The Family Defense Center provides legal representation in DCFS administrative hearings and a limited number of child protection cases in the Juvenile Court of Cook County. These cases include, but are not necessarily limited to, providing legal advice during DCFS investigations and appealing DCFS "indicated" findings. Please contact us if you are seeking assistance with an Illinois DCFS case.

We do not handle divorce, parentage, child support, criminal, adoption, or private custody cases. If you are seeking legal assistance with a case in one of these areas, please try Illinois Legal Aid Online or the Illinois State Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service. Due to our limited resources, we can currently only represent clients who 1) have cases in the state of Illinois, and 2) live within an hour and a half of the City of Chicago, where our office is located.

If you are requesting legal assistance, please download and complete an intake form (Click Here for the form) and e-mail it as an attachment to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . You may also mail it to us at: 1325 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 100, Chicago, IL 60605; fax it to (312) 356-3203; or call us at (312) 356-3202 and answer the intake questions over the phone. After we have received your information, we will contact you to discuss your case and determine whether or not we can help you.

We charge sliding-scale fees for legal services. Our fees are determined based on your income and the size of your family. Families whose incomes are below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines are eligible for free or pro bono services. Before we agree to take your case, we will notify you in writing of any fees we are charging, including modest consultation fees for advice and referrals. We consider all requests for assistance on a case-by-case basis.