kmetko.com

Kmetko & Associates, Ltd. is a licensed private child welfare agency based in Illinois that supports interstate child placement by working with state agencies, completing home studies, and providing supervision and support for children placed across state lines. It is relevant if you are a family in Illinois seeking to care for a child from another state, an out-of-state agency needing an Illinois home study, or a caseworker coordinating an interstate placement involving Illinois.

What the agency does

According to the agency's own description, Kmetko & Associates has assisted the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) with interstate child placements since 1990. Its stated mission is to work with state agencies to find and support loving homes in Illinois.

Its interstate-related work centers on three functions:

• Interstate placement assistance — coordinating with IDCFS and other state agencies on placements that cross state lines.
• Home studies — assessing families who are seeking placement of a child. The agency reports handling hundreds of home study requests each year.
• Supervision and support — ongoing oversight of children placed across state lines, along with guidance for the families caring for them.

Beyond interstate services, the agency also lists adoption and licensing among its service areas. It reports supporting more than 220 children each year.

Who it serves

How the process generally works

Interstate child placement is governed by the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), which requires that a child be assessed and approved for placement in the receiving state before the move. Kmetko & Associates operates on the Illinois side of that process.

At a general level, the steps look like this:

1. Referral — a sending state agency or IDCFS refers a placement or home study request involving Illinois.
2. Assessment — the agency conducts a home study of the prospective Illinois family, covering the household's capacity to care for the child.
3. Approval and placement — once the receiving state approves, the child is placed with the family.
4. Supervision — the agency provides ongoing supervision and support after placement, reporting back to the involved state agencies.

The agency describes its team as experienced in both child welfare and the interstate placement process, and it lists licensed social workers (LCSW), licensing supervisors, and interstate services specialists among its staff.

What to keep in mind

• Illinois focus. The agency's work centers on placements into Illinois, not placements out of every state.
• Agency-to-agency coordination. Interstate placements typically move through state agencies and the ICPC rather than through direct family applications, so expect your caseworker or the sending agency to be part of the process.
• No pricing published. The site does not list fees or payment details, so cost and funding arrangements are not something you can determine from the website alone.

For specifics about a particular case — timelines, eligibility, or required documents — contact the agency or your assigned caseworker directly, since interstate placements depend on the laws and agencies of both states involved.

Kmetko & Associates, Ltd. does not publish a phone number, email address, or mailing address in the page content available here, so the reliable way to reach the agency is through the contact page or contact form on kmetko.com. That applies whether your question is about interstate child placement, adoption, licensing, or supervision services. If you need a named person rather than a general inbox, the staff list on the site identifies who handles which function, which helps you route your inquiry correctly the first time.

What the site tells you before you reach out

Kmetko & Associates is a licensed private child welfare agency based in Illinois. It began in 1990 when Tom Kmetko started assisting the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) with interstate child placements, and it now describes itself as a leading private agency working in adoption, licensing, and supervision as well. The site states that the agency supports over 220 children each year and handles hundreds of home study requests.

That context matters for your inquiry: the agency works with state agencies and families on Illinois placements, so questions from outside Illinois generally fall under its interstate services rather than a general family-services line.

Who to ask for, by topic

The staff directory on the site lists roles rather than direct contact details. Use it to decide what to write in your message or who to ask for if you call a main line.

The site also lists a large group of consultants with credentials including LCSW, MSW, LSW, PhD, and LMFT, which suggests clinical and assessment capacity beyond the core staff.

Steps to get a response

1. Go to kmetko.com and open the contact page or contact form. This is the only contact route supported by the available page content.
2. State your situation in one or two sentences: whether you are a family in Illinois, a family in another state, or a state agency making a referral.
3. Name the service you need — interstate placement, adoption, licensing, home study, or supervision.
4. Include the state involved if your case crosses state lines, since interstate placement is the agency's founding specialty.
5. If you want a specific person, name the role from the table above rather than only a job title, and ask that your message be routed to them.

Expected result: your inquiry reaches the correct service area instead of sitting in a general queue, and you get a reply from someone whose role matches your question.

Common snags

• No published phone or email in the available content. Do not assume a number you find elsewhere is current; start from the site's own contact page.
• Confusing the agency with a state office. Kmetko & Associates is a private agency that collaborates with state agencies such as IDCFS. If your question is about a state benefits case or a court matter, the state agency is the right first stop.
• Assuming services are free or open to everyone. The site does not state fees, eligibility rules, or whether inquiries are accepted from the public, so ask about eligibility and cost directly in your message.
• Sending a detailed case history in a first message. A short summary plus a request for the right contact person is usually enough to get routed correctly.

What to have ready

Before you write, gather the basics: the child's or family's state, the type of placement or service involved, any state agency already working on the case, and a clear question. That lets the intake specialist or interstate services supervisor answer in one reply instead of a back-and-forth.

Kmetko & Associates, Ltd. is a licensed private child welfare agency based in Illinois that has worked in interstate child placement since 1990. It began when Tom Kmetko started assisting the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) with placing children across state lines, and it has since grown into an agency that also handles adoption, licensing, and supervision services. If you are trying to judge whether the agency has the background and staffing to handle an interstate placement or home study, the record below is what the agency itself reports.

How the agency started

The origin point is specific: 1990, when Tom Kmetko began assisting IDCFS with interstate child placements. That work was the seed of the organization — the site describes it as "a vital service" that "quickly grew," and Kmetko & Associates was formed around it.

Tom Kmetko, LCSW, is listed as Executive Chairman, so the founder remains connected to the agency's leadership structure.

How it grew beyond interstate placement

What started as interstate placement support now spans a wider set of services. According to the agency, it has expanded its expertise to include:

• Adoption
• Licensing
• Comprehensive supervision services

It also describes itself today as "a leading private child welfare agency."

Scale of current operations

The agency reports two figures that indicate how much work it handles:

These numbers matter if you are evaluating capacity — they suggest interstate placement and home studies are routine, ongoing work rather than occasional cases.

Experience: over 30 years

The agency states it has been dedicated to finding safe, loving homes for children seeking placement with Illinois families for over 30 years. Combined with the 1990 founding date, that gives a long, continuous track record in the same state and the same core service area.

The team behind the work

The staff list is unusually detailed and is itself evidence of the agency's structure. It includes licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), social workers (BSW, MSW, LSW), and specialists organized around interstate services.

Leadership and administration

• Tom Kmetko, LCSW — Executive Chairman
• Fred Dillon, LCSW — Executive Director
• Laurie Kaufman, LCSW — Interstate Services Administrator
• Tim Garvey, LCSW — Interstate Services Administrator

Interstate services supervisors

• Anissa Dean, LCSW — Interstate Services Licensing Supervisor
• Celeste Richmond, LCSW — Interstate Services Supervisor
• Semah Shammas, LCSW — Interstate Services Supervisor

Interstate services specialists and licensing representatives

• Daniela Celis, BA — Intake Specialist
• Duaziah Graham, BA — Interstate Services Specialist
• Heather Rutenber, BS — Interstate Services Specialist
• Kristy Kaufman, BSW — Interstate Services Specialist
• Nicole Thomas, BA — Interstate Services Specialist
• Stephanie Robinson, BSW — Interstate Services Specialist II
• Tanisha Wash, BS — Interstate Services Specialist
• Tracey Peters, BA — Interstate Services Specialist
• Stacy Cather, BSW — Interstate Services Licensing Representative
• Paula Williams, BA — Interstate Services Licensing Representative
• Maria Figueroa, BA — Administrative Assistant
• Christian Ovalle, BS — System Administrator

Consultants

The agency also lists a group of consultants, including Alisa Jackson-Comer, LCSW; Antanet Roberts, LCSW; Arlene Mitchell, MSW, LSW; Ashley Kendrick, LCSW, DSW; Bailey Gamble, MA; Dr. Edrena Davis-Abram, LCSW; Ellen Thursby, PhD; Jaclyn Schedin, LCSW; Jennifer Barron, LCSW; Jennifer Mitchell, LMFT; and Joanna Miller, LCSW.

The mix is worth noting: the interstate services side is staffed by multiple supervisors and specialists, not a single point of contact, and licensed clinicians appear at both the supervisory and consultant levels.

What this means if you are evaluating the agency

• If you need interstate placement support, the agency's entire history is built on that work, dating to 1990.
• If you need a home study, the reported volume of hundreds of requests suggests it is a standard part of their operations.
• If you are weighing credibility, the combination of a 30-plus-year record, a named founder still in leadership, and a staff roster of licensed social workers gives you concrete points to check against state licensing records.
• If you need adoption or licensing services, the agency states these were added as its expertise expanded beyond the original interstate placement work.

For current service availability, fees, or eligibility in your specific situation, contact the agency directly — the site describes its services and team but does not publish pricing or intake conditions.

Kmetko & Associates, Ltd. is a licensed private child welfare agency based in Illinois that focuses on interstate child placement services. If you are a caseworker, family, or state agency trying to place a child with a family in Illinois — or to move a child across state lines into or out of Illinois — this is the kind of organization you would work with. The agency also provides adoption, licensing, and supervision services.

What the agency does

According to its own site, Kmetko & Associates has worked in this space for over 30 years, starting in 1990 when Tom Kmetko began assisting the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) with interstate child placements. That work grew into the agency as it exists today.

Its stated mission is to enrich the lives of children and families by collaborating with state agencies to find and support loving homes in Illinois. In practice, that means:

• Interstate placement services — coordinating placements of children across state lines under the Interstate Compact process.
• Adoption — support for adoptive placements.
• Licensing — licensing of foster and adoptive homes.
• Supervision — ongoing oversight and support of placements.
• Home studies — assessments of prospective homes, including out-of-state requests.

The agency reports supporting over 220 children each year and handling hundreds of home study requests.

Who it serves

The site describes its work as centered on children seeking placement with families in Illinois, carried out in collaboration with state agencies. That points to three main audiences:

• State child welfare agencies that need an Illinois-side partner for an interstate placement or home study.
• Prospective foster and adoptive families in Illinois going through licensing or a home study.
• Families and children already in a placement that requires ongoing supervision.

How it is staffed

The agency lists a sizable team of licensed professionals, which is relevant if you are evaluating whether it has the capacity and credentials for your case:

The mix of LCSW- and BSW-level staff plus external consultants suggests the agency is set up to handle both case coordination and clinical assessment work.

What to keep in mind

• The site presents the agency's own description of its services; it does not publish pricing, eligibility rules, or turnaround times, so those would need to be confirmed directly.
• Interstate placements are governed by state and federal rules and by the receiving and sending agencies involved, so Kmetko's role is as a partner within that process rather than a standalone decision-maker.
• If you are a family rather than an agency, your entry point is most likely through your state agency or through the agency's intake contact, not by applying for an interstate placement yourself.

For specifics on a particular case — timelines, requirements, or whether the agency can take it — contact Kmetko & Associates directly through the details on kmetko.com.

Yes. Kmetko & Associates, Ltd. lists adoption among the services it provides. According to the agency, it has expanded its expertise beyond interstate child placement to include adoption, licensing, and comprehensive supervision services. So if you are asking whether adoption is part of what this agency does, the answer is yes — it is one of the service areas the agency names on its site.

What the agency says about its adoption work

Kmetko & Associates describes itself as a licensed child welfare agency based in Illinois. Its stated mission is to "enrich the lives of children and families by collaborating with state agencies to find and support loving homes in Illinois."

Adoption sits alongside two related functions in the agency's service list:

• Adoption — helping place children with families
• Licensing — licensing and licensing-related work for families and providers
• Comprehensive supervision services — ongoing oversight and support

The agency also notes that it handles hundreds of home study requests each year and supports over 220 children annually, which is relevant context if you are considering adoption, since home studies are typically part of the process.

Who this applies to

The agency's focus is on children seeking placement with families in Illinois. Its history is rooted in working with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS), beginning in 1990 with interstate child placements. If you are a family in Illinois interested in adoption, or you are working with a state agency on a placement that involves Illinois, this is the relevant audience.

How to get specific adoption guidance

The website does not lay out a step-by-step adoption process, eligibility rules, timelines, or costs. Because adoption requirements and procedures depend heavily on your situation and the state agencies involved, the practical next step is to contact the agency directly.

The site lists an intake contact and a team of interstate services and licensing staff, including licensed clinical social workers and licensing representatives. When you reach out, it helps to have ready:

• Whether you are already working with a state agency or IDCFS
• Whether the child is currently in another state (interstate) or already in Illinois
• What stage you are at — initial inquiry, home study, or post-placement

What is not stated on the site

To avoid guessing: the site does not publish adoption fees, eligibility criteria, wait times, or whether it works with private/domestic versus foster-to-adopt situations specifically. It also does not state that services are free or that any login is required. For any of those details, ask the agency directly rather than assuming.

Bottom line: Kmetko & Associates provides adoption services as part of a broader set of child welfare services in Illinois, alongside licensing and supervision. For specifics on how to participate, contact the agency — the website gives the service areas but not the procedural details.