What Happens to Foster Kids When They Turn 21?

Foster Parent Education
July 17, 2026

Turning 21 rarely changes much for most young people. They keep their bedroom, stay on a parent’s insurance, call home when the car breaks down, and lean on a support […]

Foster Parent Education
July 13, 2026

At Let It Be Us, we often see patterns that remind us just how important thoughtful, child-centered recruitment can be. One pattern has remained remarkably consistent: at any given time, […]

Foster Parent Education
July 13, 2026

Why Marketing is One of the Most Important Tools in Child Welfare Today When people think about marketing, they often picture advertisements, products, or businesses competing for customers. Child welfare […]

Foster Parent Education
July 7, 2026

A long-ago conviction. A stretch of financial hardship. A small apartment instead of a house. People talk themselves out of fostering over things that, under Illinois law, do not actually […]

Foster Parent Education
June 25, 2026

What Does a Therapeutic Foster Parent Look Like? By Cathy Newbury, Director of Foster Home Recruitment with Let It Be Us As a foster parent for nearly 20 years, I’ve […]

Foster Parent Education
June 11, 2026

Fostering children who have experienced trauma requires specialized knowledge that goes beyond standard parenting skills. In Illinois, licensed foster parents who would like to become specialized foster parents must complete […]

Foster Parent Education
June 5, 2026

Pride Month and Foster Care: Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in Illinois June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, honor its history, and recognize the importance of creating […]

Foster Parent Education
June 4, 2026

Dear Licensed or Potential Foster Families, Can I be honest with you for a minute? I have a doctorate in social work. I have spent decades now in child welfare. […]

Foster Parent Education
June 4, 2026

The judge signs the order. You walk out of the courthouse with your child, legally and permanently yours. Relatives send congratulations. Friends call it the finish line. Three months later, […]

Foster Parent Education
May 5, 2026

National Foster Care Month: What Let It Be Us Is Doing to Support Children and Families Every May, National Foster Care Month serves as an important reminder: thousands of children […]

Foster Parent Education
May 4, 2026

Every May, something important happens across the country. Whole communities pause to focus on the children and young people who are growing up in foster care. At Let It Be […]

Foster Parent Education
April 28, 2026

If you are considering foster care, the financial side of the conversation matters. Asking how much foster parents get paid is one of the most common questions we hear at […]

Foster Parent Education
April 11, 2026

deliverable_id: dlv_bZzepaq0pGPl client: let_it_be_us generated: 2026-03-26 Thinking about adoption is one of the biggest decisions you can make. Whether you have been considering it for years or are just starting […]

Foster Parent Education
April 3, 2026

You get a letter in the mail or a call from your caseworker. A guardian ad litem has been appointed to your case. If you are a foster parent or […]

Foster Parent Education
April 1, 2026

National Child Abuse Prevention Month: Protecting Children Through Thoughtful, Responsible Advocacy April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to recognize the importance of protecting children, strengthening families, and […]

Foster Parent Education
April 1, 2026

Choosing to foster or adopt a child of a different race is one of the most meaningful decisions a family can make. It is also one that calls for honest […]

Foster Parent Education
March 6, 2026

In December 2018, Bryceson Sanders was called to the school office during his junior year of high school. Pink hearts were practically circling his head. He'd finally talked to the […]

Foster Parent Education
March 6, 2026

Foster care and adoption both create families for children who need them. But they work in fundamentally different ways, with different goals, different legal structures, and different timelines. Understanding these […]

Foster Parent Education
March 4, 2026

Every year, hundreds of young people in Illinois reach adulthood while in foster care. For many, this transition means leaving behind the structured support of the child welfare system and […]

Foster Parent Education
March 2, 2026

Every foster parent reaches a point where the weight of daily caregiving starts to press harder than usual. Maybe the child in your care is working through a difficult behavioral […]

Foster Parent Education
February 20, 2026

Most people want a simple answer, a specific number of months from start to finish, then you bring your child home. But adoption from foster care doesn’t work that way. […]

Foster Parent Education
February 18, 2026

Some children need more than a safe place to sleep. They need parents equipped with specialized skills, backed by a clinical team, and prepared to help them heal from experiences […]

Foster Parent Education
February 16, 2026

You’re considering fostering or adopting a child with special needs. Maybe you’ve heard stories from other foster parents, or you’ve been reading about children waiting for families in Illinois. The […]

Foster Parent Education
February 10, 2026

Illinois leads the nation in protecting LGBTQIA+ youth and families within foster care. Since 2003, when the state became the first in the country to establish formal LGBTQIA+ youth service […]

Foster Parent Education
February 7, 2026

Your phone rings at 2:47 AM. A caseworker needs a safe place for a seven-year-old tonight. You have forty-five minutes to decide. This is emergency foster care. No gradual onboarding. […]

Foster Parent Education
February 5, 2026

Every year, over 20,000 young people in the United States age out of foster care without a permanent family.[1] In Illinois, that number sits around 700 to 800 youth annually […]

Foster Parent Education
February 3, 2026

You’ve likely heard about foster care, but therapeutic fostering is something different. It’s designed for children facing significant emotional, behavioral, or developmental challenges that go beyond what traditional foster care […]

Foster Parent Education
February 2, 2026

You've made the decision to become a foster parent. Maybe you've completed the training, or you're close to finishing licensing. Now you're facing the practical reality: a child may arrive […]

Foster Parent Education
January 31, 2026

If you’re exploring foster care in Illinois, you’ve probably encountered contradictory information: some sources make it sound impossibly complicated, while others suggest anyone can do it. Neither extreme tells the […]

Foster Parent Education
January 29, 2026

Many prospective foster parents in Illinois wonder about the financial realities of foster care. You might be asking: Will I need to pay for everything out of pocket? What exactly […]

Foster Parent Education
January 27, 2026

Maybe you've been thinking about bringing a child into your home. Perhaps you've attended an informational session, or a friend shared their fostering story, or you simply feel ready to […]

Foster Parent Education
January 26, 2026

To become a foster parent in Illinois, you must be at least 21, financially stable, and have safe housing (renting is fine). You complete DCFS, FBI, and State Central Register […]

Foster Parent Education
January 23, 2026

You’ve heard the assumptions. Older children are harder to connect with. They come with too much baggage. The bond won’t be the same as raising a child from infancy. You […]

Foster Parent Education
January 23, 2026

Separating siblings is supposed to be the exception. Illinois law protects siblings, placing brothers and sisters together whenever doing so serves their best interests. Yet thousands of sibling groups still […]

Foster Care , Foster Parent Education
January 30, 2023

A Blog Post for National Mentoring Month The month of January is National Mentoring Month. It was founded by the Harvard School of Public Health in 2002. According to Harvard […]

Foster Care , Foster Parent Education
December 7, 2022

Let It Be Us is partnering with Shelter Inc to recruit homes for the Emergency Foster Care program Children in foster care face many challenges. One of the biggest challenges […]

Foster Care , Foster Parent Education
November 28, 2022

Celebrating National Adoption Month My personal and professional life have been focused on adoption and, primarily, open adoption. I am the mother now of four unique free range young adults, […]

Foster Care , Foster Parent Education
November 28, 2022

Closing Out 2022 National Adoption Month with a Look Back at Humans of Adoption Series Our vision at Let It Be Us is permanency for every child. Permanency is a […]

Foster Care , Foster Parent Education
November 17, 2022

In honor of National Adoption Month, Let It Be Us’ Deputy Director Alex Montgomery explores the importance of the biological family. “The question to ask is not ‘Who does this […]

Foster Parent Education , Foster Parent Recruitment
June 26, 2021

Foster care and adoption opportunities for Chicago's LGBTQ Community exist with Let It Be Us. Join our exclusive webinar on Tuesday, June 29, at 7:00pm to learn more about working with Let It Be Us and about obtaining a foster care license.