When families face issues that could become detrimental to the children, the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services refers them to Caritas. We work with the parents to change the situation that puts their children at risk. We provide services and tools to help the parents resolve their struggles or difficult circumstances, to prevent it from getting to a point where the children would need to be placed in foster care. Our goal is always to keep families together whenever possible, and this program brings early intervention to resolve the situation before it becomes a danger to the children.

In many cases, the parents are facing such extreme poverty, they’re engaging in risky behavior to survive, and are unable to feed their kids, or even provide a safe place for them to sleep. We help them find affordable housing, stock up on groceries, provide baby supplies, and connect them to community resources