The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) received a Synergy Initiative Implementation Year 2 grant of $517,740 in 2023 for the Encompass: Community and Collaboration for Foster Families project.  Encompass is a foster parent supports initiative to improve recruitment and retention of foster parents and outcomes for children in foster care by providing foster parents (including kinship caregivers) with one-on-one peer trauma coaching, peer support programs, and extended community supports. Many foster parents report a lack of training and resources and as a result of the pandemic and social isolation, they are being asked to care for children with increased trauma-related behavioral health needs in the absence of supports that are typically available.  For the second implementation year, Encompass will continue to support foster families in the DCF Worcester East, Worcester West, North Central and South County catchment areas, with the aim to enroll 70 families in 2023. 

2023 – Implementation, Year 2	$517,740
2022 – Implementation, Year 1	$439,676
2021 – Pilot Grant	$424,815
2020 – Planning Grant	$232,920
Total	$1,615,151

A trauma-informed intervention for foster caregivers in Central MA: A mixed methods pilot evaluation
Encompass Logic Model

News
◊ State’s foster care system needs many hands lifting it in support
Boston Globe, September 5, 2023
◊ Encompass Program to help Foster Families
WCCA TV, June 24, 2021
◊ Encompass program offers support system for Worcester area foster parents
Telegram & Gazette, May 24, 2021