One Family Illinois takes a vastly different approach to foster care. We don’t just provide foster care in Chicago and Lockport, we provide a community that surrounds our children with love, nurturing, and support so that they are able to look forward to a better and brighter future. At the core of our community is our Foster Parents.
One Family Illinois trains and employs full-time Foster Parents that care for up to six siblings in a single-family home in one of our three Village communities. As our model of care is unique from other Illinois foster care agencies, so are our passionate and dedicated Foster Parents. If you’d like to become a Foster Parent and are interested in seeing if you’d be a good fit in the One Family Illinois family, you’ll want to consider the following:
What Type of Person Does It Take to Become a Foster Parent at One Family Illinois?
At One Family Illinois, our Foster Parents are full-time and fully committed to providing a loving, safe, and stable environment for the children in our care. Because of the uniqueness of our model of care, it’s imperative that our Foster Parents embody these five essential qualities:
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A Heart for Mission
A fitting Foster Parent at One Family Illinois must have our mission embedded in their heart. A successful candidate will show that they are driven to make a difference in the lives of siblings in foster care and are committed to the service of others, especially those in greatest need.
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A Heart for Children
Becoming a Foster Parent with One Family Illinois isn’t just a job, it’s a lifestyle change; one that requires full-time, loving interaction with children. Someone who shows desire and excitement for working with youth, including those healing from trauma or with behavioral concerns, might be the perfect fit for the role.
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A Willingness to Relocate
Central to our model of foster care is the Village, where Foster Parents and children live within a community surrounded by supportive services and resources. All Foster Parent applicants must be willing to relocate to one of our three Villages in Chicago or Lockport.
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Creative Parenting and Style of Care
As an One Family Illinois Foster Parent, individuals or couples are required to attend trainings and workshops geared towards developing and enhancing parenting skills. Successful Foster Parent applicants would be able to apply the skills gained in these trainings in creative, adaptable methods suited to the unique needs of the children in their home.
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A Desire for Village Living and Community
The Village model at One Family Illinois sets our style of foster care apart by creating a supportive and well-connected network for children, Foster Parents, and staff. Those most suited to serve as Foster Parents would be passionate about community-living and willing to learn from and offer knowledge to those working and living among them.
The Difference Made When You Become a Foster Parent
Children in foster care are in great need of nurturing, loving Foster Parents that provide them the opportunity for a bright future they might not otherwise achieve. By your desire to become a Foster Parent through One Family Illinois, you offer the children in our care much more than a stable parental figure.
- Your time as a Foster Parent helps our children to grow into caring and productive adults.
- You’re able to contribute to their well-being on multiple levels by working with our Village Staff and the biological parents.
- As a Foster Parent, you provide a stable, loving, and safe home life for children in our care that helps them overcome their devastating pasts and look forward to their bright futures.
Resources To Ensure Your Success as a Foster Parent
As our Foster Parents at One Family Illinois are the foundation of our model of care, we want to ensure your success when you become a Foster Parent. Part of your success depends on the resources we are able to provide to you, and we take the supplying of those resources very seriously so that we are able to give you and our children in foster care the best chance possible. Resources provided to our Foster Parents are:
- Training before and after children are placed with you
- An annual salary
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Contributions to a retirement plan after one year of service
- Housing, including utilities
- Use of an One Family Illinois vehicle
- A household budget for food and other expenses for the children in your Village home. In addition, our Foster Parents receive eight hours of relief per week, where children are cared for by an One Family Illinois Relief Parent. Group activities and events are also planned for entertainment and enrichment.
Review the full list of requirements to become a Foster Parent with One Family Illinois. If you decide it might be the right fit for you, we encourage you to fill out our Foster Parent Questionnaire.
See how our mission to provide a community of hope for children in foster care is raising the bar for Illinois foster care agencies.