DCFS Find Your Future:
Summer Internships for Our College Youth

In the career world, relationships are everything. Networks and connections have an enormous impact on an individual's professional advancement. As young adults prepare to enter the workforce, many can count on a network of parents, relatives, and family friends to help them start a successful career. However, many of the young adults in the care of the child welfare system do not have access to those family and social connections. They miss out on a crucial opportunity for hands-on professional experience and mentoring. Through the Find Your Future program, employers across the Chicago area are stepping up and welcoming these promising, college-educated young adults into their own professional networks. These employers are benefiting from their energy, dedication, education, and experience and are helping them get a great start on their careers.

Internships Give Them a Place to Shine

The Find Your Future program selects and matches youth in DCFS care who are attending college with paid, full-time, 10-week internships lasting from early June through mid-August. The program is sponsored by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the Governor's Office and made possible by donations from participating employers.

Who is eligible? Any ward of the state who is enrolled in college with a minimum GPA of 2.0 is eligible to apply for the program, except students who will graduate before the fall of 2009. Applications are due by February 23, 2007.

Invitation to Apply
Application for Find Your Future 2009
Frequently Asked Questions

"The internship helped me a lot with what I really want to do after college. Now I have more interests and different paths to choose from."
-Vanessa Gonzalez, FYF Former Intern

"[Our intern] exceeded our expectations and was an asset to our team. She learned so quickly about our organization and was well prepared to both serve us and learn. This experience was mutually beneficial."
-Julia Capizza, Mercy Home for Boys and Girls

"I recommend the Find Your Future program without any reservations. Not only does it benefit the employers; it also provides a pipeline for students and prepares them for the business environment."
-Deneen Collins, Tribune Company
"I learned about my chosen career field and it was a great fit-challenging but successful!"
-Olga Steele, FYF Former Intern