Why We Exist
Learn more about our Mission
![Thompson Family - Saliha Bayrak](https://www.mareinc.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Thompson%20Family%20-%20Saliha%20Bayrak.jpg?width=2516&height=1666&name=Thompson%20Family%20-%20Saliha%20Bayrak.jpg)
About
Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange
Our mission is to find adoptive homes for children and teens in foster care.
Our goal is to find youth permanent families so that they have the support system they need to live safely and to become their best selves. We believe no child should leave the foster care system without permanent connections, support, and stability. Everyone deserves a family.
Yet, there are hundreds of kids right here in Massachusetts who have no permanent family. Every week, more of these youth will age of out of foster care without any permanent connections they can rely on.
Every child deserves a home. All of our services are designed to bridge the gap for kids in foster care to safe, permanent families.
![family-submitted-Gidwaney-1 (2)-resized](https://www.mareinc.org/hs-fs/hubfs/family-submitted-Gidwaney-1%20(2)-resized.jpg?width=500&height=750&name=family-submitted-Gidwaney-1%20(2)-resized.jpg)
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Children and teens in Massachusetts foster care
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Youth with a goal of adoption
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Youth still waiting for an adoptive home
WHY ADOPTION MATTERS
Youth in foster care face incredible obstacles. The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative1 reports that youth who are adopted from foster care are:
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50% more likely to attend college
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50% less likely to be arrested
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47% less likely to become homeless
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24% less likely to be unemployed
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23% more likely to graduate from high school
WITHOUT A PERMANENT FAMILY...
Youth in foster care are vulnerable to poverty, homelessness, criminal justice system involvement, poor health, unplanned pregnancy, and other life altering events:
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82% of male youth have been arrested; 59% of female youth arrested
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71% of young women experience unplanned pregnancies by 21 years of age
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74% report foregoing medical care due to cost
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68% of young women receive food stamps, 9 times that of their peers
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40% are homeless at some point
EVERY CHILD
DESERVES A HOME
We exist to bridge the gap between a beleaguered foster care system and the right of every young person to the permanency and unconditional love of family. For sixty-five years, we’ve been bridging that gap – especially for the kids most likely to be left behind or ignored. Today, that gap is greatest for youth of color, sibling groups, teens, LGBTQ+ youth, and those with disabilities.
![Oliver Scott Snure - MARE Jaelynn Molano Family_011-500h](https://www.mareinc.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Oliver%20Scott%20Snure%20-%20MARE%20Jaelynn%20Molano%20Family_011-500h.jpg?width=625&height=500&name=Oliver%20Scott%20Snure%20-%20MARE%20Jaelynn%20Molano%20Family_011-500h.jpg)