Let It Be Us is an Illinois licensed Child Welfare Agency and 501(c)3 founded in 2014.  All of our programs improve permanency, alleviate strain on workers and the system, shelter and congregate care capacity, psychiatric hospital stays, detention center stays, and reduce placement disruptions. Our Open Foster Home Navigator Program offers placement resources for youth in emergent need as well as those who are challenging to place. Our innovative solutions for foster home recruitment, matching and placement is transforming child welfare in Illinois today with a bold vision of how child welfare in Illinois could look tomorrow.

On this page:

• Placement Support Program
• Foster Home Recruitment Program
• Springboard to Adulthood Program
• Special Families Program
• Let It Be Us Recruitment, Matching and Placement Metrics

Our Open Home Navigator Program offers placement resources swiftly and effectively, locating appropriate and open foster homes for youth in emergent need and those who are challenging to place. This program thoughtfully identifies homes rapidly, sometimes in minutes and hours, rather than days, weeks, or not at all. Our Open Home Navigator is used by investigators and caseworkers needing to make placements quickly and agencies managing group homes with youth in need of step down placement resources. This program is utilized by workers at private agencies (POS agencies) as well as DCFS. Our mobile friendly platform is available 24/7.

We provide open and appropriate foster home resources for:

• Congregate care cases in need of step down resources
• Cases for youth just entering foster care
• Emergency foster care
• Traditional foster are
• Specialized foster care
• Therapeutic foster care

Our Open Home Navigator Program is able to:

• Provide faster and stronger placements, improving permanency
• Alleviates shelter capacity
• Alleviates congregate care capacity
• Alleviates strain on DCFS and agency staff

Achieve stronger outcomes today and discuss your agency working with LIBU please contact Susan McConnell, Founder & Executive Director of Let It Be Us, at susanmcconnell@letitbeus.org or 847.528.2044.

We contract with Partner Agencies to provide recruitment expertise and our contribution of efficiency and cost-effectiveness save them time and resources while allowing them to reach their recruitment goals. We embrace Diligent Recruitment and all of our staff have been trained and certified in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by Northwestern University.

This program operates via: 

• Our proprietary database of 1,000+ Illinois licensed foster homes
• Technology driven search tools based on demographics and location
• Geo mapping technology used to locate homes within zip code radius – FAST
• Illinois Waiting Children’s Gallery on our website 
• Publications – reaching thousands – Wednesday’s Waiting Children distributed multiple times each week

To learn more about this program, please contact Vanessa Baie, Director of Child Welfare Services at vanessabaie@letitbeus.org or Susan McConnell, Executive Director, at susanmcconnell@letitbeus.org.

Our Foster Home Recruitment Program operates with live events and Zoom webinars almost weekly, recruiting homes for teens, sibling groups, behavioral special needs, medical special needs, and more. Each recruited home is assisted at point of entry by a licensing coach, vetting the family/home, helping them navigate the system, and identifying the right agency and making direct referrals. The goal is to improve diligent recruitment efforts by increasing the number of licensed foster homes with the type of homes that are needed. 

This program serves all POS agencies and DCFS offices and operates under a contract with some agencies. 

To learn more about this program watch the On-Demand webinar linked below or contact Cathy Newbury, Director of Foster Care Recruitment at cathynewbury@letitbeus.org. 

Our Springboard to Adulthood Program focuses on providing permanency for young people ages 15-23, filling a significant need for young people who are in foster care and are at risk for aging out of the system without a family or permanent support system. This program is managed by a team focused on recruitment of new and licensed homes welcoming teens as well as matching and placement. The program also offers wrap around services for placement retention as well as a focus on mental health, education and employment. 

The Springboard to Adulthood program provides families and family-like structures for teens and young adults appropriate for those living situations. Step-down plans from group homes/congregate living are welcome. 

To learn more about the program, please contact Kendra Wright, Program Coordinator, at kendrawright@letitbeus.org.

Our Special Families Program focuses on providing permanency for youth with special needs and medical complexities, including those experiencing Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and more. This program includes a partnership with Northwestern University Family Care Parenting Lab and is managed by a team focused on recruitment of new and licensed homes welcoming youth with special needs as well as matching and placement. The program also offers support for placement retention. 

To learn more about the program, please contact Erin Janssens at erinjanssens@letitbeus.org.

• Placement Support assists workers in locating licensed and appropriate homes – both specialized and traditional
• Our team hosts multiple live and Zoom foster parent recruitment events per month
• Our database of Illinois licensed foster homes stands at 850+ 
• Our Foster Care Licensing Coaches work with multiple new recruits per month