Caritas Family Solutions promotes Mark Becker to ED, Child Welfare

Caritas Family Solutions recently announced that Mark Becker has been promoted to Executive Director of Child Welfare. Becker has worked for the nonprofit for 12 years and served as the organization’s Associate Executive Director of Child Welfare. Caritas currently serves more than 7,000 people including 2,300 foster children and is the third-largest provider of foster care services in Illinois.

“I am excited for the opportunity to continue to work alongside Mark and am confident in the skill and passion he brings to this new role,” said Caritas Chief Program Officer Hope Carbonaro. “His commitment to serving on behalf of children and their families and specifically to his career at Caritas have and will continue to be a blessing to our team and the families we serve.”

At Caritas, Becker has held several different positions, including Foster Care Case Manager, Foster Care Supervisor, Lead Foster Care Supervisor and Director of Foster Care. He has spent his entire career working with youth in care. Some of his responsibilities for his new position will include oversight of Foster Care and Adoption programs, retaining staff along with management of caseloads. Becker said his goal for the new role is to ensure that its staff is continuing to help kids get the amount of care they need as quickly as possible.

“The field itself can be stressful and difficult but it can be extremely rewarding,” said Becker. “It is wonderful to hear about the success stories within Caritas. This reflects the good work that our case managers all do in order for families to overcome challenges. To hear that successful end story is really neat and it never gets old. I really enjoy being a part of the process.”

He received his Master of Business Administration in June of 2022 from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and his Master of Arts in Professional Counseling from Lindenwood University-Belleville. He also received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Founded in 1947, Caritas Family Solutions is a nonprofit social service agency whose mission is to strengthen the social and emotional well-being of individuals and families in order to create healthy relationships, loving homes, and strong communities. Services include adoption, pregnancy care for women who are homeless, foster care, counseling, residential treatment for children healing from abuse and/or neglect, independent living for adults with developmental disabilities (CILA), and assisted living and employment assistance for low-income seniors. Caritas serves more than 7,000 individuals annually across Southern Illinois from offices located in Belleville, Carterville, Mount Vernon, Olney, Glen Carbon, Alton, and Effingham as well as satellite locations in Highland and Sparta. For additional information, visit www.caritasfamilysolutions.org.