“Hope itself is like a star — not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity.” – 18th Century preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon Over the past year, we’ve all experienced much adversity as a result of the pandemic: as a nation, an agency, and in […]

  Tara Dull, LCSW Adoptions Worker Social Work is important because its core principles focus on addressing social problems and injustice as well as respecting the inherent dignity and worth of each person. The Social Work Code of Ethics has always been important for our country. Given the unrest and polarization over the last few […]

  Laurie Lawton, LCSW Director of Adoptions I believe social work is important because we provide services to our clients at pivotal moments in their lives. A prospective adoptive family may have experienced infertility, yet longs to become parents to a child. An expectant mother is experiencing an unintended pregnancy and needs support to determine […]

  Sarah O’Connor, LCPC Northern Region Clinical Manager I got into counseling for personal reasons, like having a traumatic childhood and wishing there was someone there to help me get through it. It made me sad thinking there were people out there in the world going through what I once felt, knowing how it could […]

  Julie Blythe, R.N., MSW, LSW, CCTP LCFS Counselor I got into social work because as a former R.N. and an Ordained Presbyterian Minister, I realized that my passion and that which I exceed in is counseling. I was diagnosed with PTSD 6 ½ years ago. I was unable to work and could barely function. […]

  LaTasha Roberson-Guifarro, LCSW Associate Vice President of Strategy & Organizational Excellence, Privacy Officer The social work values of service, importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, competence, integrity and social justice have led my journey over the past decade. I believe we should all aspire to make an indelible impact of […]

  Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois was one of nearly 4,000 nonprofit organizations from all 50 states that signed onto a recent broad coalition letter to Congressional leaders, urging lawmakers to include four essential policy proposals in the next COVID-19 relief legislation. Continue Emergency Funding Programs that provide nonprofits with financial support enabling […]

  The last several weeks and months in the United States have been deeply saddening. As a nation, we’ve witnessed the institutionalized violence against our African American brothers and sisters that occurs every day and has for centuries. With that we’re also seeing justifiable anger, rage and grief being expressed. Lutheran Child and Family Services […]

  By: Brent Diers, LCSW, LCFS Director of Clinical Services If you’re like me, you’ve been wandering through all of those zones in this graphic – back and forth – in the midst of these challenging times.  The feelings of fear, uncertainty and being out of control we all feel right now are familiar and omnipresent […]

  by Brent Diers, LCSW LCFS Director of Clinical Services Safety is first!  While the restrictions related to social distancing can be a great source of anxiety and stress, we must begin by understanding that these are actions each of us is involved in that promote our physical safety.  In the hierarchy of human needs, […]

  To All Families Served by LCFS, Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all those we serve, while maintaining a healthy workplace for our employees. As such, we are closely monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and following the guidelines and recommendations of the CDC (Centers […]

  Tamica Hatchett, MSW, Child Welfare Supervisor Why did you get into social work? When I was a child, my siblings and I were youth in care for seven years. Protective custody was taken after my mother disclosed her issues with addiction and we were placed with my maternal grandmother. In those seven years, I […]

  Roger Fitzgerald-Jackson, Child Welfare Specialist Why did you get into social work? I got into social work because of the support that my family and I received when I was younger. I wanted to support families like mine that needed assistance. Initially, I had wanted to work in criminal justice. However, due to the […]

  Tamara Turner, Child Welfare Specialist Why did you get into social work? I dreamed of being a social worker from a very young age because of my aunt, who I look up to and who has worked for DCFS for more than 25 years. She used to tell me stories of kids whose parents […]

  Kimberly Hutchcraft, Child Welfare Specialist Why did you get into social work? I worked at a factory for nine years and was a single mother raising two boys on my own. My youngest son is bipolar, and I was dealing with his school every day. Some of the school staff didn’t feel supportive of […]

  Susan Radcliff, MSW, LSW, Adoption Supervisor, LCFS Belleville office Why did you get into social work? I got into social work because I wanted to help other families adopt or foster like our family had done. We had five adoption processes, three of which were successful and fostered several children during our adoption journey. […]

  Stephanie Davingman, CADC, LCSW, LMFT, CCT, Clinical Program Manager Why did you get into social work? I have always felt that the world should be fair and social work really strives to deal with injustice in the world. The importance of family drew me to doing counseling in child welfare, and I am able […]

  November is National Adoption Month, and Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois (LCFS) wants to help educate people on the realities of adoption. There are many myths and misconceptions about what adoption looks like in today’s society. CLICK HERE for a helpful resource of five common adoption myths and the realities families should […]

  The Council on Accreditation’s 2019 Innovative Practices Award celebrates LCFS’ Regenerations program as an example of successful innovation in the human services field. Sadly, Illinois has struggled with hundreds of older foster youth in correctional and detention centers that are past their release dates, but stay in jail because they have no place to […]

  Danny entered foster care at age 3 when he and his siblings were removed from their mother’s care due to abuse. During the next 17 years, Danny bounced around from home to home and even spent time in a residential group facility and psychiatric hospitals. During his teens, Danny spent six and a half […]

  Today, Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois (LCFS), the second largest private provider of child welfare services in Illinois, including foster care and adoption, proudly announced that it is being recognized in Celebrating Everyday Change-Makers in Child Welfare — a first-of-its-kind report highlighting more than 70 child welfare agencies across the country that […]

  In May, we celebrate National Foster Care month. As the President and CEO of Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois, one of the largest private child welfare agencies in Illinois, I am saddened to say that our foster care system is in crisis due to a lack of investment. And it is the […]

  Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois was chosen as one of eight member organizations to participate in Lutheran Services in America’s Results Innovation Lab. As a whole, LCFS is strongly committed to the elimination of institutional racism and disparate outcomes for children, youth and families of color. Through the agency’s participation in the […]

  A group of colleagues and I went to see the movie, Instant Family. We were all curious to see how the movie would portray foster care. As employees of Lutheran Child and Family Services, one of the largest private child welfare agencies in Illinois, we have a unique perspective on the topic. Our group […]