Public Accountability Report

The mission of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is to:

• protect children who are reported to be abused and neglected and to increase their family’s capacity to safely care for them;
• provide for the well-being of children in its care;
• provide appropriate, permanent families as quickly as possible for those children who cannot safely return home;
• support early intervention and child abuse prevention activities; and
• work in partnership with communities to fulfill this mission.

To achieve this mission, DCFS utilizes its employees and a broad network of private service providers throughout the state. Private agencies are the primary service provider for more than three-fourths of the children in foster care and all children in residential placements. DCFS's major program areas are as follows:

Protective Services - Operates the Child Abuse Hotline; conducts child abuse/neglect investigations; and licenses day-care centers, foster homes, child welfare agencies, and institutions.

Family Maintenance - Delivers services to families to assure child safety so that children can remain in or return to the home.

Adoption and Guardianship - Recruits, supports, and maintains adoptive/guardianship homes to which children who cannot return home are placed for permanent settings.

Family Reunification and Substitute Care - Assures permanency for children, prepares families for reunification, and ensures the well-being and safety of children who are placed outside their homes due to abuse, neglect, or dependency.

Accountability - Ensures that Illinois children are safe and have loving, permanent homes; and that their emotional, physical, and medical needs are met through quality services.