For emergency housing for children and adolescents 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, please call:

847.255.8060

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Our Mission

Helping and protecting children who are abused, neglected, dependent or in need of supervision.  We do this by:

Community Partner

Foster Parent Support

Shelter recognizes the importance of foster parents as part of the foster care team and the need for support services.  This page was established to provide our current foster parents with information they might need in addition to the support they receive from Shelter staff.

If you would like Shelter to add to this page information that would be of help to you, please submit your suggestion to your caseworker, or send an e-mail to shelter@shelter-inc.org.

Foster Parent Training

Training Credits for License Renewal

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) requires each foster parent to complete sixteen hours of training prior to renewing their foster care license every four years.  There are various ways that Shelter, Inc. foster parents may complete the required training.

Shelter, Inc. seminars and foster parent trainings.  Attend seminars and trainings given by Shelter’s Community Education or Foster Care departments.

DCFS in-service training programs.  Click here to access a list of training modules and schedules, or call Shelter's licensing specialist at 847.590.6190, ext. 35.  Foster parents may register for the classes by calling 1.877.800.3393.

DCFS lending library.  To request items from the lending library, mail or fax the request form found in the Lending Libraries Catalog for Illinois Foster & Adoptive Parents to:

Online courses.  Take courses at Adoption Learning Partners or at Foster Care and Adoptive Community.

Your local library.  Check out information on foster parenting, adoption, child development and parenting, behavioral disorders, discipline methods, or related materials from your local library.  To receive credit for the books or videos you review, please fill out a Foster Parent Training Credit Approval Form and submit it to Shelter’s licensing specialist.

If you need Adobe^® Reader to view, save and/or print the documents (PDFs) mentioned above, download a free copy of the software by clicking here: 

Educational Advocacy Requirement

Before the date of your first foster care license renewal, DCFS requires that at least one foster parent in your home attend educational advocacy class, which is offered at the end of Foster/Adopt PRIDE Pre-Service Training.  The class certifies foster parents to participate in their foster child’s individual education plan (IEP) if he or she is enrolled in special education.  If foster parents elect not to take the educational advocacy class at the end of PRIDE training, both DCFS and the College of DuPage offer this course as a stand-alone class.

Links^*

Adoption Information Center of Illinois (AICI) facilitates the placement of children waiting to be adopted and helps sustain adoptive families.

Adoptive Families Magazine Web site has a number of links of interest to adoptive families and families who want to adopt.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) aids in the understanding and treatment of the developmental, behavioral, and mental disorders that affect children and adolescents.

Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is an association of over 1,000 public and private nonprofit agencies that assist abused and neglected children and their families through a wide range of services.

Illinois Adoption Registry provides a means by which registrants may authorize or prohibit the release of identifying information to others involved in their surrender or adoption.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is Illinois's state child welfare agency.

Illinois Foster Adoptive Parent Association (IFAPA) provides support, education and advocacy to foster parents.  The organization keeps up-to-date on new laws, rules, regulations and funding proposed by DCFS or the Illinois state legislature.

Illinois Parents helps link parents to local programs, services, and community agencies to support them in their roles as primary caregivers and major contributors to their children's growth, development, and learning.

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is a nonprofit, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses.

National Foster Parent Association (NFPA) is a non-profit, volunteer organization whose mission is to support foster parents in achieving safety, permanence and well-being for the children and youth in their care.

National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides a wide variety of resources related to the biomedical and health sciences, including searchable databases and databanks, bibliographic citations, full text (when available), archival collections, and images.

National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) gives help and hope to youth and their families by providing non-judgmental, confidential crisis intervention and local and national referrals through a 24-hour hotline.

North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting adoptive parents, promoting adoption awareness, informing adoption professionals, and helping children find permanent homes.

Tapestry Books is a source for books about adoption.

Voices for Illinois Children works with families, communities and policymakers to help children in Illinois reach their full potential.

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