Code of Massachusetts Regulations
606 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE
Title 606 CMR 5.00 - Standards for the Licensure or Approval of Agencies Offering Child Placement and Adoption Services
Section 5.01 - Introduction
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
606 CMR 5.00 is adopted in accordance with M.G.L. c. 15D which states the policy of state government to assure every child a fair and full opportunity to reach his or her full potential. These standards are intended to protect the dignity of children, birth families and adoptive families; to fulfill every child's right to a permanent, loving, and caretaking family; to prevent the abduction, exploitation, sale, re-homing or trafficking of children; to ensure that the child is the primary client of all placement agencies; and that every placement is in the best interest of the child. A placement agency's philosophy, administrative policy and services to and for children shall be directed toward strengthening a child's relationship first with his or her birth family; providing a child with a parental substitute who will offer the child a secure family relationship during temporary placement or with a shelter program when necessary; and offering the child a permanent family relationship in an adoptive family when appropriate. M.G.L. c. 15D, § 6(a) and M.G.L. c. 210, § 11A prohibit private adoptions and require that children be placed for adoption only through licensed placement agencies offering adoption services. 606 CMR 5.00 identifies the following general goals for each agency placing children in foster, adoptive or residential care:
(a) administrative and fiscal competence;
(b) policies and practices that serve to strengthen family life, provide continuity of care, and work to attain permanency for children;
(c) a staff that is professionally qualified and competent to work with residential care staff and adoptive, foster, and birth parents toward providing children with a positive self-image and a sense of security in preparation for placement;
(d) an environment of caring that is characterized by a total commitment to provide a timely reunification of the birth family or an alternative permanent plan for each child in care, with consideration given to placing children in families of the same cultural background when it meets the best interest of the children;
(e) an atmosphere that is cooperative and respectful of families considering serving children as temporary or permanent family resources.
