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 PROGRAMS
& SERVICES
Adoption
is a life long process for adoptive families. One of the first
steps in this process is to figure out which type of adoption
best suits a particular family. For more general information
about adoption, please visit our How
to Adopt section. Below is a list of MARE Programs &
Services.
Information
& Referral
Anyone seeking adoption information can call MARE. Staff members
are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. to answer questions regarding specific children and the
adoption process in general. We can send an information packet
and/or refer families to adoption agencies to start the process.
Please contact us at 617-54-ADOPT (617-542-3678) or 1-800-882-1176
or fill out an Information
Request Form.
Registration
& Matching
Social workers register
and photolist waiting children with MARE to find families
for them through our wide array of programs and services.
The
Online Matching program allows all families and social
workers to search and make inquiries on any child or family
that is listed with MARE. Individuals and families who have
been homestudied and approved to adopt a child from foster
care can register
with MARE, a free service through which a family’s
criteria is compared with registered children to identify
potential matches.
MARE
Photolisting® and Online
Photolisting
MARE maintains a book containing biographical descriptions
and photographs of children who are registered with MARE and
available for adoption. Updated monthly, the MARE Photolisting®
is located in numerous public
libraries throughout the state, as well as in many adoption
agencies. We also have a MARE Online Photolisting on our website
that includes a partial list of children who are legally free
and photolisted with MARE.
Child-Specific
Media Campaigns
MARE coordinates numerous ongoing media campaigns featuring
specific children available for adoption. Some of the most
well known are Wednesday’s
Child with Jack Williams on WBZ-TV 4 Boston, Sunday’s
Child® in the Boston Globe and En
Busca de Hogar with Sara Suarez on Univision. For
a complete list, go to our media campaigns page.
Adoption
Parties & Recruitment Events
Four to six times per year, MARE hosts adoption parties to
bring together social workers, waiting children and prospective
adoptive parents in casual and fun settings. Each party is
held in a different region of the state. Families can learn
more about adoption, meet waiting children and network with
social workers. Adoption Party Guides are available for families
and social
workers.
In addition,
MARE hosts matching meetings for social workers and single
prospective adoptive parents with approved homestudies. At
these meetings, social workers present specific waiting children
through verbal descriptions, pictures, videos, etc. To find
out about upcoming adoption  parties
and recruitment events, please go to our events
page.
The
Heart Gallery
The Heart Gallery is a striking portrait exhibit of children
in the Massachusetts foster care system in need of permanent
families. Professional and amateur photographers volunteer
their expertise to create visual images of the children, and
the exhibit moves to different locations around the state
in addition to permanent exhibits at all Jordan’s Furniture
stores.
National
Adoption Month
November is National Adoption Month. It is a month set aside
to raise awareness about adoption of children from foster
care. Each year there are national and state events to recognize
and celebrate adoption. During this month, MARE coordinates
National Adoption Day as
well as other events.
Wendy’s
Wonderful Kids
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a non-profit public
charity dedicated to dramatically increasing the adoptions
of the more than 140,000 children in North America’s
foster care systems. Wendy's Wonderful Kids is a signature
program of the Foundation.
Wendy’s
Wonderful Kids recruiters employ a child-focused recruitment
strategy which involves case records review, regular meetings
with children, assessment, adoption preparation, network building
and the creation of recruitment plans for finding families
for children who are waiting in foster care to be adopted.
MARE is
a proud recipient of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
grants for two Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters, one
serving Western Massachusetts and one serving the greater
Boston area.
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