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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

You Don't Have to Be Perfect to be the Perfect Foster Parent

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Wednesday, May 21, 2014   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Thousands of Illinoisans open their homes and hearts each year to care for children going through a difficult time in their lives. May is National Foster Care Month, and foster parents across the state are being recognized for the sacrifices they make for kids who cannot remain with their biological families.

Many people have "what it takes" to be a foster parent but may not realize it, said Karen Hawkins, deputy director for communications for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

"You don't have to be married to be a foster parent," she said. "You don't have to have kind of this 'perfect life.' You need to have somewhere for the child to stay. You need to have a background check, of course; we have regulations for it. But you don't need to be perfect to be the perfect foster parent."

More than 11,000 licensed foster homes are in Illinois, but about 15,000 children in the state are in need of foster care. Hawkins encouraged any adult who thinks he or she might have the time and resources to become a foster parent to reach out to the Department of Children and Family Services to learn more.

Besides the financial resources, she said, there are a lot of supports for people willing to become foster parents.

"We have a Foster Parent Advisory Council that meets regularly in different regions of the state, and they are really good about getting together, bonding with each other," she said. "They gather best practices, they talk about some of the challenges they are all facing and kind of different ways to navigate the systems."

Hawkins said it does take a special person to not only care for a child who may have been abused or neglected but also to support him or her during their transition to foster care. The goal is to help children return to their biological parents, but adoptive families are sought for those who can't go home. Hawkins said some children end up finding a permanent home with their foster family.

More information on fostering is online at state.il.us/dcfs.


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