Gigi’s Playhouse is a national organization whose achievement centers provide programming and support for children with Down Syndrome and their families.

Let It Be Us is partnering with Gigi’s Playhouse, a national organization whose achievement centers provide programming and support for children with Down Syndrome and their families. The vision of Gigi’s Playhouse is to see a world where individuals with Down Syndrome are accepted and embraced in their families, schools, and communities. The vision of Let It Be Us is to see that every child in foster care is in a family that provides life-long support. To that end, the organizations are working together to ensure that children in foster care in need, either through foster care or through adoption, are given every opportunity to be placed in the best homes possible.  There will be an informative Zoom webinar for current foster parent, future foster parents, and foster care and adoption professionals. All are welcome on Tuesday, April 26, at 7:00pm. Registration is below.  

Let It Be Us, a 501(c)3 nonprofit and licensed child welfare agency, will immediately begin recruiting foster and adoptive families and assist agency caseworkers with placement for children with Down Syndrome.  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. 

These efforts will also extend to the community of children in foster care with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and other complex medical needs. 

Let It Be Us is hosting an informational webinar to learn about the program and to explore the possibilities of foster care and adoption on Tuesday, April 26, at 7:00 pm. All are welcome, including interested parents, foster care and adoption leaders, agency leaders, social workers, medical professionals, and Down Syndrome professionals. The guest speaker is Dr. Margaret Scotellaro, Medical Director for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Dr. Scotellaro will speak on foster care, adoption and the needs with respect to children in Illinois foster care with special needs, including Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and others.  Register for this event here. Dr. Scotellaro is also a pediatrician and a parent of a child with Down Syndrome. 

This work is provided via a multi-year grant by the Foglia Family Foundation. “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.”

“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.”  

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.

Registration for this free event on Tuesday, April 26 at 7:00pm may be done HERE.

About Dr. Margaret Scotellaro

Dr. Margaret Scotellaro is a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at Rush University Children’s Hospital and is the Medical Director for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois in Urbana and completed her medical degree, pediatric residency, and chief residency at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Scotellaro is board certified in General Pediatrics and Child Abuse Pediatrics with special interests in foster care, child advocacy, and youth with special healthcare needs.

Margaret and her husband, who is also a pediatrician, became foster parents in 2002 in Nevada and obtained their medically specialized license in Illinois in 2004. They are parents to 5 amazing children, 4 of whom are adopted through foster care, including their youngest daughter with Down Syndrome.

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