Illinois Families Now and Forever

              2003 • Volume 2 Fall • Edition
FAMILIES
Now and
Forever
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services©
ILLINOIS
™
From the
DCFS
Director
After leading DCFS for six
months, I hope that families
are feeling the effects of positive
change. As part of that change,
in July, DCFS introduced the
new management team joining
those who continued in their
previous roles and described
the redesigned organizational
structure. Please know that
this was not a case of change for
the sake of change. Each
decision was made to address
critical problems that I felt held
this agency back. Going
forward, I will emphasize:
1. Better communication
2. Smart decision-making
3. More collaboration
In short, the left hand will know
what the right hand is doing so
we can make good decisions.
In the pages that follow, you
will learn more about the
diverse group of individuals
who have come together to help
you help children. I expect
there will be a few bumps as we
go ahead, but I also expect a
new level of responsiveness to
issues that arise. I appreciate
your involvement and welcome
your input. Thank you for
doing your part as we all at
DCFS strive to do ours.
DCFS scholars head to college
After stretching for success
during four years of high school,
48 students who are or had been
in the care of DCFS are now
attending college as winners of
the DCFS Scholarship. The
scholarship program, which is
conducted by the Office of
Education and Transition Ser-vices,
takes into account the
students’ grades, test scores and
personal recommendations. A
panel of academic and child
welfare experts then reviews each application to determine the winners.
Each recipient heads off to school with up to four years of waivers of
tuition and academic fees at participating state universities, a monthly
maintenance stipend of $444.85 and a medical card.
The excitement started building in the summer with a luncheon to
celebrate their accomplishment in high style. Thanks to the generosity
of the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, the youth enjoyed great
food as well as encouraging remarks from Mrs. Payton to prepare them
for the journey ahead.
The recipients of the 2003 DCFS Scholarship Awards are:
Rodnisha Anderson
Nicholas Becker
Bridgette Brdecka
Valerie Brewer
Crystal Clemons
Latasha Coleman
Tara Craig
TyJuan Cratic
Deana Cruthis
Carletha Currie
Dana Dawson
Daniel Frazier
Christine Gill
Amanda Harris
Tina Helmick
Shelly Hopper
Rasheed Howard
Shana Hunt
Jeff Hurt
Melissa Jacob
Fatima Johnson
Taneva Jones
Amanda Judkins
Jennifer Manna
Zachary Knight
Kyle Koester
Kristah Krueger
Octavia Lee
Vinh Luu
Beatriz Mattingly
Keonna McAfee
Tamara McCarty
Fallon Nicholas
LaJanice Page
Douglas Parter
Jennifer Peryam
Heather Powell
Corneal Rainge
Kiara Ramos
Magdalena Roberts
Zachary Schobert
Kalei Stanley
Ryan Tamburini
Melissa Vaughn
Thema Vietti
Lashawn Wallace
Herald Watson
Shalonda Williamson
Bryan Samuels
Families by Foster Care, Adoption and Guardianship
Connie Payton congratulates TyJuan Cratic
at this year’s Scholarship Luncheon