Almost 500 kids are in foster care in Central Illinois.   Approximately 250 teen parents are currently trying to raise their children, and most of them are raising them without support.  Over 400 kids have been adopted out of foster care in Central Illinois, and many of them came to their forever families with long histories of abuse and neglect.

These are the children and families for which the Family Service Center is caring.  They are sibling groups of 6 who are apart from their mother for the first time for the holidays.  They are teen mothers who have no place to live and move from couch to couch each week with their baby.  They are courageous families who have welcomed wonderful children with difficult pasts into their families, and who now need help.  

Family Service Center combines our 150 years of history with innovative and financially efficient approaches to answer the needs of our clients. We have created new programs to respond to the increased number of children removed from their community in order to receive needed mental health treatment. We have received grants for an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant to support our teen parents and increase our capacity to manage such complicated cases. And we have collaborated with social service agencies around our community to work together for our common clients.

You can join us and help further our mission to strengthen our community here in Central Illinois. You can help us today by becoming a volunteer. We need volunteers to work with each of our programs – teaching teenaged mothers, organizing clothes for foster children, or answering phones and greeting parents who come to visit their children. 

We also need financial support.  Without help from the community, we will not have the funds to replace the van we have used for years for transportation. We are currently raising funds for a new van to transport our teenaged parents to group, as well as the large sibling groups in foster care when the have visits with their parents. By becoming a member and financial supporter, you can keep our programs going. And you can also become part of a wonderful agency. 

Family Service Center prides itself on honest assessments and a positive outlook – our community is not perfect, but by joining us, you can become part of the solution.