Become a Foster Parent
The Department of Social Services provides training to enhance parenting skills to help foster parents meet the challenge of foster parenting through "Massachusetts Approach to Partnerships in Parenting" (MAPP).

• Your role with each child is temporary, with lasting impact.
• You embrace and protect your foster child, and then you let go.
• Your stable and strong support helps to bring that child through traumatic times.
• You offer your talents, energy and time to help a child overcome tremendous pain and stress.
• You accept the challenge of foster parenting, and recognize that patience and understanding are necessarily part of your role.
• You create a safe place for a child to work through past experiences, which have been difficult times.
• You communicate well and you have good problem solving skills.
• You express, accept and understand your own feelings, and you are attuned to your foster child's feelings. You understand that your foster child may exhibit mixed emotions.
• You know when to ask for help. The Department of Social Services provides support services, including training sessions that will help you and in turn, help your foster child.
  

All of our children need the safety and structure of a loving family that offers the basic support systems that many of us take for granted. The open arms and kind heart of a loving foster parent and a safe, nurturing home environment can change a child's outlook on life.

The children who need foster care come from diverse backgrounds and varied experiences. They range in age from infants to young adults.

We especially need foster homes for the following:

• Older children and teenagers
• Sibling groups who want to stay together in foster care
• Children with developmental, educational and emotional special needs
• Children requiring medical attention
• Drug-affected infants