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 showed a notable recovery in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, rising to 45.97% from a low of 37.87% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. This significant increase of over 8 percentage points brings the measure closer to the 47% goal than it has been in several quarters. While the measure had shown a prolonged 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—this latest quarter suggests that recent efforts may be gaining traction. DCFS has been 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.