Illinois is the 6th most populous state in the United States with a total population of approximately 12.8 million people. Cook County, which includes the city of Chicago, has a population of more than five million. Illinois is both urban and rural and has 102 counties which comprise the four regions designated by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS). These regions include:
- Cook which is divided into three sub regions: Cook Central; Cook North; and Cook South
- Northern Region which includes the Chicago area collar counties as well as more rural counties
- Central Region which is predominantly rural and smaller urban areas and includes the University of Illinois
- Southern Region which is mostly rural with small urban areas that are not within close proximity to one another.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services will be implementing the NTDC curriculum in the pilot sites identified above: Cook Central and Northern Regions. Cook Central represents the central area of Cook County and has offices in Chicago and in Maywood, a Chicago suburb. Northern Region is made up of 17 counties and includes both the Chicago collar counties as well as the remainder of the northern third of the state, and has offices throughout the area including: Rockford, Aurora, DeKalb, Elgin, Freeport, Glen Ellyn, Joliet, Kankakee, Sterling, Waukegan and Woodstock. These regions were chosen in order to provide a balanced illustration of the state’s urban and rural population. Additionally, these two sites currently represent the greatest volume of foster and adoptive parents being trained, the greater number of families who seek in-person versus on-line training as an option, and trainers with a higher capacity to assist in implementing and managing the initiative. Geographically, IDCFS selected office sites that are more easily accessed and will require less travel barriers for all involved. Selection was also based on the number of other initiatives each region is currently implementing. Sites able to offer a better level of involvement were given preference.
Illinois is unique in that more than 85% of its array of foster care services are provided by purchase of service licensed private agencies throughout the state. Some of these agencies are larger and provide the delivery of statewide child welfare services while others may only provide these services in more limited geographic areas. Most of the private agencies choose to send their families to IDCFS sponsored trainings. Within the pilot sites, all families who enroll in one of the IDCFS’s regionally offered training sessions, whether IDCFS or private agency families, will received the NTDC curriculum.
For more information about the NTDC project in Illinois , please contact: Michelle Grove ,Assistant Permanency Administrator/Deputy Contract Administrator, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, at Michelle.Grove@illinois.gov
