Adoption Center of Illinois FAQ

1. Tell us a little about the founding and development of your organization?
   It all began in the mid ‘80s with a group of people whose lives were touched by adoption -- men and women who had placed children for adoption, adults who were adopted as children, adoptive parents, and community members interested in the field of adoption. Together they shared a common interest in an approach to adoption that differed from then current practices. Embracing the belief that people are capable of making informed decisions for themselves rather than being told what to do, and that birth parents have the right to take an active role in choosing the family that would adopt their child, they set out to create a new kind of agency. It was out of these innovative ideas that Family Resource Center was founded in the summer of 1988 and opened its first office in the Uptown Bank Building on Broadway in Chicago. By creating an oasis of understanding and providing a safe environment that engendered trust, FRC built a reputation for being welcoming, responsive and accessible. Its volunteer board of directors continued to include birth parents, adoptive parents and people whose lives had been touched by adoption. Through the years under the FRC banner, the agency placed more than 1500 children for adoption, including many with complex medical issues. In addition it participated in another 2,000 adoptions by providing professional guidance and home study services. In 2013, in conjunction with its 25th anniversary, FRC began operating under the name Adoption Center of Illinois at Family Resource Center. The organization’s leaders felt that in an era when social media and Internet communication was increasingly important, that the agency’s name should say what it does to remain aligned with its mission and vision. Today, the agency continues to embrace its founding belief that people can, and should, make informed decisions for themselves. What’s more, Adoption Center of Illinois continues to evolve the conversation about adoption and its meaning in people’s lives.