At 265 Medford Street in Somerville, this is a common
goal that is infused into everyday work and compassion for the
Somerville foster care community. Dare Family Services is an
organization that represents family, community, and a second chance for
children in need of a loving and safe home environment.

To date,
the Somerville Dare office has 48 foster parents and 54 foster children
in placement. This number reflects the significant amount of peoples'
lives that Dare is positively affecting everyday. Having been around
for 45 years, Dare is one of the oldest child placement agencies in New
England. Dare's office in Somerville offers many helpful services to
the Somerville community and beyond, reaching 70 towns in Massachusetts.

The
most common identifiers for children needing foster care is a presence
of substance abuse, domestic violence, and/or mental illness in the
household. Dare makes it a point to state that foster children are not
to be blamed for the situation that they may be in, as there are always
multiple contributing factors involved.

Dare's services range
from Adult Mental Retardation Services to Pregnant and Parenting Teen
Programs. The most prominent programs in the Somerville office are the
Intensive Foster Care program and the Counseling program. Intensive
Foster care is different from the Department of Children and Families'
foster care program, as it is for children who may need more attention
and care than a foster child in a DCF placement. Dare works very
closely with the Department of Children and Families to make sure that
foster children receive the necessary attention they deserve when
placing them with a foster family. When a child is in need of an
appropriate foster care family setting, Dare steps in to make that
possible. They match the child with the family that best fits both the
child's and the family's needs. The main goal at this level is to find
a stable environment in which the child is going to flourish and grow.
Dare then continues with weekly visits to ensure stability and to show
that both the child and the family are not alone in this process. Dare
also offers monthly support and training sessions available for foster
parents.

Having worked with so many inspiring people, Dare
stressed that these foster parents are heroes. "This is a way of life
for them. This is who they are, not just what they do," said Janelle
Moore, the marketing coordinator for Dare Family Services. Foster
parents were sometimes foster children themselves, which brings them a
great deal of satisfaction in being able to give back while knowing
they're changing a child's life.

David Tack is living proof. The
Program Director of the Somerville office,Tack, is an adoptee himself.
He has been involved in social services for most of his career. He has
been the director of Dare for over one year now, and prior was wit h
the Department of Child and Family Services for 20 years. His
commitment to the foster care system is demonstrated through his
passion for the work. "I really enjoy working with Dare. Everyday is a
learning experience. We have a great staff who support the social
workers and in return we receive great support from the larger social
service organizations," said Tack. The people who become foster parents
continue to impress Tack everyday. "There are a lot of courageous
people out there."

Foster care is not always the answer. Dare
supports families going through difficult times with their children by
providing intensive counseling before they are removed from the home.
The goal here is to mediate and intervene in order to keep the child in
their home environment.