Services for Birth Family Members

Services for

Birth Family Members

How we can help

If your birth child/relative is under 21 years of age

You may want to know about the current well being of a child placed for adoption. Perhaps you received very little or no information about the family into which the child was placed and have not had any word of the child's well being since the time of the adoption. Or you may want to give medical or other family information that could have great importance to the child.

For further information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions below and/or contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.

Multi-ethnic family members at home sharing a hug. African descent single mother at right. Adopted child center.

If you are a birth parent or birth relative of a child formerly in the care of IDCFS

If you are a birth relative (cousin, aunt, uncle, grandparent) of a child, formerly in the care of The Department, you are not entitled to receive file information from closed IDCFS files; however, you may search for the adoptive/guardianship parents of that child and and attempt to establish some type of contact. The adoptive/guardianship parents may be willing to provide you with information about the sought after child or may be willing to meet you.

If you are a birth sibling of a child, formerly in care, you are not entitled to their information but may be entitled to you own if you were in care. Please contact our office for more information or to see if you are eligible.

If you are a birth parent of a child, formerly in care, you may be entitled to some information from the files regarding yourself (medical or psychological reports) or the termination of parental rights document, if it is in the file. For questions about whether or not you are eligible to receive file information, please contact our office to discuss your specific situation.

Locating a birth relative

The law does not permit DCFS to release identifying information from the files such as the names and addresses of others. However, if you want to locate a relative, search service is available to you

In most cases, the person being sought is located. Your caseworker will explain the reason for the contact. Every attempt will be made to negotiate an arrangement that is comfortable for everyone. There are several choices for contact: you may want to exchange some information through your MAC caseworker; communicate by letter without revealing your name; or you and your relative may choose to have direct contact. Your caseworker will discuss each option with you to assist you in making a contact decision.

This program is not intended to provide in-depth counseling, but assistance and support will be offered throughout the process.

Additional Information

If your sought after relative's adoption was not through the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services

Visit Our CI Website

Frequently Asked Questions

The following are Frequently Asked Questions about the DCFS Closed File Information and Search program.

This service is only available to adopted persons, those who were in foster care but never adopted, birth relatives and adoptive parents of minors connected to placement through DCFS. If you are an adopted person, adoptive parent or birth relative and the adoption was through a private adoption agency, doctor or attorney, please visit: ci-illinois.org

Mother multi-tasking with infant daughter in home office

Get In Touch

How can I get information about my birth child who was adopted? I want to know if he/she/they are doing ok.

We are not able to give you information about your child from DCFS files. If you would like to know how your child is doing, you can request that we attempt to located him/her/they. If the child is currently under the age of 21, we will try to locate the child's adoptive/guardianship parent(s). You and your MAC caseworker will discuss what information you would like to obtain and share with them. Some adoptive/guardianship parents are open to exchanging letters or having direct contact with birth parents of their child.

My birth child is an adult and I would like to find him/her/them.

I want information from my own DCFS file about the time that my child was removed from my home by DCFS.

I am trying to find a birth relative who was in DCFS care and was adopted. Can you help me?

The DCFS Closed File Information and Search program can be used by any birth relative of a child who was in care.

We provide service to aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, grandparents and cousins. If the child is still under 21 years of age, we will attempt to contact the adoptive/guardianship parent. If the child is 21 years of age or older, we will make the outreach directly to him/her/them and let the child know that you would like a connection.

I was in foster care with my sibling and don't know what happened to him/her/them.I would like to search.

My child was in foster care with DCFS. I need help finding him/her/them.

If your child was returned home to you from foster care and you have lost touch with him/her/they, we will not be able to help.

However, if your parental rights were terminated while your child was in DCFS care, you can request search service through the DCFS Closed File Information and Search Service program. We will go into the DCFS system to determine whether your child was adopted or not and get information to help us attempt to locate he/her/them.

Is there a fee for this service?

How we can help If your birth child/relative is under 21 years of age

Additional Information

Frequently Asked Questions The following are Frequently Asked Questions about the DCFS Closed File Information and Search program.