Social Work Breaks Barriers
Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois (LCFS of Illinois), a community-based social service organization, is helping celebrate this year's Social Work Month in March with the theme "Social Work Breaks Barriers." The theme highlights how social workers have enriched our society by empowering people and communities to overcome hurdles that prevent them from living life to the fullest.
Social workers have always broken barriers when it comes to the services they provide in an array of sectors, including hospitals and mental health centers, federal, state and local government, schools, community centers, and social service agencies. They have helped drive significant, positive changes in our nation.
Today, social work organizations, like LCFS of Illinois, continue to work to break barriers for the betterment of the most vulnerable in our society.
LCFS of Illinois recognizes that racial inequities present within Illinois' child welfare system are resulting in disparate outcomes for children and families of color. Through a focused and strategic plan of action, the organization is impacting the inequities that children and families of color are facing by decreasing the median length of stay in foster care by 45% and increasing the permanency rate by 17%.
LCFS of Illinois is continuing to look for ways to improve these outcomes further, but has also begun to look at how they can change the system to decrease the number of children and families entering foster care. The organization's leadership is focusing on how to strengthen families by helping them break through economic, psychological and other barriers so they can provide better care for their children.
"In my more than 30 years of social services experience, including when I briefly worked as an investigator for DCFS, I never met parents who didn't love their children and want what was best for them," explained LCFS of Illinois President and CEO Mike Bertrand. "Unfortunately, families often face challenges beyond their control that lead to children having to be removed from their care, but poverty should never be the reason."
In 2021, 64% of allegations made to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services were due to neglect, unrelated to abuse. The system is often not effective at distinguishing between intentional neglect and neglect due to inequitable community conditions. Children shouldn't have to endure the trauma of being separated from their families because they lack the resources to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter or medical care. Instead, our state needs to create a system where families experiencing poverty are supported within their communities, which research shows will reduce the number of children entering foster care.
"It is our vision at LCFS of Illinois to focus on expanding preventative services for children and families that can be accessed without coming into contact with the child welfare system," shared Bertrand. "If families are given the opportunities and resources to meet their basic needs, they are more likely to break the barriers of poverty and reach their potential."
This Social Work Month and beyond, let's begin building a future where families can receive the supports they need within their communities because Illinois will only succeed when all its children and families thrive.
ABOUT LUTHERAN CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES OF ILLINOIS (LCFS of Illinois)
Lutheran Children and Family Services of Illinois (LCFS of Illinois) is a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing and strengthening children and families in need. After 150 years, LCFS has grown into one of the largest community-based child welfare agencies in Illinois with programs including foster care, adoption, counseling and preventative services. LCFS has regional sites in Chicago, Belleville, Decatur, Joliet, Kankakee, Mt. Vernon, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Quincy and Springfield. For information, visit www.lcfs.org.