In The News

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Local couple shares adoption journey for National Adoption Month

November 26, 2024

We’re thrilled to share that LCFS Adoption Social Worker Lori Lynch was featured in WAND-TV’s heartwarming story about Daniel and Holly Turkowski’s adoption journey in honor of National Adoption Month! It’s a joy to support families like the Turkowskis as they grow through the gift of adoption. Click here to watch their story.

Letters to the Editor: No two adoption stories are the same

November 1, 2024

As adoptive parents, National Adoption Month is a time to celebrate the beauty of adoption, while recognizing that it’s a lifelong journey. Adoption doesn’t end when a child comes home; it continues through every stage of life, bringing with it questions, struggles, and moments of deep connection. Children who were adopted may seek answers about their past and connections to ...

Celebrating National Adoption Month: A Lifelong Journey of Love and Support

November 1, 2024

This November, join families across the nation in celebrating National Adoption Month—a time to recognize adoption as a beautiful and complex journey that lasts a lifetime. Adoption is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process filled with questions, challenges, and profound moments of love and connection. As adoptive families navigate this journey, it is crucial they have a strong ...

LETTER: Honoring Illinois foster parents

May 2, 2024

During National Foster Care month, let’s take a break from the challenges facing Illinois’ child welfare system to instead spotlight the unsung heroes of Illinois: our foster parents and child welfare staff. Amidst public narratives that can overshadow their efforts, these individuals work tirelessly to support children who have been traumatized by abuse and/or neglect. They embody compassion, resilience, and ...

Foster care is a labor of love

May 1, 2024

This May, Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois (LCFS) recognizes National Foster Care Month, a time to acknowledge foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and other members of the community who help children and youth in foster care feel safe, loved and find permanent homes. According to the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services ...

Voice of the People: March is National Social Work Month

March 2, 2024

National Social Work Month is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the crucial roles social workers perform that we might otherwise miss. Social workers often serve on the front line of the mental health workforce, providing counseling and working closely with mental health professionals, alerting them when people are in crisis. Increasingly, mental health challenges have been adversely affecting ...

LCFS launches Best Start for Families

December 1, 2023

Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois (LCFS) is thrilled to announce the launch of its innovative new program, Best Start for Families. This experiential training model provides families with the necessary motivation, tools and skills to navigate the challenges of parenting successfully. The “Best Start for Families-A Health Equity Approach” curriculum is based on the International Child Development Program ...

Accepted, secure and unconditionally loved

May 24, 2023

As we celebrate 150 years of service, we want you to know just how important you are to us and more importantly the circle of support that surrounds the children and families we serve. You don’t have to help. But you do. You choose to lift up children and families during their time of need. And for that we say ...

Harvard case study highlights LCFS’ racial equity work

December 20, 2022

The case study “Disruption is in our DNA: Lutheran Services in America and the Results Innovation Lab” chronicles how Lutheran Services in America is fundamentally challenging the status quo through innovation and collaboration and features initiatives by member organizations to close disparities for children, youth and families and change outcomes in the child welfare system. The study was produced by ...

What Does Open Adoption Look Like?

November 10, 2022

The term open adoption is often still misunderstood outside of the adoption world. In simple terms, an open adoption is one in which the expectant parents identify who they want to adopt their child, begin to form a relationship with them, and then after placement they have some level of mutually agreed upon contact with the adoptive family and child. ...