Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
FFY2011 Annual Progress and Services Report
84
Adoption Preservation
To further enhance the progress and efforts made by the adoption preservation programs, the
agency developed two additional types of programming supports for adoptive/guardianship
families in FY 08.
Adoption Preservation, Assessment and Linkage (APAL)
The first, titled the Adoption Preservation, Assessment and Linkage (APAL) Programs,
provide an outreach to adoptive and guardianship homes that have a 13 and/or 16 year
old in their home. The adolescent population has been targeted due to the often
troubling challenges that parents face in these years and the fact that many youth in this
age group are living with older caregivers whose own frailty may be increasing. The
outreach effort includes an in-home assessment of how well post adoption services that
may have assisted the family in the past as well as a determination of what additional
services and resources may be of assistance to them currently. These programs then
make referrals to either community resources, the Department post adoption staff or to a
series of other post adoption programs.
Maintaining Adoption Connections
The second type of new post adoption supports are the Maintaining Adoption
Connections programs that were developed to provide on-going stabilization services to
families who may be referred by the APAL programs or by the Department post
adoption staff. The MAC programs provide an additional range of services to post
adoption/guardianship families from crisis intervention, assessment, respite, counseling,
support groups, case management and various forms of advocacy. This two-tier
program structure began in Cook County in the fall of 2007, has expanded to the
Central and Southern Regions of the state, and plans are ongoing to further develop and
refine these supports.
Youth involved in the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) - Statewide
DCFS has been conducting reviews of youth involved with corrections since 2006. As a result,
there is data available of youth who have a DSM-IV diagnosis for Axis I and 2. Data is
gathered to view not only diagnosis but also educational levels, charges and/or crimes
committed by region, site and field. This information will assist in identifying and developing
appropriate placements as well as other resources needed to support youth upon their release.
Placement Alternative Contracts
The Placement Alternative Contract Program provides selected older youth, who are unable to
accept a traditional placement setting, the opportunity to receive services and financial support
(i.e., the Standard of Need rate) from the Department in a placement of his/her choosing. To be
eligible for this program, the youth must have:
selected a safe dwelling within the State of Illinois for himself/herself, and his/her
children, if any;
established written goals that promotes the youth’s ability to achieve economic self-sufficiency;
and
identified an advocate who will assist the youth in achieving his/her goals.
