Illinois lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that will require foster care officials to prioritize placing children with relatives. The bill, known as the Kindship in Demand Act, or KIND Act, aims to provide a more stable and supportive environment for children in foster care.
A bill soon heading to Gov. JB Pritzker's desk would direct foster care officials in Illinois to prioritize placing children with relatives. The House voted unanimously on Monday to pass the Kindship in Demand Act, or KIND Act. House Bill 4781 puts an obligation on the Department of Children and Family Services to use a 'kin-first approach' when placing children in foster care settings.
Lawmakers and advocates said it's better for children to be placed with a family member or another person close to the child when possible. 'If we can stabilize 10 or 12 kids, we're going to change somebody's community,' Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, told the House Adoption and Child Welfare Committee on Sunday.The approach ultimately will allow the state more access to federal funds, Nora Collins-Mandeville from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois told the committee Sunday. Currently, the state reimburses family members for care costs, but once they become certified under the new bill, the state can get more federal funding to cover those expenses. Like most other state agencies, DCFS faced challenges during a two-year budget impasse that ended in 2017 and strained the system's funding and ability to promptly place children in care settings. The Pritzker administration has ramped up funding for the agency, but former DCFS director Marc Smith was found by a Cook County judge in contempt of court multiple times in 2022 for failing to find adequate placements for foster care children, some of whom were residing in psychiatric hospitals beyond medical need. An appellate court later vacated the contempt citations. Rep. Steve Reick, R-Woodstock, said Monday that state lawmakers and DCFS' new director, Heidi Mueller, have taken a different approach in recent year
Foster Care Family Placement KIND Act Illinois Child Welfare
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