Illinois Department of Children and Family Services

DCFS has the primary responsibility of protecting children and strengthening families through the investigation and intervention of suspected child abuse or neglect by parents and other caregivers.

Over the last four years, DCFS received more than one million calls to our Child Abuse Hotline, providing services to help children remain safely in their homes whenever possible. When children must be removed from the home and reunification is simply not an option, DCFS is equally committed to promoting adoption by loving families to provide children with the permanent, safe, and nurturing homes they need and deserve.

As part of its duties, DCFS also licenses and monitors all Illinois child welfare agencies, domestic and international adoption providers and more than 14,000 day care centers, homes, group homes and day care agencies in the state.