Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a)
The Department provides, directly or through purchase, a number of services for
children and families that are individually planned to meet the needs of each
child and family. These services are directed toward four service goals:
1) family preservation;
2) family reunification;
3) adoption or attainment of a permanent
living arrangement;
4) youth
development.
b) Family
Preservation
When family preservation is the goal, services are directed
toward ensuring the children's development, safety and well-being in the home
of their family and preventing placement of children away from their family.
Families may have been reported to the Department for alleged child abuse or
neglect or referred to the Department for services. The service constellation
for these children and families may include:
1) counseling/advocacy;
2) emergency caretaker;
3) homemaker;
4) protective and family maintenance day care
and child development;
5) family
planning;
6) parent
education;
7) self-help
groups;
8) emergency family
shelter;
9) intensive family
preservation services;
10) other
placement prevention services;
11)
referral for substance abuse treatment services;
12) referral for financial assistance and
employment related day care;
13)
referral for housing assistance or housing advocacy;
14) referral for legal services.
c) Family Reunification
When family reunification is the goal, services are directed
toward returning a child to his/her parent's or private guardian's home when
the child was removed because of alleged child abuse or neglect or other
reasons. Family reunification services are directed toward helping the
children's parents or private guardians achieve minimum parenting standards
ensuring the children's safety and well-being upon return home, and preserving
and supporting sibling relationships. The service constellation for these
children and families may include:
1)
counseling/advocacy;
2)
homemaker;
3) protective and family
maintenance day care and child development;
4) foster family home care;
5) relative home care;
6) residential care;
7) family planning;
8) parent education;
9) intensive family preservation
services;
10) referral for
substance abuse treatment services.
d) Adoption or Attainment of a Permanent
Living Arrangement
1) When adoption or
attainment of a permanent living arrangement is the goal, services are directed
at securing a new legal status in a permanent living situation for children who
cannot return to their legal families. A goal of permanent living arrangement
means that the child is to remain with a relative or foster family permanently
and the Department has transferred or intends to transfer legal guardianship to
the family. The service constellation for these children may include:
A) counseling;
B) adoption;
C) subsidized guardianship;
D) relative home care;
E) foster family home care;
F) intensive family preservation
services.
2) When a
prospective adoptive parent or guardian has a medical and/or physical condition
that may render him/her unable to care for the child into adulthood, the
Department shall request that the prospective adoptive parent or guardian
develop a back-up care plan for the child that includes a "back-up caregiver"
willing and able to care for the child into adulthood. The Department shall
assess the back-up care plan and meet with the prospective adoptive parent or
guardian and the back-up caregiver to review the Department's expectations with
regard to the caregiver's role and responsibilities, the child's needs,
available services, and financial assistance such as Subsidized Guardianship
and/or Adoption Assistance. The Department shall obtain a signed statement from
the back-up caregiver acknowledging that he/she is aware of the child's needs
and that the back-up caregiver will assume responsibility for the child's care
in the event that the adoptive parent or guardian is no longer capable of
providing care. The statement will also inform back-up caregivers for
guardianship that any subsidy the guardian was receiving is not
transferable.
e) Youth
Development
1) When youth development is the
goal, services are directed at helping youth live independently or assisting
unmarried youth with planning for the birth or care of their child. Youth shall
also be encouraged to develop and maintain contact with their siblings. The
Department shall provide services to youth for whom it is legally responsible
and who are:
A) 16 years of age or older, to
help them live independently of adult caregiver supervision and achieve
economic self-sufficiency;
B) high
school graduates and have been awarded scholarships in accordance with the
Children and Family Services Act [20 ILCS 505 ]; or
C) unmarried and pregnant.
2) The service constellation for
youth for whom the Department is legally responsible may include:
A) counseling/advocacy;
B) day care for the children of unmarried
youth;
C) homemaker
services;
D) family
planning;
E) maintenance payments
or foster family home, relative home or residential care payment, except that
maternity home payment shall be limited to a maximum of 90 days.
f) Sibling
Relationships
1) The Department recognizes
the importance of encouraging and maintaining relationships among siblings. In
order to preserve and strengthen sibling relationships, it is preferable for
children to be placed together in one home. However, a placing worker may
consider a plan for placement with two or more relatives when the relatives
indicate that they are willing and able to develop, nurture and support sibling
relationships. When siblings cannot be placed together, priority shall be given
to adoptive parents or legal guardians who will agree to frequent sibling
visitation and contact.
2) The
Department shall provide training for all Department and purchase of service
direct service staff, resource development (foster family home licensing)
staff, administrative case review and clinical staff, and their supervisors and
managers regarding the importance of developing and maintaining sibling
relationships and the child's sense of attachment to his/her siblings, the
importance of maintaining sibling relationships over the child's lifespan, and
the impact on the child if those relationships are severed. In addition, the
Department shall incorporate this training in pre-service and in-service
training for foster and adoptive families.