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              Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
FFY 2012 Annual Progress and Services Report
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suggests that the Department still has a lot of work to do to educate the community about the
Department’s licensing standards and how to meet those standards. The Asian American
Advisory Council continues to advocate for the initial plan, emphasizing that the Department
employ a full time Asian Affairs staff to ensure that the Department continues to make progress
on this plan and that the Department continues to coordinate and capitalize on the components of
the plan.
Recruiting & Maintaining Homes for Children of Native American Descent
The Illinois American Indian Child Welfare Advocacy program includes two full-time Native
American advocates on staff who are active in their community. The program works to ensure
100% compliance with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) including identification of,
and advocacy for, American Indian/Alaska Native children and their families. Ongoing
recruitment of Native American foster homes is a critical component in providing culturally
appropriate services to children and families of Native heritage.
Barriers to recruitment of Native American foster families include reported ambivalence/distrust
of formal governmental entities among Native Americans due to their recent and historical past,
as well as a lack of formal hierarchal structure for recruitment of prospective families throughout
the State. While there have been several families identified as Native American who had
expressed an interest in becoming licensed foster care providers in the past year, none of these
families completed the licensure process. The ICWA program has made efforts to re-engage
these families by contacting them directly and attempting to re-connect them with their regional
licensing representatives. The program is also planning an informational luncheon in the Chicago
area within the community in the spring of 2012 and will include a DCFS licensing
representative, as well as ICWA program staff, to better explain the licensure process and to
address any concerns that might be serving as barriers to completion of the licensure process by
Native American families. Efforts will continue to support and engage prospective foster
families and continue outreach efforts with other members of the Native American community.
The ICWA program supported by DCFS continues to focus on the recruitment and development
of Native American foster homes through the following:
 ICWA advocates participate in weekly outreach activities within the Native American
community. These activities include volunteer work at the American Indian Center,
American Indian Association of Illinois, Kateri Spiritual Center (formerly Anawim)
American Indian Health Center, as well as participation in major Native American events
including the annual largest Mid-west Pow-wow sponsored by the American Indian
Center.
 The ICWA program continues to collaborate with other Native American programs
within the State acting in a volunteer tutor role with children served through the
American Indian Association of Illinois and ongoing collaborative work with the Chicago
Public School Title VII program, which serves Native American students and their
families within the Chicago Public School district.
 A foster care brochure targeted specifically at recruitment of Native American foster
homes was developed in 2010 and continues to be used at community events and ICWA
presentations.