table of contents
My name is Sam Gragg. I am the Statewide Director of Adoption and Foster Care for MSPCC, and I am a Licensed Individual Clinical Social Worker.
I began my career working with families in their homes to help them address challenges related to raising children with Autism. After completing my Masters in Social Work at Boston College, I became a social worker for the Department of Children and Families (DCF), rising through the ranks to become a Supervisor and eventually lead the team I started working with as an Intern. During my time at DCF, I took an interest in advocating for improvements to the foster care system, and I then transitioned to a federal government role placing Unaccompanied Migrant Children in foster homes throughout the country. In 2024, I accepted my current position as Statewide Director of Adoption and Foster Care at MSPCC, where I use my social work training and experience to oversee programs and advocacy related to these fields.
Being a social worker is more than just attending classes and passing a test. It becomes a part of who you are and how you operate in the world. It is a privilege to be allowed into clients’ homes, lives, and minds, and to gain a level of trust that allows you to share in and support them through their most sensitive and challenging experiences. As a social worker, you’re allowed in because you offer hope that something you have to offer will make things better for that person or family.
While I no longer work directly with families, my time as a DCF social worker remains a part of who I am and continues to shape how I approach my work. In my current position, I oversee the Kid’s Net program, the Encompass program, and MSPCC’s Adoption Services. Additionally, I work closely with the Massachusetts Alliance for Foster Families (MAFF) as they advocate on behalf of policies that improve life for Foster, Kinship, Adoptive, and Guardian caregivers. Oftentimes, the importance of a high-quality social work workforce is a central theme.
Social workers are a workforce in demand (even if their salaries don’t always reflect that demand). Every time a new initiative is launched to increase access to mental health care or provide greater support to the most vulnerable members of our communities, social workers are the ones called upon to turn those initiatives into a reality. They are on the front lines as we address issues like crime rates, domestic violence, school shootings, the opioid epidemic, drunk driving, housing instability and homelessness, child abuse and neglect, suicide rates, and the loneliness epidemic. They are the backbone of many of the systems on which children and families rely, and it’s essential that we continue to invest in and support them so they can continue to drive this important work forward.
Whether you have worked with a social worker personally or not, you likely know their benefit to our society is significant, and I’m honored that I get to come to work every day to play a small role in their mission. This National Social Work Month, I encourage all of us to come together and pledge to support social workers, enabling them to continue to aid our most vulnerable neighbors and create stronger communities for us all.
