The Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley (YSB) is being recognized by the state for its foster parent implementation plan.
YSB was honored recently by the Department of Children and Family Services’ Statewide Foster Care Advisory Council.
The state council applauded the agency’s commitment to incorporating foster parent perspectives into its policies and practices.
The YSB was established in 1976 and serves twenty counties in northern Illinois, caring for children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect.
Jami Valenzuela is a licensing representative with the organization.
“Our biggest need right now is for families to become foster parents," she said. "If they cannot do that there are different ways they can help whether it’s through donations [or] through volunteering.”
Besides foster care, the Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley provides counseling, crisis intervention and youth homelessness prevention services.