Your file may include information about your placements, education, medical reports and descriptions of important things that happened to you during the time you were in care. For some clients, we receive files that are very large and contain a lot of detailed information. However, that is not always the case. Until we receive your files and review them, we will not know exactly what information is available about you and your time in care. 

Along with your own information, your closed DCFS file may contain a great deal of information about other people, including siblings, parents and other foster children in the same placement or foster parents. Just as we could not give personal information about you to another person, we must redact (remove) this information about others before a copy of your file is sent to you. 

First we locate your closed DCFS file and have it sent to our office. Once the file information is received in our office, we make sure it is the correct file and a caseworker is then assigned to your case. 

The caseworker will be in touch with you once your case is assigned to discuss the time frame you can expect for things to happen during your case. 

Redacting other people's information from the files can take several hours to several weeks depending on how large the files are. 

If you have a doctor, therapist or attorney who are working with you and there is a need for file information for your treatment or for a court case, you can either request expedited service yourself, or have that professional contact us to request expedited service.

A letter or document showing the need for priority service will need to be provided. This letter or document should show either the medical reason expedited treatment is needed or a court date.

Please contact our intake worker with questions specific to your case for more information.

We cannot provide originals or copies of any vital records such as birth or death certificates or social security cards. 

You can request a copy of your own Illinois birth certificate from the Division of Vital Records, 925 E. Ridgely Avenue, Springfield, Illinois, 62701. You can call them at (877)323-5299 if you are in Illinois or at (217)782-6554 if you are outside of Illinois. 

You can contact your local social security office for information on how to obtain a copy of your social security card.