Child & Family Services Moves Its New Bedford Headquarters to North End

February 15, 2013

NEW BEDFORD – Child & Family Services Inc. is moving its headquarters to the North End after outgrowing its leased offices in the downtown.

The nonprofit, which provides mental health services, community support and adoption services to about 18,000 people each year, employs 290 people in New Bedford and 481 statewide.

The size of the organization has doubled in the last three years after a 2006 court ruling held that children with serious emotional disturbances must have access to mental health care without needing to leave home, said executive director Anne Sampaio.

“They’re sharing phones, sharing desks. We just don’t have enough room and there’s no more room within the building,” she said.

The new building at 3057 Acushnet Ave will house administrative staff and those currently working at 800 Purchase St. – more than 100 people who are currently working in three separate locations, she said.

“We’re excited to offer a space that is very new and modern to our employees,” she said, adding that the new layout will also allow for more interaction between departments. “It’s going to make their jobs easier.”

The relocation will not have a serious impact on clients because 90 percent of the work done by the relocated staff is administrative or takes place at off-site visits, she said.

“Although it’s a little bit further up in the city…it’s not going to be an impairment to clients,” she said.

The purchase and renovation of the building will cost about $3.5 million, Sampaio said.

MassDevelopment, the state’s development agency, issued a $2.45 million tax-exempt bond bought by Taunton Avenue Securities Corp. to help finance the renovation.

The organization is planning to move May 1 into its new headquarters, which were formerly occupied by a billiards hall, liquor store, and dance and karate schools, Sampaio said. Fortin Electrical Contractors will remain as a tenant in the building, she said.

Child & Families will continue to operate a clinic at 1061 Pleasant St. and another clinic with 24-hour programming at 543 North St.

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