Illinois selected as a Regional Partnership Grant Round 6 Recipient

We are delighted to announce that the Eastern Illinois Intact Family Recovery Proposal was selected for funding! This five-year Federal grant will replicate the random control trial known as the Northern Illinois Intact Family Recovery program. These programs, which are based on a long-time pilot run by Lutheran Social Services of Illinois and Lutheran Child and Family Services in Cook County, aim to keep children safe and out of the foster care system while supporting their parents to address their substance use disorders and maintain recovery. The model works by pairing a Recovery Coordinator, employed by a substance use treatment provider, with an intact family services child welfare provider to co-case manage the family and engage the parents in addiction treatment. The new program brings together The Babyfold, Bethany Christian Services, One Hope United, and The Center for Youth and Family Solutions, with Chestnut Health Systems, to serve families in 16 counties in east-central Illinois, including the cities of Champaign-Urbana, Danville, Decatur, and Bloomington-Normal, as well as the surrounding rural communities.

ICOY is the lead grantee for this work. In addition to the partners named above, the evaluation is being conducted by Advocates for Human Potential, which is also overseeing the random control trial for the Northern Illinois project. Other partners include the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery, and the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health.

This project not only brings the promise of improved outcomes for the families in east-central Illinois but also offers the opportunity to contribute significantly to the knowledge base of research-evaluated practice for our field. Given the landmark child welfare funding reforms under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), and the FFPSA’s priority on well-supported prevention programs, this project and its predecessors have the opportunity to improve outcomes for children and families nationwide.