MAFF’s Mission:
- To offer opportunities to come together and provide mutual support to each other.
- Educate the general public about the contributions that foster, kinship, guardianship and adoptive parents can make in the lives of children and about issues affecting the quality of care.
- Advocate for appropriate public policies and needed resources.
- Communicate regularly with the membership about issues of interest to them.
- Provide professional development opportunities and other benefits and services requested by the membership.
- Work in partnership with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and MSPCC’s Kid’s Net Program to improve the system of care for the children in DCF custody.
Each region has a MAFF Regional Chapter that meets at least once a year. The Regional Chapters also elect representatives to the MAFF Statewide Board. The Board meets regularly to identify issues that concern foster, adoptive and kinship parents and to plan advocacy with the legislature, DCF or other systems that impact foster care. MAFF hosts an annual conference for parents and DCF staff.
Membership in MAFF is free and open to all foster, adoptive, kinship and guardianship parents as well as anyone interested in improving the foster care system.
Contact MAFF
For more information about MAFF, email maff@mspcc.org or contact Michele Benkis at (617) 587-1666 or mbenkis@mspcc.org.
MAFF Legislative Advocacy Efforts
MAFF a leader in advocacy efforts to promote the well-being and safety of foster children in Massachusetts. We fight for issues that will improve their lives, like college tuition reimbursement for children who have aged out of foster care, increases to the daily rate of support for foster children, and laws to protect foster children from identity theft. Please join us in standing up for foster children by signing up to receive alerts on important legislation.
Learn more here.
Foster parents- take action and contact your state legislators! Call, email, or write your legislators about why they should support MAFF’s budget priorities to strengthen MA foster services and supports.