FAQs
How many children live at Hope?
The Hope Center for Residential Services provides residential placement to 64 children on-campus and a similar number in community homes. In addition, The Hope School Community Reintegration Program houses five children on campus.
What ages does The Hope Institute serve?
The Hope Institute is licensed for children ages 5-21 years of age.
Do I surrender my parental rights upon admission?
No. Your parental rights remain unchanged if your child is admitted to The
Hope Institute. You will remain the guardian of your child until s/he turns 18 years old. To remain guardian of your child after s/he is 18 years old, you must go to court to be designated your child’s adult guardian. We will assist you as much as possible in this process when your child approaches the age of 18.
How does my child receive funding for residential placement?
Although funding for a child’s room and board is a complex process, typically it comes from one of three sources:
1. State of Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS)
2. State of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)
3. Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
On rare occasions, a child’s room and board may be paid through an out-of-
state or private funding source.
How do I receive funding from DHS?
DHS contracts with agencies assigned to distinct geographical areas through-out the state that provide case management services to individuals with developmental disabilities. The case managers are called Pre-Admission Screening (PAS) or Individual Service Coordinator (ISC) agents, and they link their clients to the necessary services and supports within the community. The PAS/ASC agents may arrange for occasional or regular respite services, in-home Technical Assistance services, and/or Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for their clients. When community-based services are absent or no longer meet the needs of the client, the PAS/ISC agent coordinates the process for residential placement. Therefore, it is imperative that you contact yor region’s PAS/ISC agency to secure DHS funding for residential placement.
The PAS/ISC agent has helped arrange for every community-based support for my child, but nothing works. How do I proceed with residential placement?
Your child’s PAS/ISC agent assembles a “referral packet” of pertinent information regarding your child (IEP, psychological evaluations, behavior plans, medical information, etc.) and sends it to DHS-approved facilities that might meet the needs of your child.
The Hope Institute reviews referral packets weekly to determine if a child might be appropriate for our programs and services. For those children who meet criteria for admission, we proceed with collecting additional information. Once a final determination of appropriateness is made, the PAS/ISC agent submits the child’s funding packet to DHS for approval.
My child has been approved for DHS funding, but now I have to wait for a “funded vacancy.” What does that mean?
At The Hope Center for Residential Services, we have 80 beds funded by DHS. In order for a child with DHS funding approval to receive placement, one of those 80 beds must be vacant (the funded vacancy). A vacancy occurs when a DHS-funded youth leaves Residential Services. This is usually due to the youth “aging out” (reaches 21 years of age) or moving to another residential facility.
Could my child ever lose his/her DHS funding?
Yes. If your child spends more than 60 days (24-hr. periods) off-campus within a calendar year, DHS would cancel his/her funding. Your child may risk losing his/her DHS funding.
How do I receive residential funding from DCFS?
The children funded through DCFS are those that are currently in the DCFS
system, and are wards of the state. While some of these children continue to
have parental involvement, many do not. Any child placed at The Hope
Institute by DCFS must have a developmental disability, and most have been
unsuccessful in foster placements.
Is The Hope Institute accredited?
The Hope Institute for Children and Families is accredited by the Council on
Quality and Leadership. We currently have a two-year accreditation.
Is The Hope Institute for Children and Families licensed?
Yes, The Hope Institute for Children and Families is licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services.
What percentage of children have autism?
Approximately 70% of the children here have autism or a diagnosis somewhere on the Autism Spectrum.
Do you have a quality improvement program? What does it entail?
Yes, we do have a Continuing Quality Improvement (CQI) department. CQI staff make routine checks on all the homes to ensure the environment is safe and the children are receiving active treatment. We also have a CQI committee that is currently working on ensuring youth rights and personal choices are understood and accessible to the children.
Why do you need all of my children’s medical records?
Prior to admission we will request all of your child’s medical records in order to better assess their appropriateness for our programs. Also, once your child is admitted to The Hope Center for Residential Services our doctor will assume medical care for your child. The doctor needs to have
all medical records to obtain an overall picture of health for your child to
better assess his/her medical needs.
Why do I have to sign all of this paperwork prior to admission?
Admission day can be very overwhelming for parents as well as for the child.
On the day of admission there will be an Admissions Staffing, IEP, and a meeting with the doctor. We ask that all paperwork be completed prior to admission to help streamline the admission process. If you have specific questions about the paperwork you can contact the Admissions Coordinator.
Why do I need to complete the behavioral scales prior to the day of admission?
The behavioral scales that are required to take a considerable amount of time to complete. It is best to do these at home when you have time to sit down and really think about your child and answer the questions as thoroughly as possible.
What happens when my child reaches age 21?
Once a child at The Hope School reaches 21 they must be discharged. Prior to reaching 21, parents need to begin thinking about their child’s future living arrangements and making preparations for adult placement if necessary.
Who is my child’s guardian?
Guardianship does not change when a child is admitted to The Hope School.
What are the ages of the children in my child’s home?
Ages vary by home.
Who is responsible for finding adult placement for my child?
Guardians are responsible for finding adult placement for their child when they reach 21 years of age. The process of finding adult placement can take years, just like finding and gaining admission to a placement for your child at a young age. Once your child turns 18 you will need to go to court and obtain legal guardianship of your child. At that point it is a good idea to contact your local PAS agency to begin looking for adult placement.
What is your staff-to-child ratio? In school? In the evening?
During school hours, many (abuot 70%) of our children have their own aid who works one on one with your hcild. During the evening, within the thomes, the ratio is no more than 1 staff person for every 4 children.
Do your staff receive special training? If so, can you explain?
Yes, once hired, staff receive 2.5 weeks of classroom training. This training
includes sessions on Developmental Disabilities, Autism, Behavioral Interventions, abuse and neglect prevention, CPR and first aid among many other relevant topics to help prepare staff to work directly with Hope children.
What are the educational requirements of the staff?
Habilitation Speciliasts, the staff who work directly with the children in their
residence, are required to have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Do you do background checks on your employees?
We do an initial seven-county background check when we receive the employment application and a State Police background check once the person is offered a position with Hope. All staff are fingerprinted through DCFS, and then they complete a federal/nationwide background check.