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Legal Expenses of Birth Parents by the Adopting Parents

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Legal Expenses of Birth Parents by the Adopting Parents

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Illinois law allows adopting parents to pay their own legal fees, agency fees and medical expenses of the birth mother without prior approval of the Court.  Adopting parents must first obtain the Court's approval in order to legally pay for a birth parent's living expenses (food, clothing and shelter during the pregnancy for the period beginning 120 days prior to the expected due date and up to 60 days after the child's birth only) or attorney’s fees, for any amount exceeding $1000

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Children of all races, colors, and genders are waiting for someone to hold their hand. Most children waiting to be adopted are living temporarily with relatives or other foster families. Some live in larger, professionally-staffed group settings. The Adoption Information Center of Illinois (AICI), a nonprofit partner of DCFS, maintains an online listing with pictures and descriptions of children in need of a loving family.

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What does the state provide to foster families?

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What does the state provide to foster families?

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Financial Assistance - Foster parents in "regular" foster care programs receive a monthly check to cover the child's food, clothing and personal allowance. The amount of the check is based on the child's age.
Medical Care - Each foster child gets a medical card from the state which guarantees payment for all necessary medical care and preventive medicine. You will be given a number to call to get help in selecting a physician for a child placed with you. The medical card is also accepted by many hospitals and for approved prescriptions. You should not pay any medical bill directly.
Education Services -  Foster children go to regular public schools, unless they need special education, for which the state can pay. Private or parochial school tuition cannot be paid by the State. Foster children may attend private or parochial schools, but only if the tuition is paid by some other source. Personal Support - Your supervising child welfare agency and your child's caseworker are responsible for supporting your family on a daily basis. Each agency, including DCFS, has developed internal supports, which include foster parent support groups, newsletters, after hours telephone numbers, and community resources.
Support from DCFS - The Department of Children and Family Services provides overall support to licensed private child welfare agencies with foster care programs, while maintaining its own foster care program. DCFS also directly provides universal foster care information and impartial advocacy for all foster families statewide.

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All information about a child's birth parents is listed here. For example, the birth records, marriage records, and death records to confirm each and every piece of information count.

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To ensure your success as a foster parent, prospective foster families are required to:

Participate in a home inspection and social assessment;

Complete 27 hours of training focused on foster care and the needs of children who are in foster care;

Complete a criminal background check of all household members;

Be financially stable; and

Complete a health screening that includes verification that immunizations are up-to-date.

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Your Confidential Intermediary will have access to information from court files, adoption agency files and birth/death/divorce and marriage records that can make all the difference in a search.

After getting all available records, your CI will complete a Search Assessment. It will tell you if your birth parents are known to be deceased, if information about siblings and other birth relatives was received, and give you our assessment of how difficult the search for each of them would be. If you are a birth parent or other relative, your CI will tell you whether she obtained enough information to attempt to locate the person you are looking for.

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Adoption is permanent and lifelong, and is only possible when the birth parents have voluntarily given up their parental rights or their rights are terminated by the court.
Once you have adopted the child, no one, not even the birth parents, can take him/her away from you

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If you are considering fostering a child, you've come to the right place! Foster families come from all walks of life and are needed all across Illinois. Foster parents must be at least 21 years old and can be married, in a civil union, single, divorced or separated.