Children need to feel secure to develop in a healthy way. Two important ways that children can feel more secure are through their family’s ability to operate independently without feeling that someone could easily disrupt the family and by providing certainty that they will remain together as a family for life—having a permanent family and home. Without permanency, children often experience doubt, uncertainty and hesitancy about where they belong and who is going to care for them. A secure home and a family committed to caring gives the child a sense of attachment which is needed to promote healthy growth and development. 

Even if you are willing to raise the child in your care until adulthood, unless you have legal responsibility for the child, your family situation cannot be considered “permanent.” For example, if the child welfare system continues to maintain legal responsibility for the child instead of you, then the child’s caseworker must continue to monitor the care of the child. The court will continue to review your case, and there is always the possibility that the child will be removed from your family. Legal permanency allows the child welfare system and the court system to close the child’s case and allows your family to raise the children and make important decisions for them without state intrusion. With legal permanency, children feel a sense of security. 

In order for a child to be adopted, the birth parents’ rights must be legally terminated or surrendered. This means that the birth parents’ rights are permanently taken away. If you choose to become the legal guardian of the child, the birth parents’ rights do not have to be terminated and the child could someday be returned to them. 

Not every foster family adopts children or becomes a legal guardian, but many do. In fact, the majority of the children adopted in Illinois are adopted by their foster family. While adoption and guardianship provide you with many of the same rights (for example, enrolling the child in school, consent to major medical care, etc.), adoption is a lifelong legal relationship. The legal relationship with guardianship ends when the child turns 18 and is considered an adult. However, both adoption and guardianship allow for lifelong emotional ties and relationships. 

Your caseworker and the rest of the child welfare team can help determine what is the best permanent home arrangement for the child in your care. The best way to help make this decision is to tell your caseworker everything you know about the child and keep in mind what you truly believe to be in the child’s best interest for future care. 

The following pages may help you and your family decide your role in the future of the child in your home.

The following series of questions may help you think through what might be best for the child in your care:

1. If the child/ren cannot return home to their parent/s, the best long range plan is for them to stay with me. 
2. I am interested in caring for the child/ren without caseworker intervention.  
3. I am capable of caring for the child/ren without caseworker intervention. 
4. I have the support from family, friends, community, etc. that I need to raise the child/ren. 
5. I am willing and able to work with the school to address the child/ren’s needs. 
6. I am willing and able to manage visits/relationships between the parent/s and child/ren to ensure the child/ren’s safety. (Note: This is only a consideration for guardianship when parental rights have not been terminated. When a child is adopted, the adoptive parents may decide if a child will have contact with their biological parents.) 
7. I am willing and able to continue providing a safe and stable home environment for the child/ren. 
8. I am confident in my ability to manage family issues such as illness and child-rearing problems.  
9. I do not have health conditions that would signifi cantly limit my ability to care for the child/ren. 
10. I am willing to accept the subsidy payment in lieu of my current payment/s. 
11. I am aware of the services available in the subsidy agreement and am willing to accept those services to meet the child’s needs. 
12. The child is well integrated into my family. 
13. I am willing to pursue adoption for the child/ren. 
    • If your answers to all of the previous questions were “yes,” then most likely you should discuss adopting the child with your caseworker. 
    • If you answered “no” to number 13, then you should discuss being named the child’s legal guardian with or without receipt of a subsidy. 
    • If several of your answers were “no,” your caseworker will discuss other options for the child.

Please also consider the following if your answer to number 13 was “no”.

1. The child does not want to be adopted (age 14 and over).
2. I do not want the birth parents’ rights to be terminated.
3. I am separated and do not want to obtain a divorce.*
4. I am uncomfortable with changing our family relationships.
5. I do not want the child to be my heir
6. I feel too old to adopt.
7. I am hopeful that the birth parent/s will ultimately get the child back.

Your caseworker can discuss your answers to the above statements and help you determine whether adoption would be best for the child. 

* If you are separated, but not divorced, you may be eligible to adopt a child if you have been separated more than one year (DCFS Procedure 402).

Section 7, Page 17