Illinois Administrative Code

Section 309.135 Post-Permanency Sibling Contact Agreement When a child in the Department's care has a permanency goal of adoption or private guardianship, and the Department is preparing to finalize the adoption or guardianship, the child's caseworker shall convene a meeting with…

Section 309.140 Placement of Children with Adoptive Families When a specific family is identified as appropriate for the placement of a specific child waiting to be adopted, the Department or adoption agency will: a) present information on the child to the family to allow the fam…

Section 309.150 Providing Information to Adoptive Families The Department or adoption agency will provide, if known, to the family identified to adopt the child the following information, in writing, regarding the child as soon as possible, but no later than 10 days prior to the …

Section 309.160 Post-Placement Services a) Purpose of Post-Placement Services Post-placement services are services provided to the child and adoptive family from the date of placement of the child in the adoptive home to the date of finalization of the adoption for the purpose of…

Section 309.170 Post-Adoption Services a) Purpose of Post-Adoption Services Services after adoption of a child are often essential in maintaining the adoptive family unit and empowering families to be advocates in the community for their children's needs. Consequently, the Depart…

Section 309.180 Adoption Assistance Adoption assistance may be provided to adoptive parents on behalf of children with special needs in accordance with 89 Ill. Adm. Code 302.310 (Adoption Assistance).

Section 309.190 Adoption Registry a) Effective with the establishment of an Adoption Registry under the auspices of the Department of Public Health, the Department of Children and Family Services shall provide information about Adoption Registry services. The address of the Adopt…

Section 309.20 Definitions "Adoption assistance" or "adoption subsidy" means financial assistance and other services from the Department which are provided to the adoptive parents after the finalization of an adoption of a child with special needs as defined in Section 309.180. "…

Section 309.30 Recruitment of Adoptive Families a) The Department shall make special efforts for the diligent recruitment of potential adoptive families that will accept sibling groups for placement and encourage and support sibling contact when siblings must be separated. The De…

Section 309.35 Good Faith Effort to Locate Siblings in Adoption and Subsidized Guardianship Placements a) When a child is in need of an adoptive placement, the caseworker shall examine Department records and other available resources and attempt to determine whether a sibling of …

Section 309.40 Adoption Listing Services a) The Department or its agent shall maintain coded listings that include the names and addresses of persons who have applied for and have been approved for the adoption of a child. The listings shall also include the names of children for…

Section 309.50 Identification of Children for Potential Adoption Planning a) The Department shall immediately consider for all children under its care the possibility of adoption when exploring permanency options, and begin adoption planning when it is in the child's best interes…

Section 309.60 Legal Risk Placements a) Legal risk placements are selected for children for whom the Department deems such placements are appropriate as described in this Section. Prior to making a legal risk placement, the Department shall conduct a legal screening in accordance…

Section 309.70 Freeing Children for Adoption a) Children for whom the Department of Children and Family Services is legally responsible are free for adoption when any of the following occurs: 1) both parents of the child have signed adoptive surrenders or consents to adoption by …

Section 309.80 Termination of Parental Rights a) When one of the grounds for termination of parental rights appears to exist and return home as a permanency goal for the child is no longer appropriate, the Department shall conduct an internal legal screening. b) The purpose of an…

Section 309.90 Putative Father Registry a) The Department shall maintain a Putative Father Registry for the purpose of determining the identity and location of a putative father of a child who is, or is expected to be, the subject of an adoption proceeding in order to provide not…

Section 311.1 Purpose The purpose of this Part is to delineate the involvement of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services with the Departments of Corrections, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Illinois State Board of Education in the execution o…

Section 311.2 Definitions "Court liaisons" are representatives of the juvenile court who attend staffings and provide contact between the court and the Initiative. "Multi-problemed youth" means youth with multiple problems in domains of mental illness or retardation, emotional di…

Section 311.3 Purpose of the Governor's Youth Services Initiative The Governor's Youth Services Initiative (G.Y.S.I.) is a program which is cooperatively sponsored by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developm…

Section 311.4 Referral Criteria In order for a youth to be referred to the Governor's Youth Services Initiative, the presiding juvenile judge or designee must determine that one or more of the following criteria are met: a) There is a major disagreement between the court and a st…

Section 311.5 Responsibilities of the Policy Board a) The Policy Board is responsible at the state level for: 1) Developing and approving criteria for decision making for the Initiative in areas of referral, service delivery, case management, termination and funding. 2) Approving…

Section 311.6 Regional Staffings a) At the regional level the Initiative conducts multi-disciplinary staffings on individual youth, which insure that the needs of the youth are thoroughly assessed and analyzed, a client service plan is developed and implemented, and regular monit…

Section 312.10 Purpose The purpose of this Part is to describe eligibility requirements, the application and selection process, and financial provisions of the Department of Children and Family Services Scholarship Program.

Section 312.100 Discharge from the Scholarship Program a) Students will be discharged from the Scholarship Program for the following reasons: 1) completion of four years in the Scholarship Program, or the student reaches age 23, whichever occurs first; 2) failure to enroll in sch…

Section 312.20 Definitions "Accredited high school", as used in this Part, means any high school that has met all compliance rules and regulations as required by the State of Illinois. "ACT" means American College Test. "Adopted child" means a child for whom the Department was le…

Section 312.30 Description The DCFS Scholarship Program provides a maximum of 48 scholarships each year, four of which are awarded to children of veterans. Scholarship recipients receive up to four consecutive years of supplemental services and maintenance payments (see Section 3…

Section 312.40 Eligibility Requirements Applicants must meet the following criteria in order to be considered for a DCFS scholarship: a) the applicant must be at least 16 years of age and have earned a high school diploma from an accredited institution, or a General Education Dev…

Section 312.50 Application a) The application package will contain the following: 1) completed DCFS Scholarship Program Student Application, CFS 438; 2) transcript of high school grades through the first semester of the senior year and class standing information, copy of GED and …

Section 312.60 Selection a) The Office of Education and Transition Services shall coordinate the Scholarship Awards Selection Committee (SASC). SASC shall include senior leadership of the Department, including, but not limited to, persons who oversee the offices of guardian, lega…

Section 312.70 Service Planning and Living Arrangements a) A service plan will be developed with each scholarship recipient for whom the Department has legal responsibility. At a minimum, plans will be reviewed every six months or at the beginning of each academic quarter or seme…

Section 312.80 Ongoing Eligibility Requirements Scholarship recipients are required to take a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester or quarter during fall and spring term and 6 credit hours in the summer term (see Section 312.90(b)(2)(A)), maintain a "C" grade point average and…

Section 312.90 Benefits a) Tuition and Fee Waiver The OETS Business Office will request a waiver of tuition and mandatory fees for scholarship youth that attend an Illinois State university or community college if the youth does not have a tuition and/or fee scholarship from anot…

Section 313.1 Purpose The Purpose of this Part is to describe: a) The responsibilities of the Department of Human Services (Department) in developing, maintaining, administering and funding a program of community services. b) The requirements of boards of Area Projects which seek…

Section 313.10 Application Requirements for Funding as a Community Services Program Applications from Area Projects shall include: a) A plan for a community needs assessment which shall be conducted annually as the basis for the formulation of the community services program. This…

Section 313.11 Review and Monitoring of Community Services Program Plans a) The Department shall establish a data repository which will organize the minimum data by county to assist Area Projects in profiling the problems that put youth at risk in their community service areas. b…

Section 313.12 Contract Renewal a) Subsequent contracts may be negotiated and renewed, based on available funds, without recourse to a Request for Proposal. The Department will review such contracts in order to determine that the provider is complying with the provisions of the c…

Section 313.2 Definitions "Advocacy Services" means para-professional assistance to youth and families in coping with or resolving personal, family, or social institutional problems. "Area Project" means a body whose purpose is to develop, manage, provide and coordinate a communi…

Section 313.3 Eligibility as an Area Project a) Any organization, association or local board/service system can apply to be recognized as an Area Project for a given area, provided that either: 1) the recognized body is any agency whose preponderance of resources is directed to c…

Section 313.4 Community Service Areas of Community Committees a) The Community Committee shall define its own geographic area when applying to the board of the Area Project for recognition. The Community Committee, as the entity which will provide a Community Services Program in …

Section 313.5 Composition of the Board of an Area Project a) The board of the Area Project shall conduct meetings at least every two months. b) No member of the board of an Area Project may have a direct financial interest in the affairs of the Area Project or be an immediate rel…

Section 313.6 Community Services Program Plan a) Area Projects funded by the Department to provide community services shall, within 180 days of notification of initial funding and 45 days prior to contract renewal in subsequent years, submit a community services program plan to t…

Section 313.7 Target Groups to be Served by Community Services Programs a) The identification of persons eligible to receive services under the community services program shall flow from the program plan developed in the context of the targeted community service area. b) In ident…

Section 313.8 Service Components of Community Services Programs a) In order to be considered for funding, Area Projects must plan to provide the following services: 1) Community organizing, which shall seek to change conditions that weaken the community and put its youth at risk,…

Section 313.9 Funding of Community Services Programs a) The Department may make grants for the purpose of planning, establishing, operating, coordinating and evaluating programs aimed at changing conditions which weaken the community and put its youth at risk based upon poverty l…

Section 314.10 Purpose Under federal and State laws, children are entitled to a free, public education appropriate to their needs. Those unable to benefit from the education experience without additional supports are entitled to special education services. These rights extend to …

Section 314.100 Education Expenses The Department shall ensure the provision of education related services outside the mandated responsibility of public school districts or the Illinois State Board of Education. Foster parents shall not bear the financial burden of any charges as…

Section 314.20 Definitions "Case Study Evaluation" means the assessment activities performed by the responsible public school district in accordance with 23 Ill. Adm. Code 226, Special Education, to determine a child's eligibility for special education services. "Department" mean…

Section 314.30 Education Policy a) The Department shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that all children in Department custody are enrolled in school within two school days after being taken into custody, or being moved to a new placement requiring a change in schools. In no e…

Section 314.40 Educational Assessment a) The Department will provide an educational assessment for all children entering Department custody. This assessment, part of the comprehensive assessment, shall be completed sufficiently in advance of the case plan to incorporate the conte…

Section 314.50 Education Plan a) The Department shall prepare an education plan (as part of the client service plan) for each child in custody. The education plan shall assure that a child, while in Department custody, receives a public education of a kind and quality comparable …