Plummer Youth Promise

Plummer Youth Promise

Plummer Youth Promise | Youth & Family Services | Salem, MA

About Us

Plummer Youth Promise is a child welfare organization based in Salem, Massachusetts, setting a standard of excellence that improves outcomes for young people in or at risk of entering state care. Founded in 1855 by Caroline Plummer, the organization has evolved from a reform school and boys’ orphanage into a leading permanency practice organization. Today, Plummer is a direct service provider, permanency technical expert, and thought leader in child welfare. The mission centers on deeply engaging youth, families, and systems to develop permanent family relationships, skills, and community connections. Plummer’s vision is that every young person has a family unconditionally committed to nurture, protect, and guide them to successful adulthood.

Our Experience

Plummer Youth Promise combines residential programs, community-based services, foster care, intensive permanency services, and consulting to connect young people with safe, stable, emotionally secure parenting relationships.

Core Offerings

• Residential programs (group home, supported apartments, community apartments)
• Foster parent program
• Intensive Permanency Services (IPS)
• Permanency mediation
• Consulting and training for child welfare practitioners

Our Values

Plummer operates guided by dignity, joy, teamwork, compassion, learning, resilience, and integrity. The organization commits to racial equity and addressing injustices faced by marginalized youth through trauma-informed, youth-guided, family-driven practices.

Proven Permanency Practices

Family Search & Engagement – Finding and engaging parents and family members to strengthen identity, belonging, and permanent relationships.

Youth-Guided Teaming – Youth actively guide planning with teams including parents, relatives, caring adults, and professionals.

Permanency Readiness – Preparing youth and families to live together through practice, role-playing, and setting expectations.

What is Permanency?

Plummer defines permanency as a safe, stable, emotionally-secure parenting relationship—one that is physically and psychologically safe, unconditionally committed, consistent, and creates belonging. Youth who age out of foster care without permanent families face higher risks of homelessness, limited education, health problems, and court involvement.

Programs & Services

Residential Programs (Ages 13-22)

• Group Home and Supported Apartments on Winter Island
• Community Apartments for young adults ages 18-22

Foster Parent Program Seeking foster parents for children birth to 22. Specialized training and ongoing support provided.

Intensive Permanency Services Working with DCF youth birth-22 with goals of reunification, adoption, guardianship, independent living, and kinship care. Specialty Social Workers work directly with youth to find family.

Permanency Mediation Alternative to contested court proceedings using independent facilitators for child-centered permanency planning.

Consulting & Training Training for practitioners in kinship, youth and family engagement, teaming, older youth practice, reunification, and permanency.

Impact

2025 Data:

• 270 young people and families served
• 34 youth in Intensive Permanency Services
• Average 10.2 years in care before arrival
• Average 7.5 placements before arrival

“Every day in the system is a day of childhood lost.” – Nicole McLaughlin, Executive Director

Rebuilding Families: New Campus

Plummer is rebuilding its Winter Island campus in Salem, creating dignified, trauma-informed facilities that match the standard of excellence set by its groundbreaking permanency work.

Contact

Location Winter Island, Salem, MA 01970

Information

• Website: plummeryouthpromise.org
• Phone: (978) 744-1099
• Email: info@plummeryouthpromise.org
• Consulting: consulting@plummeryouthpromise.org
• Permanency Mediation: PermMediation@plummeryouthpromise.org / (978) 219-5697
• Serving youth ages birth-22
• Foster parent inquiries welcome
• Training and consultation services available

Family for Everyone. Every young person deserves a family unconditionally committed to nurture, protect, and guide them to successful adulthood.