Company Profile
NFI Massachusetts
Company Overview
NFI Massachusetts, Inc. is a human services organization dedicated to maximizing potential to achieve the full promise of community living.
Company History
NFI Massachusetts was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1974, a time of progressive reforms in the Commonwealth’s approach to various social issues. The agency’s founder, Dr. Yitzhak Bakal, a former Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Youth Services, was a visionary leader in the development of the state’s early community-based services for adjudicated youth who were residing in institutional training schools. Since then, NFI has been a pioneer in designing and operating innovative community-based programming for various service populations.
From its original Outreach and Tracking program 38 years ago, NFI has grown into an organization that offers over twenty programs funded by the Massachusetts Departments of Mental Health (DMH), Developmental Services (DDS), Children and Families (DCF) and Youth Services (DYS) plus the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC), Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP) and various insurance companies.
NFI Massachusetts is a subsidiary of North American Family Institute (NAFI) that is comprised of several subsidiary corporations and regions. In total, NAFI operates human service programs and provides training and consultation in ten states.
Throughout its history, NFI’s services have been designed to be highly individualized, providing service recipients with the opportunity to gain increased insight into their lives, learn useful skills that will help them achieve their personal goals, receive services in the least restrictive setting possible and, despite the complexity of their needs, experience community living to the fullest. NFI promotes the development of caring, supportive, normative communities that draw on the support of peers, professional staff and other significant people and organizations. Often, this involves engaging family members, friends, schools, faith communities and other community service organizations as active partners in treatment, to the maximum extent possible. Such relationships reduce the likelihood of setbacks and help sustain the gains made during each individual’s treatment experience.