Announcing: Weekend Family Connections!

We are very proud to announce a new collaboration between CFCS, Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) and the Department of Children and Families: Weekend Family Connections! This collaboration takes an innovative approach to finding nurturing adoptive homes for youth in foster care ages ten and older who are living in residential settings.

The Weekend Family Connections program pairs youth in foster care who are waiting for adoption with host families who are committed to actively incorporating the youth into their community and family life.

The host family provides the youth with opportunities to meet other adults in their lives, such as neighbors, co-workers, members of their faith communities or sports teams.  The goal of the program is to build connections that will ultimately result in the identification of an adoptive family, while allowing the youth a positive experience with family life.

Host families/individuals can be parenting, childless, empty-nesters, experienced adoptive families or simply invested in making a difference in the life of a child. Families are required to host the youth in their home for a minimum of two weekends per month for one year.

Research shows that youth ages ten and older who live in a residential setting are most likely to be adopted by someone who has already had the opportunity to get to know them as an individual. However, for many of these youth, residential care leaves them with minimal natural networks and community supports. Weekend Family Connections bridges the gap between waiting youth and supportive caring adults who are invested in inviting foster youth into their communities.

We are so excited about this new effort to reduce the number of youth who will age out of foster care without the security and safety that comes with family membership. To learn more about becoming a Weekend Family Connections host family, contact MARE at 617-964-6273 or info@mareinc.org!