This measure represents the percentage of days children and youth in care are served in kinship settings with family members or close family friends providing their primary care. This number is not representative of the kinship point in time number. DCFS strives to serve children in their home or with kin whenever safely possible. The goal for this measure is to increase the number of days children and youth in care spend with kin.

Data is reported six weeks after the end of each quarter to allow time for data entry by direct service and support staff.

This measure has shown a downward trend, dropping from a high of 45.22% in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 to 37.87% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. DCFS is currently reviewing barriers that may have unintentionally led to more frequent placements in foster or shelter care instead of with relatives. To address this, DCFS is working to update policies and procedures to improve initial placements with relatives, including providing special funding for kinship caregivers at the start of placement to offer financial support during the critical early stages of care. Recent federal updates to kinship licensing rules could also give DCFS and the Office of Licensing a stronger ability to create a more effective pathway for relative caregivers. DCFS is actively assessing these updates and exploring ways to improve the licensing process for relatives. All of these efforts are focused on strengthening and increasing kinship placements for children in care.