Foster care licensing, adoption agencies, kinship support, CASA volunteers, and resources for youth aging out of care across Maine. Every child deserves a safe, loving home.
Maine Department of Health and Human Services
The state agency responsible for child welfare, foster care licensing, and adoption in Maine. Manages all public foster care placements and provides adoption services for children in state custody. District offices statewide.
Maine DHHS
Maine's 24/7 hotline for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect. Calls are confidential. Reporters may remain anonymous. Available around the clock, every day of the year.
Spurwink Services / Maine DHHS
Maine's official foster and adoptive family recruitment program. Regional recruitment specialists cover all Maine counties. This is the state's primary entry point for anyone interested in becoming a foster or adoptive parent.
Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine
Maine's primary support organization for foster, adoptive, and kinship families. Provides free training, support groups, resource navigation, respite coordination, and a county-by-county support network. Also operates the Kinship Program for relatives raising children.
Maine Administrative Office of the Courts
CASA volunteers serve as court-appointed guardians ad litem in child protection cases. They advocate for the best interests of children in foster care by gathering facts, interviewing families, and presenting recommendations to judges.
Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers
Nonprofit adoption agency since 1899. Maine's only Hague-accredited international adoption program. Provides domestic, interstate, and international adoption services, home studies, matching, placement, post-placement support, and family counseling.
Adoption Solutions of Maine
Licensed nonprofit adoption agency based in Yarmouth. Directed by Jackie Komar, MSW, with over 25 years of experience. Provides domestic adoption services with personalized support for birth parents and adoptive families.
Woodfords Family Services
Provides adoption home studies and post-adoption resources. Also offers a wide range of family services for individuals with special needs including residential, day, and clinical programs. Licensed child placement agency.
Spurwink Services
Large behavioral health nonprofit that partners with Maine DHHS to operate foster parent recruitment. Provides therapeutic foster care, mental health services for children and families, and family-based treatment programs statewide.
Community Care
Treatment foster care program supporting foster parents and providing comprehensive services to youth in DHHS custody. Serves families within a 1-hour radius of Skowhegan, Bangor, and the Machias area. Provides training, case management, and clinical support.
Finance Authority of Maine (FAME)
Tuition waiver for foster and adopted youth attending Maine colleges and universities. Available to youth adopted from Maine foster care with DHHS subsidies and wards of permanency guardians. Applications open each March on a first-come, first-served basis.
AdoptUSKids
National resource connecting prospective adoptive families with children waiting in Maine foster care. Maintains photo listings of approximately 100 Maine children with adoption goals. Free information and support for families exploring adoption from foster care.
Maine CDC Vital Records
Official state registry for birth parents, adoptees (18+), and birth siblings (18+) seeking reunion. Over 2,000 individuals registered. Facilitates reunions when all parties consent. Maine allows adult adoptees to access original birth certificates.
Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG)
Financial literacy and matched savings program for Maine youth currently or formerly in foster care. Youth savings are matched dollar-for-dollar up to $1,000 per year toward education, housing, vehicles, and healthcare. Over 700 Maine foster youth have participated.
Pine Tree Legal Assistance
Free legal aid for children in the child welfare system. KIDS Legal specializes in children's legal issues including foster care, child protection, and educational rights. Provides direct representation, consultations, and self-help materials. Offices in Portland, Bangor, Augusta, and Lewiston.
Office of the Child Welfare Ombudsman
Impartial state office that helps resolve concerns and complaints about how Maine DHHS Child Protective Services is handling a child's case. Anyone can file a complaint. Provides resources on child welfare law and advocacy support.
NAMI Maine
Provides certified respite caregivers for children with significant developmental delays and behavioral or emotional disorders. Families may receive up to 288 hours of respite care per year. Statewide program giving foster and kinship parents a needed break.