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Agreement |
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Most of you are aware of the fact that recruitment activities by the Adoption Coalitions have been halted until each coalition signs a new Memorandum of Understanding that satisfies Pat Page and the DCFS legal department. We are happy to tell you that on 5/15/08 Co-chairs, Sylvia Richards and Sharon Stallings and DCFS have reached that agreement. (All parties have received signed copies.)
We wish to point out some specifics of the agreement to save you time and confusion, as many versions have been discussed. We hope that you will understand the process through which we might quickly work together for the remainder of the grant period which ends September 30, 2008. After that time a new partnership must be negotiated.
- The Coalition Co-chairs and the Heart Gallery Director do not want nor require ANY information that is considered "confidential" for the foster children to be photographed and added to our continuously traveling Heart Gallery and Website, www.adoptARkids.org
- The only information needed is first name, gender, age (not birthdates), short personality bio, whether or not to be adopted with siblings, and name of DCFS contact person and city in which the child resides for the purpose of us arranging the professional photos. DCFS staff or the foster parent will be responsible for transporting the child to the pre-arranged photo shoot. Heart Gallery Director, Dia Sawyer, will access the finished photograph, add it to the Heart Gallery and recruit for prospective families for that child.
- DCFS will identify ALL children with TPR for whom an appeal is not likely and do not have a prospective family (*see note below), unless a therapist documents that the child is not ready for adoption.
- We will not "solicit information on children in other geographic areas; however, if other areas request assistance from the Coalition, then the Coalition may assist. This assistance may include placing a child from another area on the Coalition's website or Heart Gallery." This provision would continue to allow us to serve those child who are sometimes "court ordered" to be put on a Heart Gallery that has a minimum of services that include billboard, magazines, and website exposure, which our Area VIII Coalition already provides.
- This agreement does not require that we get involved in any possible internal DCFS investigation.
NOTE: Another new development is the May 12 rollout of merged and/or revised forms to streamline the Adoption and Foster Care application process. All forms, even State Police and local Criminal Background checks, can be used for either foster or adopt and do not have to be accessed twice. The application is no longer redundant. There is a mandatory checklist of required documents for each child's file; an Essential Communication and Coordination document that has required deadlines; and most exciting, there is a Foster Parent Request for Consideration to Adopt form CFS-489 that has* the deadline of being completed before the Post-Termination staffing (to be held within 10 working days of TPR)--no more indecision/confusion as to IF the foster parent "intends" to adopt or not.
Sylvia Richards and Sharon Stallings
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