ADOPTION experts and Illinois officials have radically recast state adoption policies since 1981. As a result, the state has been able to help hundreds of children formerly trapped in long-term foster care.

An essential change is the shift in policy to stress permanent living arrangements for the nearly 1,200 state wards who are free for adoption. The state's previous over-concern for the rights of parents was moderated to favor, instead, the rights of children, particularly their right to a secure family environment. Illinois' new practice, therefore, is to more readily terminate parental rights in response to documented severe parental abuse, neglect or abandonment of children. Prompt adoption proceedings increasingly result.

Results are, indeed, impressive: 68 percent more state wards were adopted last year than two years before (in fiscal year 1981). Meanwhile the number of children who have been in substitute care for more than two years declined from 6,196 in fiscal year 1980 to 4,132 in fiscal 1983.

Responsible for obtaining these improved adoption numbers is the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). The department carries most of the burden in securing adoptions for state wards and terminating parent's rights (including the rights of visitation, financial support, name and, usually, inheritance).

Insiders at DCFS say most of the key policy changes have been subtle and that the goals in adoption work remain the same — at least on paper. "Our first goal has always been to attempt to reunite the family, as long as it's feasible," says Dr. J. C. Barrett, adoption unit coordinator for DCFS in the Springfield area. "But our new policy is to compile a file of legal evidence for terminating parental rights when the child first enters the foster care system — just in case the rights eventually must be terminated — so we can have a complete case assembled quickly that can convince a judge."

An increase in DCFS staff is as important as any policy shift in terms of the agency's ability to terminate parents' rights when necessary. A supplemental appropriation of $433,100 in 1981 permitted DCFS to hire 11 new staff attorneys (one in each regional office), plus 57 other new full-time adoption workers. The attorneys help caseworkers to prepare for court hearings and fill out the legal forms on adoption and parental rights termination. With this new help and recent bulldozings of legal roadblocks, the way was cleared for 849 youngsters to be "freed for adoption" in fiscal year 1983, a 25 percent increase over the previous year: 677 children were freed in fiscal 1982, 595 in fiscal 1981 and just 458 in fiscal year 1980.

The significant legal changes include implementation of much of the "model adoption act" proposed by a recent federal study commission. For instance, a 1981 revision in the state's adoption law gives preference for the first time to foster parents wishing to adopt a child who has already been under their care for 12 months or more (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 40, sec. 1519.1). Another change facilitates the freeing of state wards in the courts by streamlining the process for terminating the rights of unfit natural parents(Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 40, sec 1501 D). The standard of proof of "unfitness" was lowered in such proceedings from "clear and convincing"evidence to "a preponderance" of evidence.

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To free a child, the state no longer need demonstrate diligent but unsuccessful efforts to reunite the child and parents; instead parents must prove their attempts to see and care for the child. Also eliminated was the requirement that an adoptive family be identified before a child could be freed from an unfit parent. "It used to be a kind of 'Catch 22': If no adoptive family was waiting in the wings, you couldn't get a child freed, even one abused, abandoned or neglected by the natural parents," explains DCFS spokesperson Don Schlosser. "Yet it was hard to get an adoptive family interested in making a commitment to a child not yet free for adoption."

In the past, a former DCFS caseworker says, "Many children became captive of tax-supported foster care. There were no real adoption specialists working for DCFS, and no 'adoption units' within the department as now. Social workers handled general caseloads and had little time for the legal morass of adoption work. At that time there was less enthusiasm for pursuing adoption cases in most state's attorneys'offices: "It was just not usable in terms of reelection, unlike, say, a murder conviction."

Schlosser lists "five or six reasons why the number of adoptions is up." Aside from those already discussed, he mentions a new statewide information center, various parent adoption recruitment efforts and a program aimed to boost black adoptions through appeals in black churches. Schlosser also cites a new state law that requires a formal case review every six months on the status of all Illinois children in care outside their homes. DCFS performs the case review via 25 "permanency advocates" statewide. Each advocate conducts nearly 50 case reviews a month, bringing together caseworkers, involved parties and often the parents to discuss recent developments and decide what can be done to provide a permanent living arrangement for the child. At the close of each review the permanency advocate chooses a new living arrangement for the child or reaffirms the existing one. The choice is one of seven options: returning home, remaining at home, placement with a relative, adoption, placement in foster care, independence (for an older child) or (in rare instances) long-term institutional care. "No longer will kids be permitted to drift in foster care while the state shells out more and more money for clothing, room and board with little concern for either the child's psyche or his future," said Gregory L. Coler, DCFS director from 1979 through 1983.

Because permanency is the chief goal of case review, adoption is frequently the decision, according to Susan Seiber, DCFS field office manager in Springfield. Seiber says foster care cannot give the child a sense of lifelong commitment and family care as can adoption. While foster homes offer desperately needed temporary havens, providing shelter, food, clothing and care for nearly 10,000 displaced children in Illinois, they are meant only to assure a home until the child can be returned to his or her natural parents.

The reason a child is separated from his or her parents varies, but in most cases it is parental abuse, neglect or abandonment; only a few parents request foster placement, usually because the child presents unmanageable behavior problems. Right now there are nearly 10,000 Illinois foster children. As of July 1983, 7,943 of these children were in Illinois foster homes; 1,716 resided in institutions, and 320 lived in group homes. About 1,200 of these children are eligible for adoption. Adoption is not always sought for adoptable children, however, because many simply don't want to be adopted (children age 14 or over must consent) or because they have severe disabilities which require care in an institution.

For those children who would like to be permanent members of a family, the prospects can be dim.

While adoptable healthy white babies are in exceedingly short supply, most state wards free for adoption are children with "special needs," characteristics that generally make adoption unlikely. Special needs children include: black children of all ages; white and Latino youngsters over age 10; groups of brothers and sisters who need to be placed together in the same adoptive home; handicapped children (whether mentally or physically disabled); and emotionally troubled children (whether their problems are behavioral — resulting from abuse, neglect or poor parenting — or physical — resulting from hyperactivity).

One DCFS area adoption unit coordinator paints this portrait of the children who are now wards of the state and available for adoption: "Ninety percent have emotional problems and roughly 50 percent have some mental deficiency, usually as the result of a bad early environment. Overall about 50 percent have been abused and 50 percent have been neglected. Less than 2 percent are in the abandoned category, usually only technically — that is, after the system takes in a child, the parents just disappear to avoid the burden."

Most adoptable children live in foster homes, where many languish, bouncing from one foster home to another until adulthood. Often they are behind their age level in school and mistrust adults or are afraid to form attachments. Child psychologists and social workers agree that such a childhood is emotionally damaging.

DCFS Director Coler said he had made adoption one of his highest priorities since taking the helm of the department in 1979. Before Coler came in, DCFS placements had declined steadily due to understaffing, legal roadblocks and lack of coordinated effort and publicity. Under Coler, DCFS has improved the number of finalized adoptions from 555 in fiscal year 1981 to 798 in fiscal year 1982 and 933 in fiscal 1983. (Coler was named in December to be director of the Department of Public Aid.)

These improvements were accomplished with the enthusiastic support of the governor and legislature, who have more than doubled yearly spending for adoption services in the past four years (from below $6 million to more than $12 million). Equally important are

new state efforts over the past three years, which have included: the "One Church, One Child" campaign for adoption of black children; the Adoption Information Center of Illinois, with its toll-free hotline; the changes in the state adoption laws, the requirement that DCFS formally review and issue status reports on state wards at six-month intervals; and a media recruitment push called "I want to be a son, I want to be a daughter."

Another major factor usually downplayed is the stepped-up use of financial incentives for adoptive parents to encourage them to take in special needs

Subsidies for adoptive parents encourage foster families to adopt a child already in their homes

children. Subsidies defray the heavy costs of child support, including medical costs of preexisting conditions. Ultimately, they save the state money since, according to law, subsidies may not exceed the cost of foster care. States with subsidy programs show average annual savings of 36.9 percent, a 1977 nationwide study indicates. Furthermore, subsidies increase the number of adoptions of handicapped children by allowing more low-income families to adopt. (Low-income families are statistically more likely to adopt a handicapped child, studies from 1970 and 1977 indicate.) Finally, subsidies enable many families to assume the financial burden of an additional child and encourage foster families to adopt a child already in their home without an untenable loss of income.

Child care experts especially advocate adoption by foster parents, since it prevents disruption of emotional attachments. One revealing three-year study of 112 Chicago and East St. Louis black children in long-term foster care ("Where Love and Need are One," by Vivian Hargrave) shows that 75 percent of urban foster parents adopted when offered a subsidy to partially replace foster care payments. In most cases the aid was a dollar less than existing foster care support, though sometimes it was considerably less.

Adoption subsidies play an increasingly important role today in the state adoption picture because a higher percentage of the state's 1,200 adoptable kids are special needs children. Close to one-half of the group are minority children and over one-third are black; almost one-fifth are handicapped; and well above half are 10 years of age or older. Whereas subsidies were employed in only about one-third of the state adoptions finalized in 1975, they were a necessity in over two-thirds of those taking place in fiscal year 1983 — 648 cases out of 933.

State adoption numbers might well be falling off today were it not for subsidies. As it is, the number of state adoptions is nearly 25 percent below the total for 1975. This is because the number of state wards has decreased more than 50 percent in the last decade. Indeed, most of the easily adopted children have long since been taken. To deal with the increasing percentage of children with special needs, the state has allocated more funding for DCFS. The department's fiscal year 1984 expenditures for adoption programs are projected to increase $1.6 million over fiscal 1983.

Adoption of black children is particularly emphasized by DCFS because 37.8 percent of the state's adoptable kids are black. A major program, "One Church, One Child," encourages adoption through presentations to black church congregations. Last year the program made 83 presentations statewide in Baptist, Methodist, Catholic and Lutheran churches. It helped to place 240 of the 374 black children adopted in fiscal year 1983, its first year of federal funding.

"One Church, One Child" began in 1980 when Father George Clements made a dramatic speech to his parishioners at Holy Angels Church in Chicago. With DCFS' help the program made appeals to more than 50 church groups over the next two years. Presently, a $150,000 grant from the federal Department of Health and Human Services funds a full-time staff, directed Mr. Bishop King.

The child was placed with his adoptive family over a year ago; the photograph was taken at an "adoption party" sponsored by the Department of Children and Family Services.

King calls for at least one family in each church congregation to adopt a child. Presentations include a 22-minute film featuring three typical adoptable children and one adoptive family. A question and answer session with experienced adoptive parents follows. "Attendance is always high," King says.

Father Clements continues to play a key role in the program. Clements and the Rev. Charles Koen, a Cairo Baptist leader, spend at least one day each week appealing to fellow clergy to host the presentations. Clements, who adopted a teenager in 1981, says there has been a 500 percent increase in black adoptions since he started the program. Recent figures are most encouraging: Of the 374 adoptions of black state wards in fiscal year 1983, 233 were finalized in the last six months of the year. Federal funding for "One Church, One Child" is certain to be renewed at the same level, and groups in Michigan, Louisiana and South Carolina are seeking funds to emulate the Illinois innovation.

A major statewide adoption service is the Adoption Information Center of Illinois (AICI) which is operated by the Child Care Association of Illinois (an organization of private child welfare agencies) under contract with DCFS. All Illinois citizens interested in adopting black children or other special needs children, may call the center at 800/572-2390. This toll-free statewide hotline informs callers about the many children waiting to be adopted, and how and where to apply. Maintained by AICI and funded by DCFS, the hotline receives 1,000 to 2,000 calls a month. The center also offers a statewide listing of special needs children and approved families. This list presently includes 150 to 160 families and nearly 130 children. It is updated weekly and includes descriptions of children and prospective parents, along with photos of the children. Prospective parents may examine the book at any of 140 subscriber locations in the state, and 400 locations in other states. Nearly 23 percent of the center's placements are made to other states. (Such children become the responsibility of state child welfare agencies elsewhere.)

The AICI makes 80 to 100 referrals of interested families a month, according to Joanne Zolomij, adoption specialist for AICI. "Most of them drop out," Zolomij says, "but we find a lot who don't." Most children listed with the center get placed within three months, Zolomij adds.

Obviously, many special needs children are not included on the AICI list. "Children are listed only if there is not already a placement resource," says Marilyn Panichi, director of AICI. "We get many black children out of Cook County, but not many children out of the [DCFS] Marion region [which includes department field offices throughout southern Illinois] or the Springfield region [which includes 12 area field offices]. They have a good supply of waiting families."

Most adoptable children on AICI's statewide list are included by referral from DCFS (roughly 80 percent), and the rest by private child welfare agencies. Of the 25 private agencies, most have some special needs children to place, although a few seem to specialize in easy-to-place healthy white infants. All these agencies in Illinois (six of which are administered by regional Catholic dioceses) are licensed by DCFS, and all are members of the Child Care Association (CCA).

Very active in promoting members agencies' interests, CCA was involved in successful lobbying efforts to increase state foster care payments last June. The association is ready to begin operating a new computer service soon, enabling it to provide more detailed internal matching of children and families on AICI's list and to connect with the National Adoption Exchange computer — a national clearinghouse in Philadelphia encouraging adoption of mentally and physically handicapped youngsters.

A successful new DCFS-funded program aims at informing the public about special needs children, whether or not they are under DCFS care. The program, a statewide mass media effort, "sells" the faces and voices of individual children with the messaage "I want to be a son" or "I want to be a daughter." During October 1981, the first full month of the campaign, AICI received a record 1,200 inquiries — a 300 percent increase over earlier months.

Increased public awareness, the new adoption information center, new laws and policies, new programs, and the increased funding of adoption services all are major factors in the recent progress in state adoption efforts. As a result the number of children adopted will have increased 90.3 percent from fiscal year 1980 to fiscal year 1983, adoptive placements per 100 children in substitute care two years or more will have increased from 8.3 in fiscal year 1980 to 23.3 in fiscal year 1983.

Yet the problem of children languishing in foster care has not been eradicated. Despite the remarkable progress, over 4,300 of the nearly 10,000 Illinois youngsters in foster care today have been there for more than two years, and over 2,100 have been in foster care for more than five years.

Gary Adkins is a research associate with the Illinois Legislative Council. A former legislative correspondent for Illinois Issues, he is a graduate of Sangamon State University's Public Affairs Reporting Program.

Matching adoptive parents to children

WHEN CHOOSING adoptive parents for state wards, Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) social workers look "for people who have the ability to put aside their own needs for awhile," according to Susan Seiber, the agency's field office manager in Springfield. "I know that's real rough: Adoptive parents generally want a lot of the good things from the parenting experience. But special needs children, and older kids in particular, who have gone through the foster care system are not going to give parents all those 'goodies' right away," she explains. "Kids are going to be grieving from their separation, they are going to be angry, are going to act out their frustrations, to find the adoptive parents' Achilles' heel and grind on it. So the key thing is commitment and understanding, and ability to wait for the rewards of parenting — and even to build on the positive aspects of the birth parents in order to help build the child's identity."

Adoptive parents are carefully screened by DCFS, although technically anyone may adopt who is between 28 and 55 years of age, in good health and employed. Married couples must be married for at least two years; single persons can adopt also.

Applicants first make contact with the adoptive agency in their area, whether a public or private agency. They are asked to reveal their motivation and their child care plan (For example, will one parent remain at home, or will day care be used? What school will the child attend? etc.)

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A good deal of personal information must be obtained: everything from income and life history to personal values and plans.

If the would-be parents are interested in adopting a "special needs" child, they are asked to attend a DCFS study group. The group is designed "to educate them about our children," according to Seiber. Prospective parents are told about the effects of separation and loss. They learn about the grieving process the child will inevitably go through after the painful separation from natural parents and/or foster parents — a process that usually lasts from nine months to a year or more, Seiber says. Often an abused child feels it is all his fault; similarly, a separated child may blame herself for parental failure. The study group teaches prospective parents how to meet the complex special needs of the child and how not to take the til's anger personally.

At this point, a DCFS adoption expert sits down with the prospective patents to talk at great length "and to rally get to know each other." Then the applicants are referred to the licensing section of DCFS, to fill out more forms. Later a licensing section roller must visit the applicants' home to check it for safety and suitability. He licensing specialist looks at things such as the size and location of bedrooms, where the family keeps various poisons, cleanliness, household hazards and the like. Applicants are even fingerprinted before licensing, in case they have any criminal record, and as a form of identification.

After licensing, all the information paining to the applicant is written up in a single document called an "adoptive home study," describing the family, its dynamics, what they want, how they want to handle things and their experiences. "It's most important how they handle a crisis," Seiber says.

Adoptive homes studies are used by social workers when they have a child ready to place, in order to decide which home seems most in tune with the child's needs. The child's social worker next calls the chosen family's social worker to explore the family's needs. If an adoption seems likely, the child welfare agency will send the prospective parents a descriptive study of the child. If the family wants to go ahead, an agency worker will take them to the child's residence to meet him or her, and to encourage child and family to go out alone together for an hour or two — "to McDonald's or a Dairy Queen," for example.

Often, if the child is hesitant after a first meeting, a social worker will ask the family to work up a photo album of their home life and to write a letter to the child. The album may contain photos of church, school, pets, grandparents, etc. Sometimes the child reciprocates. Then there may be another meeting. After two meetings on the child's home ground, the child generally visits the family. Then the child may visit yet again — for a weekend or a week's stay.

DCFS always takes its cues from the child about when to make a placement. Although prospective parents always want to proceed quickly, it is up to the child to decide when. The initial placement is made by DCFS; no court action is required. After the child has been placed in the home, the adoptive parents must go to an attorney to ask to file a petition to adopt. They must receive an interim placement order from a judge, following a court hearing if need be.

Generally about six months after the interim order, DCFS will give its consent to finalize the adoption. The prospective parents' attorney files a petition for adoption, and DCFS files an entry of appearance approving the adoption. Then all the parties meet in the courtroom, usually in the judge's chambers. The judge appoints a guardian ad litem — an attorney and disinterested party to represent the best interests of the child, who makes certain the child understands and approves of the adoption. (If the child is 14 or over, he or she must officially consent.) The parents' attorney submits an application for a revised birth certificate. If the judge approves, the original birth certificate is impounded and a new one is issued, listing the adoptive parents as the legal parents. The child is then legally adopted.