Please welcome a guest blogger, Amanda Townsend, one of our Case Managers.  She took a few minutes to reflect upon a very important speech she attended last week. 

"On Monday 9/25/17 I was given the opportunity to attend a provider’s council conference. I was excited to be given this opportunity when hearing that the key note speaker was going to be Steve Pemberton, the Author of the book “A Chance In the World.”  I

Their eyes have gone from shining and full of sparkles to flat, dull.  Two giggling girls changed, aged over the course of one conversation.  A social worker nervously toyed with her bracelet as she struggled to find the words needed to change their world. 

Their mother, a woman who fought hard to find her footing, lost her battle.  The warm smile they loved, the enveloping hugs she gave, the future they planned to go home

It is the final step for a Home Finder. At the very bottom of the last page, a little black line, about three inches long; your typed name, credentials, and title below. You poise your blue or black pen over the paper and there is always a pause. The weight of the paper is heavy in your hand. You’ve read, re-read, and scrutinized every line. Peers, supervisors, and program directors have reviewed your work. That

"Teenagers"…Breaths catch, hearts splutter, shoulders stiffen. That single word is one of the most heart-stopping words in the English language. It is the developmental stage every parent nervously jokes about and anxiously anticipates. Couple the adolescent years with the challenges of foster care and you have a fearsome combination…Or do you?

The newspapers are filled to the brim with articles about the opioid epidemic and the soaring numbers of infants entering care directly from the

You enjoy a lovely meal at a friend’s home.  The food was delicious, the conversation delightful.  The host rises to clear the table and you, excellent manners in hand, leap up to help.

“Oh, thank you so much,” the homeowner says with a smile.  “I would really appreciate it if you could help load the dishwasher.”

As he hands you plates, cups, bowls, and silverware, you arrange them neatly in rows.  Cups in front, plates

The numbers are crunched, arranged, and deconstructed. Computers churn out percentages, predictions. They have their place in this world, but they will never tell you your place. The numbers are numbers, but they don’t have all the data. They can’t calculate the unique, glowing being that is YOU.

The statistics don’t know that you dream about a pink picket fence and have clippings from magazines taped to your mirror as motivation.

The statistics don’t know

It was the beginning of December when we got the call. Five siblings dropped off at a local DCF office by their parents. They had the clothes on their backs, some tattered belongings, and little heads filled with questions and fear. We went through our list of available homes and on that cold, gray Thursday, there was nothing. None of our homes were open, and certainly not a home for five siblings. We’ll let you

MAPP is the Massachusetts Approach to Partnerships in Parenting.  It is a course taught in every foster care and adoption program in Massachusetts and is a pre-requisite for all foster and pre-adoptive parents.  MAPP is a 30 hour course that is, essentially, a crash course in parenting a child who is involved with the child welfare system.  Every state has its own version of the curriculum, so that potential foster and pre-adoptive parents understand the

MAPP is the Massachusetts Approach to Partnerships in Parenting.  It is a course taught in every foster care and adoption program in Massachusetts and is a pre-requisite for all foster and pre-adoptive parents.  MAPP is a 30 hour course that is, essentially, a crash course in parenting a child who is involved with the child welfare system.  Every state has its own version of the curriculum, so that potential foster and pre-adoptive parents understand the

I would like to extend a sincere thanks to Mama L for sharing this beautiful, vulnerable piece of her heart with our readers.  

Dear Mama M,

 People often stare when they see our family. They stare because our son looks like you and not like us. Sometimes observational comments will be made such as "your daughter has fair skin and your son has darker skin". Sometimes we simply reply, "yes they do", and other