Programs

  • Child Services

    Each year, MARE’s Child Services team serves over 900 children and teens who have been referred to MARE by their DCF Adoption Workers. Each child is assigned to a dedicated Child Services Coordinator (CSC) based on their geographic region. The CSC develops an individualized recruitment plan and strengths-based profile for each youth, investigates possible family matches through MARE's database and by networking with other partner organizations, and utilizes media campaigns and targeted community outreach to identify potential families. The Child Services team also hosts regular Meet and Greet events, which create opportunities for youth and families to connect directly and naturally through activities, games, and shared interests. While MARE provides services for any child in Massachusetts foster care who has a goal of adoption, we have increasingly targeted our efforts toward the specific populations of youth who wait the longest in care and face the greatest risk for aging out of foster care without a permanent family: Children of color, teens and young adults, sibling groups, those with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ youth.
    Geographies
    Massachusetts, USA
    Dates
    Not indicated
    Source
    User-generated
    Adoption,Foster care
    Young adults,Adolescents,Children,Preteens,Multiracial people,People of African descent,People of Asian descent,Hispanic/Latinx/of Latinx or Spanish-speaking descent,Foster and adoptive children,LGBTQ people,Out-of-home youth
    900
    –

  • Family Support Services

    Our Family Support team provides support to more than 2,500 families each year. MARE serves families at all stages of the adoption process from initial inquiry, licensing and training, through matching, placement, and all subsequent transitional stages to reach a successful adoption. MARE provides one-on-one support, informational webinars, mentoring opportunities with experienced families, and a variety of in-depth, trauma-informed trainings about specialized topics to help prepare and empower families to provide welcoming and affirming homes for the youth we serve.
    Geographies
    Massachusetts, USA
    Dates
    Not indicated
    Source
    User-generated
    Adoption,Foster care,Parent education
    Multiracial people,People of African descent,People of Latin American descent,Foster and adoptive parents,LGBTQ people
    2.6K
    –

  • Specialized Recruitment Program

    MARE’s Specialized Recruitment program focuses on finding families prepared to parent children with significant physical and developmental needs. With a small caseload, the Specialized Recruitment Coordinator provides individualized supports and outreach strategies so that each child can have the supportive family they need to grow and thrive. MARE's SRC has developed a successful approach to family recruitment that focuses on three areas: maximizing traditional recruitment opportunities, exploring each child's existing network of support, and conducting community outreach based on each child's diagnosis and unique needs and strengths. The children on her caseload have a variety of special needs, including muscular dystrophy, autism, mobility issues, and those with significant medical needs. It is a time-consuming and challenging process, but this thorough and individualized approach has helped match several children on the SRC caseload with permanent families.
    Geographies
    Massachusetts, USA
    Dates
    Not indicated
    Source
    User-generated
    Adoption,Foster care,Family disability resources,Developmental disability services
    Adolescents,Children,Preteens,Foster and adoptive children,People with disabilities
    20
    –