SPRINGFIELD – Access to services available to post-placement and post-adoption children will be expanded thanks to a new law sponsored by State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) that was signed by the governor today.

“As a child of adoption myself, I experienced first-hand the importance of these services to youth in care,” Peters said. “I have been fully committed to improving the lives of youth in care during my time in the Senate, and this new law will give kids who are adopted or placed in foster care a better ability than I had to access the helpful services they require.”

The law, which was House Bill 3587, will:

• add mental health treatment, counseling and support services for emotional, behavioral, or developmental needs, and treatment for substance abuse to the definition of “post-placement and post-adoption services”;
• expand the requirements of the Department of Children and Family Services to establish and maintain accessible services;
• require DCFS to establish and maintain a toll-free number to respond to public requests about the service; and
• require DCFS to properly publicize the new services and the toll-free number.

SPRINGFIELD – Youth who are transitioning out of DCFS care will be eligible to receive support from various state agencies under a measure sponsored by State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) that was signed into law today.

“Former foster children between the ages of 19 and 21 have a significantly higher risk of facing many hardships, including homelessness, substance abuse and incarceration, and often have difficulty receiving a quality education,” Peters said. “If we can offer services to the kids who are at risk of facing these disadvantages, then we can provide them with a much higher quality of life than they otherwise might have.”

Senate Bill 1808 requires many state agencies to enter into an interagency agreement to provide preventative services, including housing support, education support and employment support, to youth who are currently or who soon will be aging out of DCFS care. Agencies affected by the bill include DCFS, the Illinois State Board of Education, The Illinois Urban Development Authority, and the Departments of Human Services, Juvenile Justice, Corrections, Healthcare and Family Services, and Human Services.