Let It Be Us, CASA of Lake County to host recruitment event Sept. 17
To address the urgent need for foster parents in Lake County, Let It Be Us, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the care and well-being of youth in Illinois foster care, will hold a free foster parent and Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer recruitment event at 9 a.m. Sept. 17 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Keogh Center, 121 Maple Ave., Libertyville.
At the in-person event, Let It Be Us and the Court Appointed Special Advocates Lake County will inform prospective foster parents about the process to become a licensed foster parent and also how to become a CASA as a day-to-day advocate for children in foster care.
The panel of speakers includes experienced professionals, seasoned foster parents and CASA advocates. CASA of Lake County provides volunteers for each child and youth in foster care in Lake County. CASAs play an important volunteer role, with training and a community of other CASAs involved in each case.
According to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, there are 22,000 children in foster care, up 30% since 2017. Foster parents and CASAs are needed to care for and support children and youth of all ages and stages. Sibling groups, those with special needs, and teens are in particular need of foster homes.
"Lake County is an open foster home desert; there simply aren't enough foster homes available for the number of children who need them," said Susan McConnell, executive director of Let It Be Us.
"As fast as we can recruit families, new children, many in sibling groups, come into care. We need more in Lake County and surrounding communities as well."
McConnell added that Let It Be Us plans to use this recruitment event in Lake County as a model for other counties throughout Illinois.
To register, visit www.letitbeus.org/events.
Launched in 2014, Let It Be Us is a 501(c)3 organization and an Illinois licensed Child Welfare Agency with the mission to inspire foster care and adoption in Illinois.