Services & Programs

Foster Care Services

A loving home and a lot more

NCYF works with more than 140 carefully selected foster families across Massachusetts to provide safe, stable, healthy home environments for young people suffering abuse, neglect, abandonment and other complex emotional and behavioral issues. Through thoughtful, active training and support, we’ve recruited and retained many compassionate and skilled foster parents who are NCYF’s dedicated partners in positive change.

Our foster parents will tell you about the extraordinary satisfaction of opening their hearts and homes to a troubled child, and watching the transformation that comes from commitment, caring, accountability and respect. Collaboration is at the core of the work we do, and our foster families are expected to work closely with our agencys highly trained team, schools, biological families and other service providers with a stake in the foster child’s success. Additionally, kids who have “stepped down” from our residential programs benefit from NCYF’s consistent and informed treatment — just one of the many advantages we offer as a full-service agency.

NCYF is exceptionally equipped to serve adolescents in need of a more structured, intensive program model that stresses accountability and personal responsibility. Our Safe Passage program is specifically designed for youth with problematic sexual behavior, including juvenile offenders; participating foster parents receive additional training to best understand and manage their needs. This treatment program is based on a specialized model of care that emphasizes appropriate, pro-social alternatives to old abusive patterns.

Partner agencies Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, Department of Youth Services, Department of Children and Families, and others.

Foster care program Highlights:

  • Access to NCYF’s comprehensive continuum of care, enabling crossover with a variety of programs and professionals consistent with a foster child’s treatment plan and permanency goals.
  • Family support services, offering flexible and individualized in-home support for foster families.
  • Professional staff available 24/7, providing case management, treatment planning, respite care and full support in times of crisis.
  • Safe Passage program, the only one of its kind in the foster care community serving youth with a history of problematic sexual behavior, as well as juvenile offenders.
  • Community building, including an annual picnic and luncheon for foster families.