Child welfare services, by law, must be provided to a child and his or her family if a court finds the child to be: 

• abused and/or neglected; 
• dependent; 
• delinquent — over 13 years old and currently in DCFS care or under 15 years old and placed in DCFS care by the judge who presided over the delinquency case; or 
• MRAI (Minor Requiring Authoritative Intervention) 

More information about the legal definitions of abuse, neglect, dependency, delinquency, and MRAI connected to foster parenting are found in Section 2: Juvenile Court. 

DCFS may also elect to provide child welfare services to other families requesting services, or to families identified by DCFS as needing and likely to benefit from services.