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Friends of Children Programs
Friends of Children was founded in 1988, when a group of concerned citizens began fundraising to support local children’s programs. Friends of Children initiated its advocacy mission in 1990, and has accomplished its mission by identifying unmet needs, assessing gaps in services, linking children and families with services, and serving as the catalyst in the development of services to meet the needs of vulnerable children.
Here are just a few of those programs offered by Friends of Children to serve those children in need.
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
Friends of Children trains citizens to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in court, ensuring that their needs are not overlooked by overburdened court and child welfare systems. All of the children served by CASA are referred by the local Juvenile Court. After initiating CASA programs in Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties, the Friends of Children now operates the Franklin/Hampshire CASA Program.
CASA programs are available throughout Massachusetts. To learn more about CASA programs in your area, check out the National CASA website
Adolescent Advocacy Mentoring Project (AAMP)
More than 100 foster children in Franklin and Hampshire County will “age-out”of the child welfare system over the next three years. Without stable family connections and few services to support them, these foster youth, ages 14-18, often must literally fend for themselves.
For many, their lack of adult support, job education and inadequate training results in an unstable lifestyle leading to homelessness or becoming involved in the criminal justice system. Friends of Children has initiated The Adolescent Advocacy Mentoring Project, or AAMP, to advocate for this at-risk and often forgotten population.
Mentoring may be the critical bridge in helping these young adults make a successful transition from foster care to self-sufficiency, from being a dependent child to an independent adult.
This program was designed in collaboration with the Northampton/Greenfield Department of Social Services.
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Child Advocacy Program
Friends of Children recently expanded it's Child Advocacy Program to meet the increased need for advocacy services. The program provides direct assistance and guidance to parents in their role of advocate for their children. Professional child advocacy is provided via telephone contact, as well as in-home and office contact. Parents are given information, intervention and intensive support to get critical services for children who need them.
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Foster Dignity
Friends of Children initiated the Foster Dignity Project to offer a tangible message of respect and dignity to foster children in transition. Thanks to this project, more than 2000 children in western Massachusetts have been able to move into new situations with their belongings safely stored in a backpack or duffel all their own instead of using a trash bag.
For these children who have lost so much, this practical belonging may serve to bolster their sense of privacy and confidence, as well as provide them with warm socks, gloves, school supplies and other personal items donated by community organizations. Their ownership of a backpack— a generational essential — lessens a foster child’s sense of isolation when they make the transition to a new home and school in a new town. The message to these kids is clear: they do matter.
The Foster Dignity Project, an ongoing effort at Friends of Children, continues under the leadership of community volunteers.
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Community Education
Friends of Children’s mission includes making certain that citizens are aware of issues impacting vulnerable children and youth in our region. We have done this by developing and hosting major conferences for service providers, advocates and parents. Topics reviewed were Permanency Needs of Children as well as Adolescents and Risky Behaviors.
Additionally, Friends of Children sponsored a Child Watch event on youth aging-out of foster care, writing and distributing several publications including: A Parent’s Guide to Special Education, Child Health Care Advocacy Project’s Resource Manual, and A CASA Legal Manual.
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