Adoption offers a chance at a new beginning for many children cared for by the Department.
Families constitute the building blocks of society.
They provide children with the love and security needed to grow into healthy adults. The Department helps nearly 7,000 adoptable children find new homes each year. Most children placed by DCFS were rescued from homes so abusive or neglectful that it would be unsafe for them to return. In 1997, President Clinton challenged the states to double the number of adoptions and permanent placements in five years. DCFS exceeded the President's challenge in just one year and received the national Adoption 2002 Excellence Award for increasing the number of permanent placements from 2,229 in FY 1997 to 5,422 in FY 98, including 4,293 adoptions and 1,129 subsidized guardianships.