It’s Safe to Call. 
We’re Here to Help.
Fairview Heights Office
(618) 688 4727
Behavioral Health Services
(618) 688 7040
Puentes de Esperanza
(618) 398 0557
Foster Care After Hours
(618) 830 5682
Crisis Line
(618) 436 0460
CARES Line
(618) 345 9049
Hoyleton Residential Campus
(618) 493 7382
close tAB

Your Guide to Foster Youth Placement at Hoyleton

Supporting children through every step, from DCFS referral to stable, loving homes.
What We do
How Foster
Placement Works
When a child enters the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Hoyleton Youth & Family Services is here to provide safe, stable placements and the support youth need to heal and thrive. Our trauma-informed team works with DCFS, foster families, and the courts to help every child find safety, stability, and a path toward permanency.
Talk to Our Placement Team
Once removed, the youth undergoes an emergency placement process which includes:
  • Health and safety screenings, including a medical exam and mental health evaluation.
  • Completion of required documentation, such as intake forms and case transfer summaries.
  • DCFS works to identify appropriate short-term or long-term placement options, prioritizing kinship care when possible.
DCFS initiates a family assessment and creates a permanency plan to address the youth’s long-term needs. This includes:
  • Evaluating relatives and known connections for potential placement.
  • Identifying foster care providers, therapeutic care, or residential programs depending on the youth’s needs.
  • Coordinating with service providers to address behavioral health, schooling, and legal case status.
If the youth is not placed with relatives or in a DCFS-operated foster home, DCFS refers the youth to a private agency like Hoyleton.
Hoyleton evaluates their available homes or programs to ensure a match with the youth’s age, needs, and risk level. Services may include:
  • Traditional Foster Care
  • Specialized Foster Care (for youth with therapeutic or behavioral needs)
  • Residential Care (for higher levels of supervision and structured environments)
  • Transitional Living Services (for older youth ages 17–21)
Once Hoyleton accepts the youth:
  • A Hoyleton caseworker is assigned and begins regular contact with the youth, foster family, and DCFS case team.
  • The youth is placed in a Hoyleton-managed foster home or appropriate program.
  • Caseworkers coordinate care planning, school enrollment, medical follow-ups, and any necessary mental health or trauma services.
  • Visits with biological family or siblings are scheduled according to the court-approved plan.
Hoyleton’s trauma-informed model ensures that youth receive individualized care to promote emotional, behavioral, and developmental stability.
Hoyleton partners with DCFS to support progress toward the youth’s permanency goal, which may include:
  • Reunification with the birth family (when conditions permit),
  • Guardianship with a relative or long-term caregiver, or
  • Adoption, if parental rights are terminated.
Hoyleton maintains ongoing documentation, court participation, and service coordination to ensure the youth’s safety, growth, and permanency stability.
Finding the Best Future for Every Child

Amelia Odom, Foster Care Supervisor, shares how Hoyleton is dedicated to reuniting families, supporting parents, and creating lasting homes through adoption when returning home isn’t possible—all with the child’s best interest at heart.

Talk to Our Placement Team
Real Stories. Lasting Impact
A Caseworker’s Unbreakable Promise to a youth in need
For youth in foster care, trust can feel impossible. But when Sadie’s pain led her down dangerous paths, her caseworker Denise stood firm: “You won’t scare me away.” That promise became the lifeline that helped Sadie find her way back.
READ MORE
Supporting Families 
Every Step of the Way

Sharon Shultz, Director of Child Welfare, explains how Hoyleton helps ease the trauma of placement by prioritizing relatives, preparing foster families, and surrounding every child with counseling, parenting services, and support to help them feel at home.

Talk to Our Placement Team

LifeSet

Helping young adults ages 17.5–20 transition out of foster care, LifeSet provides one-on-one guidance for education, employment, housing, and emotional wellness. Specialists meet youth wherever they are, offering 24/7 support to build confidence, stability, and independence.


Learn More

Wraparound Services

For youth with complex emotional, behavioral, or mental health needs, Wraparound provides family-driven, team-based support. This trauma-informed program helps stabilize youth in their homes and communities while building lasting support networks and personalized plans for success.
Learn More
Frequently Asked Questions
DCFS investigates, and if the child is unsafe, the agency petitions the court for protective custody and arranges emergency shelter placement.
The youth undergoes medical and mental health screenings, completes intake documentation, and DCFS seeks suitable short-term or kinship care.
Hoyleton receives referrals if no relative or DCFS home is available, and places youth in foster, specialized, residential, or transitional living care.
A caseworker coordinates care, school enrollment, medical and mental health services, family visits, and works with DCFS toward permanency goals like reunification or adoption.

It’s Safe to Call.
We’re Here to Help.
(618) 688 4727

Experienced case managers are ready to help — 100% confidential
Interested in Learning More? Contact Us
Call us today at (618) 688-4727 or fill out this form and receive our information packet.
SAFE EXIT
 cross-circleplus-circle linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram