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Adoption and finance offices have moved

Our Maine adoption and finance/administration departments have relocated. Our new address is:

100 Brickhill Ave.
South Portland, ME 04106
Our phone number will remain the same: (207) 775-4101.
Click here for printable directions to the new location.

MAPS Receives Grant from Maine Community Foundation to Help Homeless Children

(Portland, Maine) MAPS, a Maine non-profit agency, has received a $2,500 grant from the Maine Community Foundation to help homeless children through the MAPS Maine Homeless Children’s Program, which serves children (from birth to 18 years old) whose families are in crisis and who are staying with their mothers in MAPS’ Portland shelter.

Children often arrive at the shelter without even the most basic necessities. The Maine Homeless Children’s Program supplies clothing, healthy and age-appropriate food, diapers and baby supplies, hygiene supplies, and other equipment to make the children’s lives safer and more comfortable.

The goal of the shelter is to stabilize, rehabilitate and reunify families in crisis by providing safe housing, case management, training programs, and parenting education for pregnant and parenting young women.

Luetta Goodall, Director of Residential Programs at MAPS, says, “This grant helps us give homeless children the stability they need in order to grow and learn while their mothers receive support and counseling. The Maine Community Foundation’s support will make a difference in the lives of the children staying in our shelters - the difference between going hungry and having proper nourishment, between being cold and having warm, comfortable clothing, and between uncertainty and stability.”

Ethiopia Adoption

MAPS is partnering with Children's Home Society and Family Services to offer an information session on adopting from Ethiopia. Check back for meeting dates.

We are Hague Accredited

We have received notification from the Council on Accreditation (COA) that we have been granted accreditation under the new Hague regulations. This is important news for MAPS and for our clients because once the US ratifies the Hague treaty, those adopting from other Hague-ratified countries (such as China and India) can only do so through an accredited agency. We are very proud to be in the first group of US agencies to receive this designation.

The goal of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption is to ensure that the best interests of children are considered with each intercountry adoption and to prevent the abduction, exploitation, sale, or trafficking of children around the world. 68 nations, including China, India, Guatemala, and Peru, have already ratified the treaty, and the US is expected to become a member nation on April 1. Once the US legislation is ratified, all US adoption agencies must be accredited under rigorous guidelines in order to place children from other Hague Convention nations into American families.

In order to receive accreditation, MAPS had to meet stringent requirements regarding licensing and corporate governance, financial and risk management procedures, ethical practices, professional qualifications and quality control policies.

More about Accreditation HERE.

Russia News : We Are Accredited in Russia!

After a long wait during Russia’s reaccreditation process, we are now reaccredited by Russia’s Ministry of Education! With this new accreditation in place, we can begin processing waiting families, have reopened our Russia adoption program to new applicants, and can start placing babies, toddlers, and older children again. The accreditation is non-expiring and ensures that we can continue our work in Russia for years to come.

MAPS families whose paperwork is up to date and already submitted should contact Kate or Jill at (207) 775-4101 to discuss specific time frames. We thank all of you for your patience during this delay and look forward with joy to helping you bring your new child/ren home. We also urge new families to contact us to learn more about adopting through our Russia program.

In 1991, we were the first American agency to begin placing children from Russia with families in the United States. Since then, we have found homes for 1200 Russian children throughout the US and have funded humanitarian aid programs to improve the lives of the children who remain in Russia’s orphanages and foster homes.

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