. You can also visit Child Welfare Information Gateway for information on Adoption and Guardianship Assistance, as well as additional information on post-adoption support.

Post-adoption/guardianship support services

In Illinois, adoptive families have access to the following services through a post-adoption support program:

Child and youth assessments
Information (websites, fact sheets, articles, etc.): Website contains blogs, articles, links to resources, services, training opportunities, subsidy payment schedule, support groups, parent cafe's, and events
Referral to services
Training/other development: Group and individual training opportunities, such as TBRI parenting, CORE Teen, videos, and books
Adoption search
Peer support for parents: support groups
Peer support for children/teens: support groups
Mentoring for children/teens: mentors work on therapeutic skills, transitional skills, and communication skills
Case management
Camps, retreats, events: some agencies provide therapeutic camps themselves, others provide funding for children to attend traditional camps
Respite care
Educational support: advocates follow up with the school, attend IEP meetings, and train schools and teachers
Financial/material support
Community-based therapeutic services
In-home therapeutic services
Crisis intervention: 24 hour crisis line, immediate case management, and other crisis responses as needed.
Residential therapeutic services: approval of residential services is based on the needs of the individual child

Additional supports may be available as part of an adoption/guardianship subsidy agreement based on the needs of the individual child.

Who is eligible for these services?

Families who have adopted from the state’s foster care system
Families who have adopted from another state’s foster care system
Families who have adopted internationally or privately
Families who have guardianship of a child from the state’s foster care system

Who provides these services?

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services contracts with multiple private providers to offer post-adoption and guardianship support across the state. Additionally, some services are provided directly by the state’s Regional Post-Adoption Support Workers.

For more detailed information about current providers and the post-adoption and guardianship support available to families, visit the state’s Path Beyond Adoption website.

Parent support groups

Below are support groups for adoptive, kinship, and foster families. Support groups may be offered as part of a state’s post-adoption/guardianship support program, through a statewide or regional foster or adoptive parent association, through specific agencies, or may be run independently. If we have additional information about the group’s purpose or the community served, it’s provided under the group’s contact information.

To add a group or make a suggestion, email the AdoptUSKids family support team.