Gift Allows Organization to Recruit Foster Parents, Match Children with Foster Homes

Let It Be Us, focused on helping children and teens in Illinois foster care, today announced expanded efforts to help children with special needs, funded by the Foglia Family Foundation.

Funded with a multi-year gift, the initiative covers the recruitment of foster and adoptive families and placement for children with special needs in Illinois foster care. Let It Be Us, a 501c3 licensed child welfare agency, will immediately begin recruiting foster families and assist agency caseworkers with placement for children with Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy and other complex medical needs. Efforts will include recruiting new foster parents, helping place children with these needs in homes and partnering with organizations to support the children and foster families. Additionally, Let It Be Us will fund home modifications to otherwise qualified families who are able to care for children with specialized needs.

“This grant allows us to niche down and focus on the children with special needs, recruiting parents that have expertise with these special needs, and those who are interested in parenting them both short and long-term,” said Susan McConnell, Executive Director of Let It Be Us. “Let It Be Us has found great success helping caseworkers place kids in homes and we look forward to expanding those efforts.”

Currently, there are 22,000 youth in the Department of Children and Family Services care, and many with complex medical needs.

“This aligns perfectly with our longtime support of the Down Syndrome community and other organizations that provide care to those with special needs,” said Vince Foglia, Founder of the Foglia Family Foundation.

Added Pat Foglia, of the Foglia Family Foundation, “We are learning that there is a great need to find foster and adoptive parents for these special children and are honored to be a part of the solution.”

The funding supports an expansion of the Let It Be Us Foster Parent Recruitment and Placement Support Programs. These programs both recruit new foster families and assists caseworkers who cannot locate foster homes for waiting children by referring open and available licensed foster families so that children end up in homes rather than institutions, shelters or caseworker’s offices. Let It Be Us, founded in 2014, assists agencies throughout Illinois locate homes for children in foster care via a database of available, licensed foster parents coupled with targeted search tools throughout the state. In 2021, the organization assisted with more than 265 cases in Illinois and hosted more than 700 individuals interested in becoming licensed foster parents at informational foster care webinars.

Let It Be Us focuses on finding licensed foster homes as they provide the greatest opportunity for a stable childhood for a child in foster care. Placement in a licensed foster home is also the safest and most affordable alternative for a child in foster care.

About Let It Be Us

Let It Be Us is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the landscape of foster care and adoption in Illinois. Our mission is to inspire foster care and adoption so more children in care grow up in stable, healthy homes. Funds raised will go to programs that build the strong and innovative bridge between our waiting children and foster and adoptive parents. Learn more at letitbeus.org