MAPP Training

TRAINING FOR POTENTIAL FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS

The Massachusetts Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (MAPP) is a free, mandatory 30-hour education program for people interested in fostering or adopting children in the custody of the state of Massachusetts.

Through MAPP, prospective parents learn about the Department of Children and Families (DCF), The Home’s programs, and the children in need of foster or adoptive families. MAPP also provides information and skill building to help prepare participants for becoming parents.

MAPP involves a mutual assessment process: Prospective parents assess whether they have the desire and ability to foster or adopt and child; The Home assesses the participant’s interest and capacity to become a parental resource for youth in the Department’s care.

The program is divided into course sessions that cover:

• Caregiving
• Permanency planning for children in state care
• A child’s transition into foster placement
• The effects of maltreatment on development
• Attachment
• Trauma
• Behavioral support
• Health and safety issues
• Culture, connections and identity

Families who successfully complete MAPP training can progress to the home study assessment, a requirement for becoming an adoption or foster care resource.

Registration for MAPP Training

To be considered for MAPP Training, families must complete an evaluation process, starting with a pre-screen form, followed by a home visit and short interview. (If you are currently working with DCF in pursuit of adoption and would like to attend our MAPP training, please speak with your DCF Family Resource Worker for a referral.)