Child welfare services may be provided by DCFS staff or they may be purchased by DCFS from other agencies, organizations and individuals.

These services are directed toward the purpose of:

• protecting and promoting the health, safety and welfare of all children, including homeless, dependent and neglected children;
• preventing, remedying or assisting in the solution of problems that may result in the neglect, abuse, exploitation or delinquency of children;
• preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families by identifying family problems, assisting families in resolving their problems and preventing breakup of the family where desirable and possible when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child’s health and safety;
• restoring to their families children who have been removed, by the provision of services to the child and the families when the child can be cared for at home without endangering the child’s health and safety;
• placing children in suitable adoptive homes in cases where restoration to the biological family is not possible or appropriate;
• assuring safe and adequate care of children away from their homes, in cases where the child cannot be returned home or cannot be placed for adoption. At the time of placement, the department shall consider concurrent planning so that permanency may occur at the earliest opportunity. Consideration should be given so that if reunification fails or is delayed, the placement made is the best available placement to provide permanency for the child;
• providing supportive services and living maintenance that contributes to the physical, emotional and social well being of children for whom DCFS is legally responsible and to youth in care who are pregnant and unmarried; and
• placing and maintaining children in facilities that provide separate living quarters for children under the age of 18 and for children 18 years of age and older, unless a child 18 years of age is in the last year of high school education or vocational training, in an approved individual or group treatment program, or in a licensed shelter facility, or secure child care facility.

The department is not required to place or maintain children:

• who are in a foster home; or
• who are persons with a developmental disability, as defined in the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code; or
• who are female children who are pregnant, pregnant and parenting or parenting; or
• who are siblings

in facilities that provide separate living quarters for children 18 years of age and older and for children under 18 years of age.

These services include but are not limited to: counseling, advocacy, protective and family maintenance day care, homemaker, emergency caretaker, family planning, adoption, placement, child protection, and information and referral.