Our adoption program has the goal of ensuring that all waiting children—including the most challenging to place—are given the opportunities all children are entitled to, including a home, unconditional love, security and a community to call their own.

CFCS recruits, trains and prepares adoptive parents for children whose parents have had their parental rights terminated due to abuse and/or neglect. Families adopting children with traumatic histories of loss and abuse require parental education and on-going family support to know and understand the special social and emotional needs and challenges of these children and how to meet them.

CFCS works with single individuals or couples regardless of sexual orientation, race, religion, or background/ethnicity. There is no fee to adopt a child in the care of DCF.

CFCS understands that putting together a successful adoption requires both sensitivity and commitment. Along with highly personalized support, the agency’s specially trained adoption staff emphasizes the importance of education for new parents. Social workers help families identify their strengths and determine what type of adoption is best for them. CFCS staff members are certified trainers of the “MAPP” curriculum—Massachusetts Approach to Partnership in Parenting. The eight-week course is required for all families adopting a child from DCF and aims to prepare families to handle the special emotional, physical, or developmental needs that children my have as a result of traumatic events and losses they’ve experienced.