Let It Be Us is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit and Child Welfare Agency which is licensed by the State of Illinois and operates in the State of Illinois, primarily in Cook County and the Northern Region. Founded in December of 2014, our headquarters are in Barrington, Illinois.
Let It Be Us manages all foster care adoptions statewide through the Adoption Listing Service of Illinois and manages The Heart Gallery of Illinois, the photolisting of children awaiting adoption in Illinois.
Let It Be Us designs strong and innovative programming to build a bridge between waiting children, including those who are in emergent need and/or are challenging to place, and licensed foster and adoptive parents as well as those who want to become licensed. Our work is evidence-based and has been applauded by caseworkers, licensing workers and recruiters from private agencies as well as the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Let It Be Us was founded on the statistics from the University of Chicago's Chapin Hall study of children in the Midwest in foster care and those who age out of foster care combined with the fact that Illinois ranks poorly in solving problems associated with recruiting and matching waiting children with waiting parents. Let It Be Us specializes in working in this often-ignored space of adoption and foster care by identifying problems and providing innovative solutions.
Let It Be Us operates on funds generated by donors, grantors, and contracts with other Illinois child welfare agencies. We also welcome corporate sponsorships to fund individual programs. Please contact our Founder and Executive Director to learn more: Susan McConnell at susanmcconnell@letitbeus.org
Let It Be Us manages recruitment, matching and placement for foster care adoptions throughout the State of Illinois. We do this via our website, webinars and live events. Let It Be Us also manages the 800 number for new families wanting to secure a foster care license.
Let It Be Us manages the photo listing and narrative site featuring children awaiting adoption in Illinois. This gallery can only be viewed on our website.
The Let It Be Us Placement Support Program's experienced recruitment team offers customized solutions for each child referred, creating a new unique database of parent resources for each child, which is delivered to the child's caseworker in a speedy and timely manner. At Let It Be Us, we utilize our proprietary and aggregated database of 1,000+ licensed foster homes and extensive search capabilities across multiple social media platforms, reaching thousands of licensed homes while targeting specific locations and demographics. Through this Program, Let It Be Us assists caseworkers in serving children who primarily are in emergent need or who are challenging to place, giving caseworkers access to parents who are licensed, waiting, and interested in the make-up of that specific child, thereby creating better placements.
Let It Be Us contracts with Illinois child welfare agencies to recruit new traditional, specialized, emergency and therapeutic foster care. We do this via our website, webinars and live events.
