Children's Friend, Inc.

In 1849, we opened our doors at Children’s Friend as “The Worcester Children’s Friend Society," a small charity caring for orphaned, abandoned and neglected children. In 1851, our organization helped draft the first modern adoption legislation in the nation – a bill adopted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Later, we became a founding member of the Child Welfare League of America. As needs changed and decades passed, we continued our work advocating for vulnerable children. 1968 Children's Friend helped create the first program for pregnant and parenting teens in Worcester, a program that shortly became a collaboration between our agency and the Worcester Public Schools. This School Age Mothers Program has helped this vulnerable population ever since. In 1981, we became one of the first agencies in the state to be licensed as a child and family mental health clinic. In 2004, we created The Carriage House, the first, and still only, grief support center for children and families in central MA. Today, Children’s Friend is working harder than ever to provide the highest quality services to children and those who love them.