The Center for Child Welfare and Adoption Studies
History of the Center
The Center for Child Welfare and Adoption Studies was established in 1998 [1] as the “Center for Adoption Studies” at the request of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) to evaluate Illinois’ “Adoption Preservation Program”- a ten-year longitudinal study of adoption outcomes. IDCFS sought the expertise of School of Social Work faculty members Jeanne Howard and Susan Smith in particular, because of their national reputation for producing high quality research on children and families served by IDCFS, including a benchmark study on adoption disruption published in early 1991.
While the Center’s initial charge focused on Illinois children who have experienced adoption from foster care, its mission has expanded over the years to examine child and family outcomes from foster care services, supports for child well-being, equity in child welfare policy and practice, college readiness outcomes for children in foster care, and professional development for non-profit administrators and practitioners. Specific initiatives over the years to include the following activities:
- Research, policy analyses, and programming to support children and families receiving a continuum of family preservation, foster care and adoption services;
- Training and evidence-based practices for foster and adoptive families;
- Couples support for adoptive families;
- Policy recommendations and resources for LGBTQIA foster and adoptive families;
- Community-centered practices to address racial disparities in foster care;
- Educational supports for youth who receive foster care services.
- Professional development and simulated learning for child welfare professionals
Mission and Objectives:
The Center for Child Welfare and Adoption Studies promotes culturally grounded, empirically based research and policy that informs child welfare and adoption practice and improves child and family well-being at the local, state, and national level.
Goal 1: Initiate, implement, and disseminate culturally grounded, applied research and practice innovations that inform public policy and advances child welfare and adoption knowledge.
Goal 2: Provide research, leadership, innovation, and professional development to advance child and family well-being.
Goal 3: Provide a laboratory for students and University faculty that enables them to engage in research, teaching, programming, and service learning related to child welfare service, adoption practice, and access to higher education.
Goal 4: Engage collaboratively with educators, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers to promote child and family well-being with a special focus on vulnerable and marginalized populations.
Goal 5: Serve as a source of information and resources for local, national, and international human service leaders and higher education stakeholders who are charged with addressing pressing issues within our society.
For more on the Center for Child Welfare and Adoption Studies
Dr. Doris Houston
309-438-2538
Dr. Deneca Winfrey-Avant
309-438-4498