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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 Based Acute Treatment (CBAT)
A short-term (7-10 days) residential treatment model for children ages 4-18 in need of acute crisis stabilization. This 9 bed unit offers psychiatry, clinical social work, case management, and residential and education services. The therapeutic milieu is designed to promote reintegration of the child into his/her family, biological or otherwise. Most of the children originate from Greater New Bedford. However, the program is available to any resident of Massachusetts.

Emergency Mental Health Services

Emergency Services (Crisis Center)

Child & Family’s Emergency Services (Crisis Center) operates 24 hours a day and provides care for people of all ages in need of emergency mental health counseling. An emergency service clinician evaluates the clients in crisis and arranges appropriate treatment after consultation with a psychiatrist. An experienced master’s level clinician is available seven days a week and there is always a psychiatrist on-site or on-call. FAQs...

Greater New Bedford Trauma Response Network
Child & Family is the lead agency for the Trauma Response Network. There is a trauma response network team available to provide on –site counseling to local citizens who are victims of traumatic life experiences such as; major accidents, large disasters, and acts of violence involving multiple victims. Team members serve on a rotational basis and offer follow-up debriefing sessions for the victims.

Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU)
CSU is a nine-bed unit that receives patients from our Emergency Services (ES) program and from other ES programs in the area. CSU is for patients who need support, monitoring, and/or medication stabilization, but do not need inpatient admission. Typically, the patients stay for 3 to 10 days prior to discharge back into the community. Child & Family’s CSU is one of the few who see both children and adults. FAQs...

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.

Empowering Families for Success (EFS)
This program is designed to meet the needs of families who have children with mental health problems referred by the Department of Mental Health. Most services are provided in a family's home at their convenience. Some of the services include traditional counseling to assistance with homemaking, behavior modification, medication management, respite services and any other type of service that will train and assist the family to address the needs of their children in a non-hospital setting. More...

School-Based Counseling Services
Child & Family offers a school-based counseling program in cooperation with the New Bedford School Department and other area schools. Professional counselors work closely with the students, their families and school staff to provide the highest quality service. We also provide services in school, a setting that is both familiar and comfortable for students, and as a part of their regular school day.

Community Support Youth & Family Services

Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters provides quality services to volunteers, and to children between the ages of 7 through 14, who reside in the area between Dartmouth and Wareham. Through a committed one-on-one relationship with a caring individual, children will benefit from the relationship and have assistance to grow into caring, responsible adults. A willingness to commit to two hours a week for a minimum of a year is required to sustain the relationship. To receive more information regarding the program, please contact the program coordinator at (508) 990-0894. If you would like to donate clothing, please call 1-800-483-5503 to schedule a pick up day. If you would like to donate a car, please call 1-800-859-6526. FAQs...

Caring Network
The Caring Network is designed to help children between the ages of 4 and 12 who witness violence in their homes, schools, and communities. Counselors help children through the initial trauma, help them develop safety plans in case of future violence, and show them ways to settle conflict and tension without violence. These services are available to children and their families regardless of their ability to pay. Since its inception in 1996, the Caring Network has helped more than 1200 boys and girls. FAQs...

Coordinated Family-Focused Care (CFFC)
CFFC is a multi-agency model of care, serving eligible MassHealth children with serious emotional disturbance and their families. The Division of Medical Assistance, Department of Mental Health, Social Services, Youth Services and Education jointly fund this program. The goal of CFFC is to better coordinate the care of children and adolescents who are at risk of hospitalization or residential placement because of their serious emotional disturbance. This program builds on family strengths and available support systems to help children remain in or return to the community. FAQs...

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...

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 Open Referral Form. A case manager will be in touch as soon as possible.