Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) includes children and young people in foster care that  are in extreme risk. While poorly defined legally, the impact upon this population is immense. Two Child Welfare Agency Executive Directors involved in research and programming to serve this population speak on our podcast about their experience and  potential opportunities. Hear from Susan McConnell, Executive Director of Let It Be Us and Carina Santa Maria, Executive Director of Shelter, Inc. McConnell is involved in program design and implementation perspective as a Doctorate in ..read more

Parenting is a long road no matter how you do it. This mini-episode explores tips and advice on how to support yourself as a foster parent, adoptive parent, and ways to ensure you have what you need to care for children throughout their lives. Let It Be Us Director Karron Shaw, MJ, and Foster Parent Licensing Coach Cathy Newbury give advice and suggestions in this chat. To learn more about becoming a foster parent or joining our database of licensed homes find us at www.letitbeus.org ..read more

Feeling open to having a relationship with the biological family is the first step, in this mini-episode, Alex Montgomery, JD, Deputy Director at Let It Be Us and mother through adoption, and Rachel Hoyt, seasoned foster parent, talk about the concrete steps they’ve both taken to open the door to relationships with the biological family. To learn more about becoming a foster parent or joining our database of licensed homes find us at www.letitbeus.org ..read more

While children in foster care have experienced difficult situations with their biological families, many children still feel a strong bond with them, and many of them will return to their families of origin. Alex Montgomery, JD, Deputy Director at Let It Be Us and mother through adoption, talks about how she developed a relationship with the birth mother of her daughter, while Rachel Hoyt, seasoned foster parent, talks about how she has successfully opened the door to ongoing relationships with biological families that have continued even after the children reunified with their families of ori ..read more

In this special mini-episode, Cathy Newbury, Foster Parent Licensing Coach and seasoned foster parent, talks about how she ensures the children in her care receive all the support they need, while Dr. Heather Risser from our partner Northwestern University Family Care Parenting Lab talks from a therapeutic perspective about how to support the children. As mentioned in this episode, one way to find supports through DCFS is through Spider: https://spider.dcfs.illinois.gov/. To learn more about becoming a foster parent or joining our database of licensed homes find us at www.letitbeus.org ..read more

Children who have experienced foster care, or other kinds of difficult life experiences, may have a hard time adjusting - or may have mental or behavioral challenges that have never been diagnosed. Cathy Newbury, Foster Parent Licensing Coach and seasoned foster parent, chats with Dr. Heather Risser from our partner Northwestern University Family Care Parenting Lab about what children in foster care experience and how to understand what they need. To learn more about becoming a foster parent or joining our database of licensed homes find us at www.letitbeus.org. To learn more about the Family ..read more

Susan McConnell is a mother through adoption, a photographer, and a recruiter. She used all of that to found Let It Be Us in 2014 with the goal of transforming the child welfare system in Illinois. Learn more about everything we do at www.letitbeus.org ..read more

Carolyne and her husband have fostered dozens of children over the many years they have been foster parents. Some children have returned to their biological families, and others have been adopted by the Osterhues family. All of them hold a place in Carolyne’s heart. To learn more about becoming a foster parent, attend a free webinar at www.letitbeus.org ..read more

Adoptive Mom and Let It Be Us Deputy Director Alex Montgomery talks about adopting as a single mom and the importance of the relationship she has with her daughter’s birth family and why acknowledging and including a child’s biological family when possible is important in foster care. To learn more about foster care in Illinois, go to www.letitbeus.org ..read more

At Let It Be Us, we believe that the path to foster care begins with education, and the best way to educate is to reach people where they are which is why we started the Let It Be Us Foster Care and Adoption podcast where we dive deep into topics related to fostering children, foster care in Illinois, as well as adoption. We hope you enjoy, learn something and perhaps decide to become a foster parent yourself! Let It Be Us: A Foster Care and Adoption Podcast was launched in 2022 by the Illinois nonprofit organization Let It Be Us. Foster Care professionals and parents speak on issues importan ..read more