Our Services
Bridges Homeward services include Adoption case management, Comprehensive Foster Care, Development Disabilities Services, Safe & Stable Family Services, and more. Most of our work is by contract with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Department of Developmental Services (DDS).
Adoption
Our Adoption program provides planning and case management services for children and teens in DCF custody. We typically work with youth who face the greatest challenges to adoption: older children, sibling groups, and children with medical, developmental, emotional, or behavioral special needs. We are the only private agency in Greater Boston that provides adoption case management services to children in foster care. We are 1 of only 4 private agencies that provide adoption case management across the entire state. DCF manages much of the load itself.
Developmental Disabilities Services
Inaugural Director of MA Office of the Child Advocate, Maria Mossaides has said, “[A]lthough progress has been made over the past five decades in including individuals with disabilities into mainstream society, services to support individuals with behavioral and developmental challenges are insufficient. There has been a significant increase in the number of children diagnosed along the autism spectrum.” Our Developmental Disabilities Program empowers individuals and families through training, advocacy, and social events.
Family Services
Adoption is not only about the child or children but also about the parents. Furthermore, the process is about the family as a whole. Our Family Services program recruits, trains, and supports adoptive and foster parents, making sure their entire journey goes as smoothly as possible. Through training, matching services, and support, Family Services is available to make sure all the bases are covered before, during, and after the process.
Safe & Stable Family Services
Safe & Stable Family Services strengthens families, youth, and young adults. Preventing out-of-home placements, helping parents reunify with their children, connecting people to resources, building and refining essential life skills, and empowering youth and young adults aging out of foster care—these are just a small sample of the many things Safe & Stable Family Services staff do every day.
Comprehensive Foster Care
Our Comprehensive Foster Care program staff work to help children and teens in foster care transition to more permanent placement: reunification with their birth family, guardianship, kindship care, or adoption. Bridges Homeward specializes in foster care for children who were born exposed to substances, experienced abuse or neglect, or have complex medical, behavioral, or developmental needs.
