Weekend Family Connections Program: Building Bonds

A unique opportunity to make a difference in a teen’s life!

The Weekend Family Connections (WFC) Program is dedicated to creating meaningful connections between youth in residential care and supportive adults. This initiative pairs kids awaiting adoption, primarily those aged ten and older, with caring families who commit to spending at least one weekend a month together. During these visits, host families integrate the youth into their daily lives, neighborhood and community activities. The goal is to build connections between young people in foster care and nearby communities providing them with a positive experience of family life. The hope for these youth is to ultimately find legal permanence through adoption. For some this may be their host family and for others the WFC program may be a catylst to them expanding their world and gaining experiences that will help foward their goal of adoption. WFC is targeted to serve youth who are at high risk of aging out of foster care without lifelong family support.

Weekend Family Connection families participate in the same 30-hour MAPP training and caregiver assessment process as foster/pre-adoptive parents.  Bright Futures trains, approves, and supports families through their process.

Launched by the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) in collaboration with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the WFC program provides a unique opportunity for youth who have been in care for an extended period. Bright Futures teamed up with MARE in 2022, and has several WFC success stories.