Illinois DCFS Events for Foster Parents
These Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) sponsored events are for Foster Parents and eligible for continuing education credits for Foster Parent license renewal. See full schedule below.
Upcoming Foster Parent Events
All foster parent events are open to any IDCFS-involved foster parent, and these events are eligible for continuing education credits for Foster Parent license renewal. Be Strong Families hosts these events in order to provide an additional resource for foster parents.
Certificates of completion are sent via email within 10-14 business days after an event takes place. If a participant has not received a certificate of completion for an event they attended, they can reach out to us. Attendance forms from each month are sent to IDCFS at the beginning of the following month for processing of continuing education credits. If participants do not see their hours reflected in their DCFS training portal, they are encouraged to reach out to their assigned point of contact at IDCFS for assistance in expediting the update.
Have questions? Want to host IDCFS-sponsored in-person or online direct services for foster parents? Contact Greishen Rodriguez or Andrew Hitchcock.
May 2026 Online Events
Online Foster Parent Vitality Café: Grow Through What You Go Through
Vitality Domains: Mental/Emotional and Social
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
6:00 - 8:00 pm CT
Register Here
Every experience has something to teach us. At this Vitality Café, participants will reflect on lessons gained through parenting and the people who helped along the way. Stories, laughter, and insight will shape the conversation as we explore how learning and connection strengthen mental and emotional well-being. Some moments will unfold in lively group dialogue, while others will take place in thoughtful one-on-one exchanges. Together, we’ll discover how new knowledge, supportive relationships, and a willingness to keep growing can help us move forward with confidence, curiosity, and renewed vitality.
Online Foster Parent Café: Strong Enough to Show Up, Smart Enough to Slow Down
Protective Factors: Resilience and Communication
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
6:00 - 8:00 pm CT
Register Here
Showing up as a parent doesn’t always mean going full speed. At this Foster Parent Café, participants will explore how strength, honesty, and communication help parents stay present for their kids—even on tough days. Through group conversations and one-on-one discussions, caregivers will share experiences, reflect on the importance of pacing themselves, and discover ways to model balance and emotional awareness for their children. This Café offers a supportive space to connect with other caregivers, exchange insights, and recharge so parenting can be approached with clarity, patience, and purpose.
May 2026 In-Person Event
Foster Change, Foster Success Foster Parent Appreciation Event
Saturday, May 30, 2026
11:00 am – 3:00 pm CT
Address: Embassy Suites Lombard/Oak Brook | 707 E. Butterfield Road, Lombard, IL 60148
RSVP Link: https://bit.ly/FosterParentEvent
Foster parents are invited to join Be Strong Families for a special afternoon dedicated to celebrating foster parents. Enjoy brunch, connect with the Youth Advisory Board, and take part in a Foster Parent Café—an opportunity for meaningful conversation, reflection, and community. Together, we’ll recognize the impact foster parents make in the lives of children and families. Foster parent can expect the following:
Brunch & engaging table activities
A guided Parent Café experience
A Foster Parent Conversation with IDCFS Director Heidi Mueller
Foster Parent Training Credit Hours
Foster parent recognition & time to connect with fellow foster parents
Door prizes and kids corner!
June 2026 Online Event
Online Foster Parent Café: The Art of Mindful Parenting
Protective Factors: Knowledge and Communication
Saturday, June 13, 2026
10:00 am - 12:00 pm CT
Register Here
Slow down for the end of the IDCFS fiscal year and reconnect at this Foster Parent Café centered on presence, creativity, and meaningful family moments. Participants will reflect on experiences that brought joy, focus, and connection into everyday parenting while exploring how intentional time together can strengthen communication and understanding. Conversations will include a mix of group sharing and one-on-one discussion, creating opportunities to exchange ideas, stories, and practical ways to stay engaged with children and families. Join us for a thoughtful, uplifting space that celebrates the value of being present and finding connection in the small moments that matter most.
Available Foster Parent Events & Trainings
Below are descriptions of all available Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (Illinois DCFS or IDCFS) events and trainings offered by Be Strong Families. These events are complimentary to IDCFS Foster Parents. To register, click the event’s name on the schedule above. All IDCFS trainings are available in English and Spanish.
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Parent Cafés are physically and emotionally safe spaces where parents and caregivers talk about the challenges and victories of raising a family. Through individual deep self-reflection and peer-to-peer learning, participants explore their strengths, learn about the Protective Factors, and create strategies from their own wisdom and experiences to help strengthen their families.
There are three types of Cafés:
• Parent and Dads Cafés based on the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors.
• #WoWTalk (Words of Wisdom) Cafés for youth and emerging adults based on the YouthThrive™ Protective and Promotive Factors.
• Journey to Vitality Cafés—including Recovering Together Cafés—based on the domains of holistic vitality.
Format: Online or In-person
Total Training Hours: 1.5 - 2 hours
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Los Cafés para Padres son espacios física y emocionalmente seguros donde los padres y cuidadores hablan sobre los desafíos y las victorias de criar una familia. A través de la autorreflexión individual profunda y el aprendizaje entre pares, los participantes exploran sus fortalezas, aprenden sobre los factores de protección y crean estrategias a partir de su propia sabiduría y experiencias para ayudar a fortalecer a sus familias.
Hay tres tipos de Cafés:
• Cafés para padres y papás basados en los Factores de Protección de Strengthening Families™.
• #WoWTalk (Palabras de Sabiduría) Cafés para jóvenes y adultos emergentes basados en los Factores de Protección y Promoción de YouthThrive™.
• Cafés Jornada a la Vitalidad, incluidos los cafés Recuperándonos Juntos, basados en los dominios de la vitalidad holística.
Formato: En línea o en Persona
Total de Horas de Entrenamiento: 1.5 - 2 horas
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This 8-week parent education series is based on the Living the Protective Factors Playbook which contains 49 days of activities and weekly themes for parents to learn about, explore, and build the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors at home. Every week for two hours, parents come together in a fun, inspirational and educational environment to share their experiences and weekly Playbook homework, learn from each other, gain insight from the group and the group leader, feel supported in their parenting, expand their repertoire of parenting strategies, and gain a deeper understanding of what gets in the way of being a strong, loving family-including childhood trauma.
Format: Online or In-Person
Total Training Hours: 16 hours
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Often when children are involved with child welfare, elements of their history can be lost due to a variety of reasons—including multiple placements. Lifebooks are an essential tool in trauma-informed parenting. This training is designed to assist participants with understanding the value of a Lifebook for a child in care and the ways in which the collaborative process of developing a Lifebook can promote psychological well-being and assist with maintaining positive family ties as well as partnerships between parents with child welfare involvement and caregivers.
Format: Online or In-Person
Total Training Hours: 4 hours
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Navigating the child welfare system is difficult for any parent and doing the work to get one’s children returned home is a monumental feat. When reunification is the permanency goal, maintaining strong family ties while the child is out of their parents’ home is essential. Child welfare foster parents can do a lot to facilitate the process of maintaining family connectedness. This four-hour workshop highlights the importance of maintaining family connectedness and assists child welfare front line staff with understanding how they can strengthen family ties throughout the life of a case.
Format: Online or In-person
Total Training Hours: 4 hours
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Other people’s trauma impacts our well-being, regardless of whether the other people are our friends, clients, co-workers, or family members. Learning how vicarious trauma affects us is the first step to improving our well-being and ability to sustain positive relationships. This workshop begins with learning about and identifying our own signs of trauma exposure response and our emotional triggers. Participants practice strategies for de-escalating their own and others’ emotional responses in the moment. Further, they learn a framework for reading and shifting their own and others’ energy to move into a positive relational zone. This workshop offers tools for increasing awareness, skills, and tools for understanding how to best respond when trauma or trauma history is in play. The workshop concludes by making a self-care plan using the Be Strong Families Domains of Vitality so people can stay strong and attend to their relationships.
Format: Online or In-person
Total Training Hours: 6 hours