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Adoption Journeys

Adoption Journeys in Massachusetts is a statewide Post Adoption support program of Child and Family Services. We are funded and supported by the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families. Our staff includes licensed social workers, counselors, child welfare and human services workers, and adoptive parents. Adoption Journeys is based on an understanding not only of the joys and challenges adoptive families face but also of the strengths and resources families have to cope with these challenges. Adoption Journeys is designed to support adoptive families in exploring and understanding their strengths, resources, and needs. More...

Adoption Services

Adoption Search
Adoption search is a research service provided to all members of an existing adoption triad (adoptive parents, biological parents and adoptees). To request information, multiple forms must to be signed and sent to our agency. Clients must also send proof of identification, such as a copy of your driver’s license or other photo I.D. Information shared is in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 2105 5D. More...

International Adoption Services
Our adoption program offers services to families who are pursuing international adoption. Child & Family Services provides the names of international agencies that we have ongoing relationships with to assist you in identifying a child and we coordinate the services necessary to complete the adoption in the specific foreign country. Child & Family Services can also work with an agency that a family has already identified. Services offered to adoptive families include, licensed home study, assistance with dossier preparation and INS, post placement visits once a child is placed in your home and assistance with legalization. More...

Older Children and Special Needs Adoption
This program provides services for children who have been in the custody of the Department of Social Services who have the goal of adoption. These children are often older, members of a sibling group or of a particular ethnic group. They may have special needs to include physical, emotional and/or medical difficulties. The program assesses the children’s needs and identifies the type of family best suited to meet their needs. The adoption staff members also recruit, train and provide ongoing support to pre-adoptive families. Home study and MAPP (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) training is provided free of charge to families interested in providing a permanent home to waiting children. More...

Mental Health Services

Child & Family’s mental health programs provide the foundation for the agency’s wide range of services to children, adults, and families. This fully licensed mental health clinic provides therapy and assessments for individuals, families, couples, and groups. We offer psychiatric evaluations, and medication monitoring by a psychiatrist.

Adult Behavioral Health Services (ABHS)
This clinic provides a full range of treatment including individuals, families, and couples therapy with various mental health issues. It also offers medication management by an expert group of psychiatrists.

Child Behavioral Health Services (CBHS)
Because the needs of children are often different than adults, we have therapists and psychiatrists specifically trained to work with children who take into account the emotional, physical and developmental needs of adolescents. These professionals understand the needs of children and work with families to ensure successful treatment.

Community Support Youth & Family Services

Parent Mentor Program
Parent Mentor is a comprehensive educational and advocacy program for families referred by the Department of Social Services. Parent Mentors work with families to learn new and better ways of coping with the challenges of every day life. The focus of the program is to strengthen families at risk for child abuse or neglect. To bring about constructive change, Parent Mentors use a range of methods that include support, guidance, instruction and treatment. The goal is to keep children with their families in order to spare them the trauma of separation and loss. FAQs...

Sexual Abuse Intervention Network (SAIN)
The SAIN Program is designed to reduce the number of interviews and trauma for children who have been a victim of sexual abuse. A team of professionals work together to try and reduce the amount of “fact gathering” interviews that children have to go through, thereby eliminating further trauma to the child. SAIN team members include the Department of Social Services, the District Attorney’s office, local police departments, the SAIN team coordinator and the social worker and/or therapist working with the family. The team serves 21 cities and towns throughout the Bristol County. This program serves over 300 children per year. FAQs...

Therapeutic Mentoring Services
Therapeutic Mentoring offers structured, one-to-one, strength-based support services between a therapeutic mentor and a youth for the purpose of addressing daily living, social, and communication needs. More...

Young Parent Support (YPS)
This program is an open referral service that is designed to provide home based services to pregnant and parenting teens in the Greater New Bedford and Fall River area who are under the age of 24. The services are geared toward high-risk teens that are disengaged from needed services. Our team consists of experienced case managers to assist young parents with the many aspects of parenthood including health care, education, housing, and healthy relationships. Our services are free, voluntary, and confidential. YPS case managers speak English, Portuguese, and Spanish. The goal of the program is to prepare young parents to become self sufficient, healthy, well-informed individuals capable of making responsible decisions regarding pregnancy and parenting. To refer yourself, or to make a referral for someone you know, please fill out our Online Referral Form. A case manager will be in touch as soon as possible.

Outreach & Community Counseling

Child & Family’s outreach programs provide support and assistance to children and families. Clinicians provide home-based counseling for clients who are unable to leave their home. Therapists work with clients in school, residential, and employment settings.

In-Home Therapy
In-Home Therapy is a structured, consistent, strengths-based therapeutic relationship between professional staff and identified youths and families. Its purpose is to treat youths’ emotional and behavioral health needs, improve families’ ability to provide effective support and promote healthy family function. The treatment team, comprised of a licensed clinician, youth case worker, family and youth, develops treatment and safety plans based on the family’s identified needs and goals. The In-Home Therapy approach applies established psychotherapeutic techniques in intensive family therapy, supplemented by the case worker’s one-on-one contact with the youth, to implement focused interventions. It emphasizes behavioral techniques and encourages development of natural supports to strengthen the family and youth so that therapeutic goals might be met and sustained after team involvement has ended. FAQs...

For information about any of these services or other Child and Family Services Programs, we encourage you to contact our office.

66 Troy Street
Fall River, MA 02720

508-676-5708