Adoption services include recruitment, screening, assessing, and case management provided to persons choosing to adopt an infant. Counseling and support are provided to birth mothers/fathers choosing to place a child for adoption, as well as post-adoptive services for those who are adopted, adoptive parents, and birth parents. This includes international and private adoptions.

Adoptive home assessments provide guidance to prospective adoptive parents and/or adoptive parents in Iowa and Illinois.

Provides accurate information on adoption, and lifelong support, so the family is successful in meeting the child's best interest by offering the following services and resources:

Provides free and confidential pregnancy counseling for families, every step of the way; before, during, and after the birth of the child.

Assistance with making an adoption plan or parenting plan.

Parenting education.

Support and education for baby's father on request.

Home studies for prospective adoptive parents.

Newborn care home for baby as a safe haven.

Foster care services for children.

Foster parent recruitment in the Omaha, northern, and southwestern service areas of Nebraska. Foster parents can be married or single individuals who have an interest in helping children and families. Foster parents are provided initial and ongoing training to assist in providing care for their foster children, and are assigned a NOVA TC Foster Care Specialist who provides support through home visits and case management services. Foster Care Specialists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Agency-based foster, fos-adoptive, kinship, and relative care.

Offers support groups for seniors and their caregivers. Support groups being offered are Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Group (meetings held in Normal and Clinton), Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group (Zoom and in-person meetings held in Bloomington and Pontiac), and Caretakers Path Caregiver Support Group (Zoom and in-person meetings held in Bloomington).

Provides adoption services that include, home studies for adoptions and foster licensing, direct hospital placement adoptions, adoption seminars, support groups during adoption waiting period and adoption support for birth parents.

Offers help for families to adopt American children, both with and without unique challenges. The children assisted are not only from Illinois, but they can also reside anywhere in the United States. OCH works with other agencies to assist with the matching process and to assess the needs of the child to determine whether the child and family make an appropriate match.

Where it is in a child's best interest, the Department of Children and Family Services and the courts may place a foster child in the home of a willing and able relative who is not yet licensed as a foster home. The Department of Children and Family Services always attempts to locate a relative for foster care placement.

Offers support groups for seniors and their caregivers. Support groups being offered are Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Group (meetings held in Normal and Clinton), Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group (Zoom and in-person meetings held in Bloomington and Pontiac), and Caretakers Path Caregiver Support Group (Zoom and in-person meetings held in Bloomington).

Serves families interested in adopting a legally free child.

Allows birth parents and adoptive parents to design an adoption plan that is in the best interest of the child, and recognizes the importance of the adoptive parents and birth parents developing an on-going relationship. Services include:

-- Counseling young women who are pregnant.

-- Adoption orientations.

-- Adoption home studies for domestic and international adoptions, as well as for special needs adoptions.

-- Post-placement supervision.

-- Finalization services.

-- Ongoing support groups.

-- Adoption searches.

Senior Care Options program available to older Nebraskans who are considering admission to a nursing home and may be eligible for Medicaid assistance. Clients are screened according to a standardized assessment process developed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Care Managers arrange for services, which allow older adults to live as independently as possible, for as long as possible.

Housekeeping and supportive services to include grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, transportation and personal care.

Family Caregiver Support for those caring for an aging adult or grandparents caring for a minor child. Provides information, assistance, support group, respite care, and supplemental services.

Home delivered meals are provided to homebound by reason of illness, disability or isolation. The meals meet 1/3 of the daily dietary recommended needs of adults 60 years and over and the requirements of the Older Americans Act and state and local laws.

Public benefit services, legal assistance, education, Medicare filing, and volunteer training through SHIIP.

Assists individuals in Illinois in becoming licensed foster parents. Also provides follow-up training for foster parents to help meet the various needs of their foster children.

Services provided:

-- LCFS team provides guidance and support through the foster care experience.

-- Health insurance for the children placed in a foster home.

-- Therapy, counseling, and academic counseling, and special education services when needed.

-- Training programs, support groups, and newsletters geared to foster families.

-- Monthly financial support for the foster child(ren's) basic needs, including food, clothing, and housing costs.

-- Funding for daycare, after-school care, and extracurricular activities including sports and art programs for eligible children in foster care.

We provide parents with persistent outreach services and in-home coaching to help them learn about pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. Our doulas walk hand in hand with countless moms and dads who have a range of emotions as they prepare to bring a new life into the world, helping parents with stress management, breastfeeding, problem solving skills, and safety education. The cumulative effect of these efforts strengthens families and reduces the risk of child abuse and neglect.