Children’s Services of Roxbury (CSR) celebrates over 50 years of providing wraparound services for children and families that include family shelter, behavioral health services, intensive foster care and family services, early education, and youth development.
CSR brings peace of mind to Massachusetts’ most vulnerable families. Located in the heart of Boston’s multicultural communities, with additional services in Worcester, Western MA, and Northern MA, CSR serves 6,500 children and families annually.
CSR is one of Massachusetts’ largest Black-run nonprofit organizations, led by a Board and staff that represent the diverse communities it serves.
Our programs and services demonstrate practices that break the cycle of systemic racism for future generations and empower families and young adults on their journey from poverty to stability and wealth-building.
CSR places the family at the center of the system, building a network of professional and community supports that can nurture trusting relationships, communicate respect, and teach the skills of empowerment.
All are welcome. Regardless of how or why a family or individual walk through our doors, we provide services, programs, or resources they need for support. CSR affords everyone we serve with a measure of peace of mind to reconnect with their resilience, strength, and hope for a better future.
Children’s Services of Roxbury was founded in 1972 by community and church leaders, Rev. and Mrs. Richardson, who recognized that too many families and children of color find themselves trapped in systems they do not trust, and therefore, cannot access effectively to meet their needs.
Originally known as United Homes for Children (UHFC), the organization was established as an integral part of the Massachusetts Foster Care system. UHFC was a small network of foster homes that used clinical behavioral health approaches to stabilize the behavior of foster children and build trust between the children and foster parents.
UHFC opened its first independent office in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. The agency expanded recruitment to include foster homes in both urban and suburban neighborhoods. UHFC learned that moving foster children out of their community, unless safety was a factor, was not conducive to children’s social and emotional development. UHFC further maintained continuity in the placement process by expanding its services to be a licensed Adoption Agency.
The agency’s experience supporting foster children and families further evolved to include working with The Massachusetts Department of Social Services (DSS), providing much needed services for children in Boston’s inner-city neighborhoods, Roxbury and Dorchester. As an agency with substantial experience supporting families of color, services and programs expanded to include, Family Childcare, Early Intervention, Parent Aide. The agency changed its name to, Children’s Services of Roxbury (CSR).
Children’s Services of Roxbury (CSR) continued to be a staple in the community with its offered services and programs.
CSR expanded into an array of programs to support children and families which included, providing apartments for single parent families; operating a congregate shelter for homeless individuals; working with youth and police to reduce violence; mediating court cases involving custody issues; establishing life-long connections for children aging out of the system at age 18, and constructing a state-of-the-art childcare center with a maximum capacity of 100.
CSR’s Board of Directors hired Mrs. Pamela Ogletree as the President and Chief Executive Officer effective, September 2005.
In September 2015, Sandra M. McCroom was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Services of Roxbury. Under Sandra’s leadership, CSR has recorded double-digit revenue growth, strengthened its programming platform and built a strong and talented leadership team.
In 2017 and 2018, CSR hosted its signature “Peace of Mind” event, which cultivated thousands of Massachusetts’ residents to symbolize peace for the state’s most vulnerable children and families.
CSR continues to further solidify its recognition and reputation as one of Massachusetts’ top nonprofit agencies known for its high-quality and holistic programs and services for at-risk and vulnerable children and families.
