“Whether it has been supporting the needs of my family or the needs of the families and children we serve, Children’s Friend has been a stable, supportive place in our lives.”
-Veronica Listerud, LICSW, Director of Adoption and Family Services
Breaking News!
For the second year in a row, our Adoption and Family Services program has brought home the highest recognition for a Massachusetts adoption agency. The Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange awarded Children’s Friend the 2012 MARE Excellence Award for Outstanding Collaboration in the Recruitment of Permanent Families for Waiting Children. The award’s nickname is “The Woody,” because a brass plate goes on a wooden plaque.
But wait, there’s more – Our Case Manager Katie Kenbeek was recognized for “Outstanding Dedication and Commitment to Waiting Children and Families.” That’s also an impressive recognition.
And as if that weren’t enough, our staff was also honored for “Outstanding Use of MARE Registration and Photo Listing.”
Congratulations to Veronica Listerud, Chris O’Shea, and our entire adoption staff. They continue to do us proud while they do great work for our kids and families.
Adoption
Children’s Friend became the first adoption agency in central Massachusetts in the 1850’s. We’re proud that we’re still helping to bring families together more than 150 years later.
Our licensed Adoption and Family Services program provides adoption-related services including:
- Home studies, supervision, and finalization services to complete out-of-state or relative adoption and placement.
- Child adoption assessments, home studies, and case consultation to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF).
- Case management services for DCF, including recruitment of adoptive families and placement of children for adoption.
- Searches for adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents whose adoptions were completed at Children’s Friend.
Special Services
Therapeutic Supervised Visitation
The Therapeutic Supervised Visitation program provides a safe and structured setting where children, adoptive parents or guardians, and birth families come together with one goal: for children to know the love of their families. Sharing time together reinforces important family ties when children cannot live with their birth families. The children we serve are in adoptive homes or under legal guardianships. Our program is unique because we offer:
- Face-to-face contact between children, birth parents, and adoptive families or guardians.
- Facilitation by licensed therapists.
- Child-centered activities.
- A comfortable setting.
Other Training
Program Director Veronica Listerud, LICSW, and her staff provide training to public and private sector adoption workers on various aspects of adoption.
MAPP
Our staff is qualified to give Massachusetts Approach to Partnership in Parenting (MAPP) training. This is a training that is required for foster and pre-adoptive parents. To see a current list of training sessions, please see the MAPP training page.
Contact Us
The Adoption and Family Services Program is located at 21 Cedar Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Please call Veronica Listerud, LICSW, Director of Adoption and Family Services, at (508) 753-5425 or email adoption@childrensfriend.org.
A Wonderful National Adoption Day for Our Families and Adoption and Family Services Staff on November 18, 2011
Testimonials
“Children’s Friend holds a special place in our heart. When we decided to start a family, adoption was our only option. Throughout the entire process the staff at the Children’s Friend was warm and friendly and there to answer any question we might have. The information we learned in our MAAP classes at the Children’s Friend proved to be invaluable in helping our children grow within our family. Our social worker Sue Uryasz is second to none. We deferred to her expertise in both of our adoptions, and thanks to her we have the two greatest gifts any person could wish for. Sue was able to use her years of experience to essentially hand pick the children that would be the best fit for our lifestyle and our home. Thanks to her help and knowledge the transition period for our two adoptions has been virtually seamless. We owe a great deal of thanks and gratitude to Children’s Friend and Sue Uryasz and would recommend them to anyone thinking of adopting without reservation.”
- David and Carrie C.
The adoption experience with Children’s Friend was extremely positive overall. They worked with us to do all of the necessary paperwork and training, and they were there to guide us through the process with the Department of Children and Families. In addition, they were so supportive in helping us with the emotional rollercoaster that comes with adopting. If you are considering adoption, I don’t think you could pick a better agency to guide you through it.
- Kim and Dave D.
Wishlist for our kids and families:
- Sports equipment
- basketballs
- footballs
- soccer balls
- Arts and crafts supplies
- Books
- Parenting the Hurt Child
- Adopting the Hurt Child
- 1,2,3 Magic
- Attachment Focused Parenting
- Happy Adoption Day
- The Mulberry Bird
