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HISTORY
 Founded
in 1957, MARE was one of the first five adoption exchanges
in the United States. It is the only exchange to be established
under private auspices with trustees from the private and
public sectors of adoption. For 50 years, MARE has helped
to find adoptive homes for more than 5,000 children and has
received national recognition for its initiatives.
MARE
was then, and is now, the glue that binds together the efforts
and resources of the state agency (DSS) and private adoption
agencies throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to achieve
the mutual goal of finding “a place to call HOME”
for children in need of adoption.
With
a staff of just 13 full-time employees, MARE is able to help
facilitate the placement of approximately 150 children each
year in adoptive homes. There are currently more than 3,000
children in the Massachusetts foster care system that have
a goal of adoption, and more than 600 of these children do
not have a family identified. MARE focuses on finding adoptive
families for school-aged children, sibling groups, children
of color of all ages and children with intellectual, physical
or emotional difficulties or disabilities.
MARE
additionally serves prospective and experienced adoptive parents
from all walks of life, including married couples, single
people and gay and lesbian singles and couples. The agency
receives over 10,000 inquiries each year from individuals
seeking both general adoption information and child-specific
information.
Over
the years, MARE’s program array has expanded to include
a number of specific services related to the recruitment,
matching and referral of adoptive parents seeking children,
as well as a variety of training, support and advocacy activities.
 In
1969, MARE developed a pictorial newsletter featuring children
in need of families, the first of its kind in the nation.
This newsletter evolved into the MARE Photolisting®, a
recruitment tool registered with the Library of Congress in
1974 and emulated by agencies throughout the United States
and Canada. Available to prospective adoptive parents at public
libraries and adoption agencies statewide, the MARE Photolisting®
consistently leads to placements.
In
the early 1980’s, MARE began hosting adoption parties
at which prospective parents, social workers and waiting children
can meet and interact in fun and casual atmospheres. The power
of these personal interactions cannot be denied. More than
500 children have found their parents because of connections
made at these events.
Among
the most well known MARE programs are Sunday’s Child®,
created in 1976 with the Boston Globe, and Wednesday’s
Child, established in 1981 as a collaboration between
MARE, DSS and WBZ-TV 4 (now CBS4 Boston). These media series
have transformed public perception of adoption and the children
who need permanent homes. MARE coordinates ongoing child-specific
features with numerous publications throughout the state.
 For
years, MARE has played a vital role assisting in the passage
of progressive state legislation and promoting reforms. In
1992, MARE established the Children’s Adoption and Foster
Care Rights Coalition. This coalition successfully lobbied
for passage of House Bill 303, which reduced the length of
time children wait to be freed for adoption from a period
of more than four years to a maximum of 18 months. In April
of 1999, MARE supported the passage of another bill, which
included a legal requirement for DSS to register waiting children
with the state exchange.
Since
December of 1998, MARE has maintained an ongoing partnership
with Jordan’s Furniture. The “Jordan’s Initiative”
is a landmark collaboration between MARE, Jordan’s,
DSS and private agencies contracted by DSS. The Initiative
continues to spur innovative recruitment programs and has
led to more than 150 placements.
In
2005, MARE began another exciting public education and awareness
project, the Heart Gallery. This is a striking exhibit of
portraits of children registered with MARE and in need of
adoptive homes. All the photographers have volunteered their
time and expertise to create images that capture the spirit
of the children. The goal of the Heart Gallery is to raise
awareness about adoption and find families for the children
featured as well. It travels to various venues across the
Commonwealth, in addition to permanent displays at all Jordan’s
Furniture stores. In 2005, 36 children were featured, while
in 2006, 44 children were highlighted in the exhibit.
In
2006, MARE was awarded a grant from the Dave Thomas Foundation
for Adoption to establish a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program.
MARE now has a second staff person in Western Massachusetts
who works exclusively with a caseload of approximately 15
youth who have been waiting for adoptive homes the longest.
The focus is on finding a permanent connection or family resource
for a child, including exploring people from his or her past.
The
history of MARE is filled with pioneering efforts on behalf
of children who dream of finding adoptive families. This proud
tradition will endure as MARE looks to the future and continues
to develop creative solutions to the crisis of children in
need of permanent, loving homes.
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