The Department of Children and Family Services embraces the philosophy that children grow better in families and support this by keeping children close to their families whenever possible through neighborhood foster care. Their programs have the goal of stabilizing and reuniting families that have been weakened through poverty, illness or crisis, resulting in neglect of abuse to children.
Four Imperatives
- Children who cannot be protected within their own home must be removed.
- We must reduce the number of children who come into custody unnecessarily.
- Children must be placed in the most family-like setting which can meet their needs.
- All children must have a time-limited permanency plan.
These imperatives will inform our decisions, drive our work, and guide our steps.
