Illinois

Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill that would set up exit interviews for youth after they leave a foster home.

According to federal data, the number of children in foster care dropped in 2020 nationwide and in almost every state. Illinois was an exception.

A new study of young people who have been in foster care and are enrolled at community colleges in Illinois paints a dismal picture of their educational success.

Miquel Lewis has been named acting director of juvenile probation in the nation's second most populated county, Cook County, Illinois.

For years, foster children in Illinois have had to stay in psychiatric treatment facilities longer than necessary because there are no suitable placements for them.

Illinois youth in juvenile facilities may no longer be thrown into isolation or room confinement as a punishment for their behavior.

Illinois will beef up services and existing mandatory training for staff members, partner organizations and foster care providers to improve how LGBTQ people are treated within the child welfare system.

Illinois teachers and others who look after children in a nonparental role may soon have to be taught how to recognize and eliminate their own racial and ethnic biases as mandated reporters of potential child abuse and neglect.

Four years after the Illinois formally committed to honoring the rights of LGBTQ youth in its care, an audit released this month found little evidence that it lived up to its initial promises.