HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3469        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 165

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Michael J. Finn

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act enhancing child welfare protections.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3469        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 165

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

_______________

An Act enhancing child welfare protections.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Clause (22) of subsection (a) of section 172 of chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby repealed.  

SECTION 2. Section 6A of chapter 18B of the General Laws, as appearing, in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the fifth paragraph.

SECTION 3. Section 7 of said chapter 18B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (e).

SECTION 4. Chapter 18B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 9 the following 2 sections:-

Section 9A. The commissioner shall appoint an education manager to support the department’s goal of educational stability and success for all elementary and secondary school students under the care and custody of the department.

The education manager’s duties shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) developing, implementing and overseeing the department’s policies on education for children under the care and custody of the department, including policy development and practice guidance; (ii) monitoring state and federal laws, programs and resources that may impact the education of children under the care and custody of the department; (iii) advising the commissioner and all education coordinators on all matters relating to education, strategic education initiatives, policy, and practice management matters; (iv) coordinating efforts with area office based education coordinators to identify systemic barriers to accessing educational services for children under the care and custody of the department; (v) coordinating with department area and regional offices on education related issues; and (vi) facilitating best practice training for area office-based education coordinators.

The education manager shall perform such duties as are described in this chapter and such other duties as may be assigned by the commissioner.

Section 9B. The commissioner, with the advice of the education manager and the area director, shall appoint at least 1 full-time education coordinator at each area office. Said education coordinator shall be an employee of the area office and devote full time to the duties of the office.

Each education coordinator’s duties shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) implementing and overseeing the area office’s work on education for children receiving services from the department, consistent with the policies created by the department’s education manager; (ii) monitoring student academic progress of children under the care and custody of the area office not less than once per academic quarter; (iii) providing support and assistance to department caseworkers regarding educational needs of children; (iv) providing detailed training to department caseworkers on the best practices to monitor a child’s education experiences, recognizing any unavailability of resources preventing a child from participating in school courses, and developing individual education plans or 504 plan; (v) ensuring the timeliness and accuracy of the transfer of education records detailing a child’s educational background and needs; and (vi) maintaining contact with appropriate local school districts and education organizations to facilitate enrollment and placement of children into school districts served by the area office.

SECTION 5. Section 20 of said chapter 18B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence.

SECTION 6. Section 23 of said chapter 18B, inserted by section 45 of chapter 176 of the acts of 2008, is hereby repealed.

SECTION 7. Section 23 of said chapter 18B, inserted by section 8 of chapter 321 of the acts of 2008, is hereby amended by striking out the sixth sentence.

SECTION 8. Sections 24 and 25 of said chapter 18B are hereby repealed.

SECTION 9. Said chapter 18B is hereby further amended by adding the following 3 sections:-

Section 26. (a) For the purposes of this section, the term “legislatively mandated report” shall mean a report required by law of the department of children and families. 

(b)(1) Annually, not later than October 31, the department shall issue a report that provides an overview of the department’s performance during the previous fiscal year. The commissioner or a designee shall file the report with the governor, the child advocate, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities. The commissioner shall provide the recipients of the report with an opportunity to discuss its contents with the commissioner or the designee. The report shall be made publicly available on the department’s website in accordance with section 19 of chapter 66.

(2) The report shall include, but not be limited to, narratives, information, data and analysis on: (i) counts, including but not limited to: (A) case counts; (B) consumer counts; (C) consumer demographic information, including age, race, ethnicity, primary language, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability; (D) the number of consumers who have slept in the department’s area offices overnight by region including the average length of stay, the consumers’ ages, previous placement type and challenges for finding placement; (E) intersectional data; (F) rates of racial disproportionality and disparity at various decision points throughout the life of a case and the department’s efforts including the use of culturally competent staffing, resources and practices, to reduce overrepresentation of children and youth of minority populations in the child welfare system; (G) the number of requests for reasonable accommodations; (H) the number of disability related complaints filed against the department; (I) reports filed pursuant to section 51A of chapter 119; (J) placement metrics; (K) infants brought into the department’s care pursuant to section 39½ of chapter 119; (L) siblings in placement; (ii) processes and outcomes including, but not limited to: (A) safety outcomes; (B) the number of fatalities including the manner of death and fatalities by family history with the department; (C) permanency processes and outcomes; (D) well-being outcomes, including the rates and timeliness of the delivery of medical and behavioral health services; (E) educational well-being outcomes, including but not limited to: (1) school placement information; (2) the number of Individualized Education Plans; (3) attendance rates; (4) high school graduation rates and (5) school disciplinary actions; and (iii) operations, including but not limited to: (A) staffing trends; (B) caseloads; (C) the department’s budget, including funding levels; (D) service costs; (E) medical services and advancements in providing medical services to children and young adults in the department’s care; (F) amounts expended for foster care, adoptive and guardianship families to provide assistance, including financial assistance, to provide for the care of children; (G) the foster care review system and any recommendations for its improvement; (H) services and accommodations available to caregivers and children who are individuals with disabilities; (I) the department’s ombudsman including, but not limited to, a summary of the complaints filed by type, and complaints by area office that is primarily involved with the complaint and involved in the case; and (J) any new or ongoing initiatives to improve practices, procedures and policy of the department. The report shall also include comparative departmental information from prior fiscal years 

(c)(1) Quarterly, not more than 45 days after the end of each fiscal quarter, the department shall issue a quarterly profile on its website in accordance with section 19 of chapter 66 that shall include, but not be limited to, departmental, regional office and area office data on: (i) consumer counts; (ii) the number of reports filed pursuant to section 51A of chapter 119, including counts of reports received, screened-in and screened-out in the quarter; (iii) department case counts, including counts of clinical and adoption cases in the quarter; (iv) consumer demographic information, including age, race, ethnicity, primary language, gender identity and sexual orientation and disability; (v) counts of children and youth in placement by type of placement;  (vi) counts of children and youth not in placement; and (vi) the number of consumers who have slept in the department’s area offices overnight by region including the average length of stay, the consumers’ ages, previous placement type and challenge for finding placement.

(2) The commissioner or designee shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities when data from a profile issued pursuant to paragraph (1) significantly departs from trends reported in previous profiles.

(d) The commissioner or designee shall notify the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities when draft regulations are made available by the department for public comment. Not more than 30 days after the promulgation of regulations or the effective date of adopted or revised departmental policies relative to services provided to children and families, the department shall provide copies of the regulations or departmental policies to the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities.

(e) If the department is unable to submit the report under subsection (b), issue the profile under subsection (c) or any other legislatively mandated reports by the respective deadlines, the commissioner or the commissioner’s legal counsel shall  notify the governor, the child advocate, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities in writing and provide an explanation for the delay.

(f) The department, in consultation with the general court, other governmental and nongovernmental partners, shall establish a 5-year plan that shall include numerical targets for the department’s performance in each year and in each of its regions in the areas of safety, permanence and well-being. The plan shall include a description of how the department will measure its progress toward meeting the numerical targets and may include different targets for different regions. The department shall update the plan annually.

Annually, the department shall measure its performance in meeting the targets established in the 5-year plan for the commonwealth as a whole and for each of its regions consistent with the methodology described in the plan. The department shall publish and maintain on its website the current plan, the targets for previous years and the department’s performance in meeting those targets. 

If in a fiscal year the department is unable to develop or update the 5-year plan or measure its performance, the department shall notify the clerks of the house or representatives and senate, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the child advocate. 

Section 27. Annually, not later than October 31, the department shall submit a special report on services provided to young adults over the age of 18 to the child advocate, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities. The report shall summarize the process by which a young adult may continue to receive services from the department upon reaching the legal adult age of 18. The report shall also include consumer demographic information including age, race, ethnicity, primary language, gender identity and sexual orientation and disability, but not be limited to: (i) the number of young adults who have elected to sustain a connection with the department in the previous fiscal year; and (ii) the number of young adults who have elected not to remain with the department and have transitioned out of the child welfare system in the previous fiscal year, including young adults who had previously elected to sustain a connection with the department, if such numbers are available. The department may satisfy the reporting requirements of this section by providing the requested information in an annual report filed under section 26.

Section 28. Annually, not later than October 31, the department shall file a special report on its fair hearing processes and cases with the child advocate, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities. The department may satisfy the reporting requirement of this section by providing the requested information in an annual report filed under section 26. The report shall be made available to the public electronically in accordance with section 19 of chapter 66. The report shall include, but not be limited to, information in a form that shall not include personally identifiable information on the fair hearing requests open at any time during the previous fiscal year and, for each hearing request, shall provide: (i) the subject matter of the appeal; (ii) the outcomes of cases resolved prior to a fair hearing decision; (iii) the number of days between the hearing request and the first day of the hearing; (iv) the number of days between the close of the evidence and the hearing officer’s decision; (v) the number of days of continuance granted at the appellant’s request; (vi) the number of days of continuance granted at the request of the department or the hearing officer, specifying which party made the request; and (vii) whether the department’s decision that was the subject of the appeal was affirmed or reversed.

The department shall maintain and make available to the public during regular business hours, a record of its fair hearings in a form that shall not include personally identifiable information and that shall include, for each hearing request: (i) the date of the request; (ii) the date of the hearing decision; (iii) the decision rendered by the hearing officer; and (iv) the final decision rendered upon the commissioner’s review. For fair hearing requests that are pending for more than 180 days at any time during the fiscal year, except for those requests which have been stayed at the request of the district attorney, the report shall provide the number of such cases, how many of those cases have been heard but not decided and how many have been decided by the hearing officer but not yet issued a final agency decision.

If there are more than 225 fair hearing requests open for more than 180 days at the close of any month during the first 6 months of a fiscal year, then an additional report of such requests shall be provided not later than April 30. The department shall make redacted copies of fair hearing decisions available not later than 30 days after a written request.

SECTION 10. Section 1 of chapter 18C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Advisory council”.

SECTION 11. Section 2 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words “shall be independent of any supervision or control by any executive agency” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- shall be an independent public entity not subject to the supervision and control of any other executive office, department, commission, board, bureau, agency or political subdivision of the commonwealth.

SECTION 12. Said section 2 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 17, the second time it appears, the word “and”. 

SECTION 13. Said section 2 of said chapter 18C is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 20, the word “services.” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- services; and. 

SECTION 14. Said section 2 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:-

(f) examine disproportionality related to topics including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, disability status, transgender status, sexual orientation or gender identity within child welfare systems, services and agencies.

SECTION 15. Said section 2 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following 3 paragraphs:- 

The office shall create and maintain a website that makes available mandated reporter trainings, guidance, statutory reference and best practices materials in 1 online location to all mandated reporters in the commonwealth. The office shall consult with, or partner with, any public or private entity that the child advocate deems relevant to create and maintain this website. The office shall be responsible for ensuring that information on the website remains current.

The office shall create and make available to the public, on the website created in this section, evidence-based mandated reporter training for all mandated reporters in the commonwealth. The training shall include, but is not limited to, training in child abuse and neglect reporting, implicit bias training, technical instruction on how to file a 51A report and details on the department’s process regarding the filing and treatment of 51A reports. Training shall also include over-reporting prevention, including, but not limited to, how to address concerns with families and children when those concerns do not rise to the level of requiring a maltreatment report and how to understand the difference between poverty and neglect.

The office may, as appropriate, expand, update or amend mandated reporter training as appropriate. The office may create additional evidence-based mandated reporter trainings for specific groups of individuals such as educators, childcare workers, social workers and foster parents. The office of the child advocate may consult, or partner with, any public or private entity that the child advocate deems relevant to create, update, expand, implement or amend any mandated reporter trainings the office creates.

SECTION 16. Said chapter 18C is hereby further amended by inserting after section 2 the following section:- 

Section 2A. In addition to the powers set forth in section 2, the child advocate, or the child advocate’s designee, may intervene in proceedings before the juvenile court described in section 24 of chapter 119 in which matters related to this chapter are in issue.

SECTION 17. Section 3 of said chapter 18C, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “health”, in line 10, the following words:- ; the speaker of the house of representatives, or designee; the senate president, or designee; the house minority leader, or designee; the senate minority leader, or designee.

SECTION 18. The fourth paragraph of said section 3 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following sentence:- The child advocate’s annual salary shall be 80 per cent of the salary of the chief justice of the supreme judicial court.

SECTION 19. Said chapter 18C is hereby further amended by striking out section 4 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 4. The child advocate shall meet with the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate president, the attorney general, the state auditor and the chief justice of the juvenile court at least annually and shall present the annual goals of the office and its plans for monitoring the work, including the continuous quality improvement, of the child service agencies and the identification of any critical gaps and issues relating to interagency collaboration.

SECTION 20. Section 5 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-

(i) The child advocate shall notify the governor, the attorney general, the auditor, the speaker of the house of representatives and the senate president when investigating a critical incident pursuant to this section that results in the death of a child due to a reasonable belief that an executive agency or constituent agency failed in its duty to protect a child. In order to ensure the integrity and independence of the office, the governor, the attorney general, the auditor, the speaker of the house of representatives and the senate president shall receive the results of such an investigation before any executive office, agency or program that is the subject of said investigation. 

SECTION 21. Section 6 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The child advocate may also request from the clerks of the juvenile court or probate and family court information related to active court cases to which the department is a party, including case numbers and hearing dates.

SECTION 22. The first paragraph of section 7 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence the following sentence:- The child advocate may also request non-privileged information related to court cases, including case numbers and hearing dates.

SECTION 23. Section 11 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1 and 2, the words “, in consultation with the advisory council,”.

SECTION 24. Section 12 of said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 36, after the word “personnel,” the following words:- the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate president.

SECTION 25. Said chapter 18C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after section 14 the following 2 sections:- 

Section 15. The office shall, annually, oversee the review of child welfare data reporting and make recommendations for improvements to the report and profile required under subsections (b) and (c) of section 26 of chapter 18B and any other legislatively mandated reports, or the data measures, progress measures, and outcome measures pursuant to section 128 of chapter 47 of the acts of 2017. Following the release of the department’s annual report, the office shall seek input from the public, advocates and diverse stakeholders from across the commonwealth. The office shall consult with other individuals with relevant expertise, including academics, researchers and service providers. Annually, not later than January 2, the office shall file a report on its recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to carry its recommendations into effect, with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the senate and house committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities.  

Section 16. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

“Child”, a person under the age of 18.

“Fatality”, a death of a child.

“Local team”, a local child fatality review team established in subsection (c).

“Near fatality”, an act that, as certified by a physician, places a child in serious or critical condition.

“State team”, the state child fatality review team established in subsection (b).

“Team”, the state or a local team.

“Office”, the office of the child advocate.

(b) There shall be a state child fatality review team within the office. Notwithstanding section 172 of chapter 6, members of the state team shall be subject to criminal offender record checks to be conducted by the colonel of state police on behalf of the child advocate. All members shall serve without compensation for their duties associated with membership on the state team.

The state team shall consist of not less than: (i) the child advocate, or designee, who shall serve as co-chair; (ii) the commissioner of public health, or designee, who shall serve as co-chair; (iii) the chief medical examiner, or designee; (iv) the attorney general, or designee; (v) the commissioner of children and families, or designee; (vi) the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, or designee; (vii) a representative selected by the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association; (viii) the colonel of state police, or designee; (ix) the commissioner of mental health, or designee; (x) the commissioner of developmental services, or designee; (xi) the director of the Massachusetts Center for Unexpected Infant and Child Death at Boston Medical Center, or designee; (xii) the commissioner of youth services, or designee; (xiii) the commissioner of early education and care, or designee; (xiv) a representative selected by the Massachusetts chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics who has experience in diagnosing or treating child abuse and neglect; (xv) a representative selected by the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc.; (xvi) the president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association Incorporated, or designee; and (xvii) any other person, selected by the co-chairs or by majority vote of the members of the state team, with expertise or information relevant to an individual case. The purpose of the state team shall be to decrease the incidence of preventable child fatalities and near fatalities by: (1) developing an understanding of the causes and incidence of child fatalities and near fatalities; and (2) advising the governor, the general court and the public by recommending changes in law, policy and practice to prevent child fatalities and near fatalities. The state team may consult with the chief justice of the juvenile court department of the trial court of the commonwealth on issues with a direct bearing upon the business of the Massachusetts courts.

To achieve its purpose, the state team shall: (i) develop model investigative and data collection protocols for local teams; (ii) provide information to local teams and law enforcement agencies for the purpose of protecting children; (iii) provide training and written materials to local teams to assist them in carrying out their duties; (iv) review reports from local teams; (v) study the incidence and causes of child fatalities and near fatalities in the commonwealth; (vi) analyze community, public and private agency involvement with the children and their families prior to and subsequent to fatalities or near fatalities; (vii) develop a protocol for the collection of data regarding fatalities and near fatalities and provide training to local teams on the protocol; (viii) develop and implement rules and procedures necessary for its own operation; and (ix) provide the governor, the general court and the public with annual written reports, subject to confidentiality restrictions, that shall include, but not be limited to, the state team’s findings and recommendations.

(c) There shall be a local child fatality review team in each district established under section 13 of chapter 12. Notwithstanding section 172 of chapter 6, members of a local team shall be subject to criminal offender record checks to be conducted by the district attorney. All members shall serve without compensation for their duties associated with membership on a local team.

Each local team shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the district attorney of the county, who shall serve as chair; (ii) the chief medical examiner or, designee; (iii) the commissioner of children and families or, designee; (iv) a pediatrician with experience in diagnosing or treating child abuse and neglect, appointed by the state team; (v) a local police officer from a municipality where a child fatality or near fatality occurred, appointed by the chief of police of the municipality; (vi) a state law enforcement officer, appointed by the colonel of state police; (vii) the director of the Massachusetts Center for Unexpected Infant and Child Death located at Boston Medical Center or a designee; (viii) at least 1 representative from the department of public health (ix) at least one representative from the office of the child advocate; and (x) any other person with expertise or information relevant to an individual case who may attend meetings, on an ad hoc basis, by agreement of the permanent members of each local team; provided that such person may include, but shall not be limited to, a local or state law enforcement officer, a hospital representative, a medical specialist or subspecialist, or a designee of the commissioners of developmental services, mental health, youth services, education and early education and care.

The purpose of each local team shall be to decrease the incidence of preventable child fatalities and near fatalities by: (i) coordinating the collection of information on fatalities and near fatalities; (ii) promoting cooperation and coordination between agencies responding to fatalities and near fatalities and in providing services to family members; (iii) developing an understanding of the causes and incidence of child fatalities and near fatalities in the county; and (iv) advising the state team on changes in law, policy or practice that may affect child fatalities and near fatalities.

To achieve its purpose, each local team shall: (i) review, establish and implement model protocols from the state team; (ii) review, subject to the approval of the local district attorney, all individual fatalities and near fatalities in accordance with the established protocols; (iii) meet periodically, not less than 2 times per calendar year, to review the status of fatality and near fatality cases and recommend methods of improving coordination of services between member agencies; (iv) collect, maintain and provide confidential data as required by the state team; and (v) provide law enforcement or other agencies with information to protect children.

At the request of the local district attorney, the local team shall be immediately provided with: (i) information and records relevant to the cause of the fatality or near fatality maintained by providers of medical or other care, treatment or services, including dental and mental health care; (ii) information and records relevant to the cause of the fatality or near fatality maintained by any state, county or local government agency including, but not limited to, birth certificates, medical examiner investigative data, parole and probation information records and law enforcement data post-disposition, except that certain law enforcement records may be exempted by the local district attorney; (iii) information and records of any provider of social services, including the department of children and families, relevant to the child or the child's family, that the local team deems relevant to the review; and (iv) demographic information relevant to the child and the child's immediate family, including, but not limited to, address, age, race, gender and economic status. The district attorney may enforce this paragraph by seeking an order of the superior court.

(d) Any privilege or restriction on disclosure established pursuant to chapter 66A, section 70 of chapter 111, section 11 of chapter 111B, section 18 of chapter 111E, chapter 112, chapter 123, section 20B, section 20J or section 20K of chapter 233 or any other law relating to confidential communications shall not prohibit the disclosure of this information to the chair of the state team or a local team. Any information considered to be confidential pursuant to the aforementioned statutes may be submitted for a team’s review upon the determination of that team’s chair that the review of this information is necessary. The chair shall ensure that no information submitted for a team’s review is disseminated to parties outside the team. No member of a team shall violate the confidentiality provisions set forth in the aforementioned statutes.

Except as necessary to carry out a team’s purpose and duties, members of a team and persons attending a team meeting shall not disclose any information relating to the team’s business.

Team meetings shall be closed to the public. Information and records acquired by the state team or by a local team pursuant to this chapter shall be confidential, exempt from disclosure under chapter 66 and may only be disclosed as necessary to carry out a team’s duties and purposes.

Statistical compilations of data that do not contain any information that would permit the identification of any person may be disclosed to the public.

(e) Members of a team, persons attending a team meeting and persons who present information to a team shall not be questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding regarding information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a team meeting.

(f) Information, documents and records of the state team or of a local team shall not be subject to subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding; provided, however, that information, documents and records otherwise available from any other source shall not be immune from subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence through these sources solely because they were presented during proceedings of a team or are maintained by a team.

(g) Nothing in this section shall limit the powers and duties of the child advocate or district attorneys.

SECTION 26. Section 2A of chapter 38 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby repealed.

SECTION 27. Section 3 of said chapter 38, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

The office shall immediately send any notification or report of a death under the circumstances enumerated in clause (15) to the state child fatality review team established by section 15 of chapter 18C, including, but not limited to, the known facts concerning the time, place, manner, circumstances and cause of such death. The chief medical examiner shall provide any additional information related to such notification or report to the state child fatality review team upon request.

SECTION 28. Subsection (f) of section 23 of chapter 119 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the sixth sentence.

SECTION 29. Subsection (h) of said section 23 of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the second paragraph.

SECTION 30. Chapter 119 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 23C the following section:- 

Section 23D. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:- 

“Child” means any child, youth or young adult in the care or custody of the department.

“Child-specific family” means a non-kinship individual who is significant in a particular child’s life (e.g., school teacher comes forward; child recommends friend's parent).

(b) The department must present a copy of the following rights to each child in its care when the child enters care, during foster care review meetings, during permanency planning meetings in which the child is participating and at any other times the department deems appropriate. The child’s social worker must also explain these rights to the child in an age-appropriate way when the child enters care. The department must present the document to the child’s attorney and display the document prominently on its website and in all area offices. The department shall ensure the document is translated into the language spoken by the child. 

(c) The bill of rights for children in foster care shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) Safety and Security:

(i) Each child shall be treated with respect and shall not be harassed or discriminated against by department staff, foster parents or service providers on the basis of race, national origin, culture, language, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion or disability. 

(ii) Each child has the right to a placement that is free from physical, sexual, emotional or other abuse, neglect or exploitation. 

(iii) Each child shall have access to healthy food, clothing, personal care products and items that preserve and promote the child's family's culture or religion and the child’s specific hair and body needs. 

(iv) Each child shall be placed in a safe and nurturing environment and receive appropriate care and treatment in the least restrictive setting available that can meet the child’s needs. No child shall be placed, housed or detained in a secure department of youth services (DYS) placement based on the department’s inability to provide an available and appropriate foster placement, nor shall the department advocate for bail of any amount for children in its care or custody.

(v) Each child has the right to age-appropriate information about a foster family or program prior to being placed and, whenever possible, shall have an opportunity to meet the foster parent or program staff before placement occurs. If the foster placement is only able to accommodate the child for a limited time, the child shall be notified of the anticipated duration of the child’s stay with that foster placement. The child shall be informed of a placement change, and the reason(s) therefore, at least 5 days in advance of any change. When a change is made in an emergency circumstance, the child shall be given as much notice as possible. The child’s belongings shall be packed with care and the child shall be allowed to bring their essential belongings and comfort items with them.  

(vi) Each child has the right to safe access to personal possessions, personal space and privacy. 

(2) Connections to Family, Community and Identity:

(i) Each child has the right to know, understand, learn and develop the child’s racial, cultural, linguistic, gender, religious and ethnic identity, including but not limited to clothing, hair, and other cultural expressions of identity, and to a placement that will provide or maintain the connections necessary to preserve and promote the child’s identities. 

(ii) Each child has the right to be placed according to the child’s gender identity and referred to by the child’s identified name and gender pronoun. A child’s sexual orientation and gender identity and expression shall remain private unless the child permits the information to be disclosed, the disclosure is required to protect the child’s health and safety or disclosure is compelled by law or a court order. 

(iii) Each child has the right for the department to prioritize the child’s parents, relatives and child-specific family first as potential placement providers. The child’s parents and relatives shall be considered first. 

(iv) Each child has the right for the department to first consider placements with the child’s siblings or half-siblings also removed from the home unless the joint placement is contrary to the safety, well-being, or path to permanency for any of the siblings. Whenever possible, the department shall work to address barriers to placing siblings together. The department shall ensure the child be placed in close proximity to siblings if unable to be placed in the same setting and shall facilitate frequent and meaningful contact regardless of geographic barriers.

(v) Each child shall have the right to family time of a duration and frequency that is consistent with the developmental needs of the child. Family time shall take place in-person and outside of a department office whenever possible. Each child shall also have the right to other forms of parental contact, including but not limited to phone calls, videoconferences, email and texts. Congregate care programs should work to facilitate access to virtual forms of contact. Whenever possible, family time shall take place outside of school hours. 

(vi) Each child has the right to maintain positive contact with other family members and significant positive relationships in the child’s life, including but not limited to teachers, friends and community supports.  

(vii) Each child has the right to be treated as a family member in a foster family and, whenever possible, be included in a foster family’s activities, holidays and rituals. 

(viii) Each child has the right to preserve and maintain all languages the child entered care speaking and to a placement that provides or facilitates appropriate language access.

(3) Health Care and Accessibility:

(i) Each child has the right to access appropriate medical, reproductive, dental, vision, mental and behavioral health services regularly and more often as needed. 

(ii) Each child has the right to discuss any questions or concerns the child has relating to medication with a social worker or healthcare provider and to understand each of the medications the child takes, its purposes and side effects in a developmentally-appropriate way. 

(iii) Each child has the right to out-of-home placements that are accessible for any disabilities the child may have and reasonable accommodations as necessary. These accommodations will be provided in a timely manner and in such a way as to protect the privacy of the child with a disability. Each child also has a right to discuss any disabilities with a social worker and request adaptive equipment, auxiliary aids or services.

(iv) Each child has the right to access gender-affirming care.

(4) Education, Employment and Social Connections:

(i) Each child has the right to school, educational stability, educational supports and to an education that fits the child’s needs. 

(ii) Each child has the right to stay in the child’s school of origin unless doing so would not be in the child’s best interest. 

(iii) Each child has the right to participate in age-appropriate school, extracurricular, enrichment, religious, cultural, linguistic, ethnic and social activities and to have any placement provider use the reasonable and prudent parenting standard when making decisions regarding participation in such activities. 

(iv) Each child has the right to achieve developmentally-appropriate, age-related milestones, including but not limited to obtaining a driver’s license, opening bank accounts, birthday celebrations or graduations. The department shall cover any costs associated with these milestones.

(v) Each child will be informed of the educational, vocational and employment supports available to children through the department, including but not limited to any tuition and fee waivers for post-secondary education.

(vi) Each child shall be informed of all available services, including but not limited to assistance in acquiring life skills, educational assistance, financial support, housing support, assistance with credit reports and resolving inaccuracies, training and career guidance to accomplish personal goals and prepare for the future, post-secondary education and employment supports available to children in care and adaptive equipment or auxiliary aids and supports.

(vii) Each child shall have age-appropriate education through the department on financial preparedness, job readiness, appropriate use of social media, education options, healthy relationships and sexual and reproductive health.

(5) Resources and Supports: 

(i) The department shall provide reasonable efforts towards reunification to the child and the child’s family of origin, pursuant to state and federal law.

(ii) Each child has the right to reasonable access to a caseworker who makes case plan decisions. Reasonable access shall include the social worker and supervisor’s office telephone numbers and email addresses as well as, at a minimum, monthly visits by the social worker. The department shall also provide the child an emergency contact number available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Such access must include the opportunity to have private conversations regarding any questions, grievances, or concerns. 

(iii) Each child shall have the right to participate in the development and review of the service and visitation plans and shall be consulted as the department formulates or updates said plans. Children age 14 and older shall also be presented with the action or service plan for their review and signature. 

(iv) Each child has the right to be informed in a developmentally-appropriate way of the reason(s) the department became involved with the child’s family, why the child came into care and why the child is still in care. Upon turning 18, children will have the right to access their case files, barring any confidential or legally privileged information. 

(v) Each child age 14 or older has the right to be included in the foster care review meeting, permanency hearing and lead agency team meeting, unless documented by court order that participation would be detrimental to the child. If the child is unable to attend in person or by phone or video, the child shall have the right to submit a written statement to be considered at the meeting. 

(vi) Each child shall be notified by the department about court dates and the department shall ensure the child understands the child’s right to attend court hearings and speak to the judge regarding any decision that may have an impact on the child’s life. 

(vii) Each child has the right to access information contained in medical, dental and educational records held by the department as well as personal documents, including but not limited to social security card, birth certificate, health insurance information, state identification, driver’s license or green card in a developmentally-appropriate way. When a child leaves the care of the department, they shall be given copies of medical, dental and educational records held by the department and original copies of all personal documents. The department shall begin planning to return the documents to the child at least 30 days before the child leaves care to be able to give the documents to the child on the day of the child’s departure. When a child ages out of care, the department must assist the child in obtaining a state identification card if the child does not have one. 

(viii) Each child has the right to an attorney upon entering care and to meaningful contact with said attorney. Each child shall be informed by the department of the names and phone numbers of assigned attorneys and be informed by a social worker that the child can contact the attorneys and that there is a process to request a change of attorneys. 

(ix) Each child shall be informed by the department of the clothing, birthday and holiday payments to foster parents and placement providers for children in placement and that the child has the right to have those payments used to meet the child’s needs.  

(6) Transition Age Youth

(i) Every child who turns 18 while in custody of the department is automatically signed out of care of the department but has the right to sign back into department care prior to turning 23, pursuant to federal requirements. Every child shall be made aware of this right throughout the transition planning process as well as any federal requirements governing services for transition age youth.

(ii) At the age of 14, the department shall begin working with the child to plan their transition from foster care to adulthood. The transition plan should cover all areas needed for a youth to be stable and successful as an adult, including housing, employment, education, and physical and behavioral health.

(iii) Every child above age 18 who has chosen to remain in the custody of the department has the right to leave and re-enter custody at any time for any reason.

(iv) During the transition planning process, the department shall inform the child of all resources and supports available to the child, including housing, educational and vocational supports.

(7) Remedies

(i) Each child shall have the right to file complaints with the department’s ombudsperson and/or the office of the child advocate and shall be free from retaliation or punishment for asserting this right. The department must provide the child with contact information for the ombudsperson and the office of the child advocate. 

(ii) Each child shall have the right to have these rights enforced and to report complaints and violations of these rights. If the child, the child’s attorney or the child’s foster parent or placement provider believes any of the above rights have been violated, the child shall have the right to discuss the alleged violation with a social worker, file a complaint with the office of the child advocate or the department’s ombudsperson and/or petition the court for a determination. The department shall not retaliate against or punish a child, an attorney or a foster parent for asserting this right. If the social worker, the office of the child advocate or the court determines the child's rights have been violated, the department shall resolve the violation as soon as practicable.

SECTION 31. Subsection (c) of section 26 of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “custody”, in line 90, the following words:- , the child advocate.

SECTION 32. Section 27 of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “child”, in line 2, the following words:- , the child advocate.

SECTION 33. Subsection (e) of section 29B of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “adult”, in line 84, the following words:- , the child advocate.

SECTION 34. Section 39½ of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the eighth paragraph.

SECTION 35. Section 51D of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the eighth paragraph.

SECTION 36. Section 51E of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the figure “51D” and inserting place thereof the following figure:- 51C.

SECTION 37. Section 5E of chapter 210 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition is hereby repealed.

SECTION 38. Item 4800-0015 of section 2 of chapter 126 of the acts of 2022 is hereby amended by striking out the words “provided further, that on December 1, 2022, and March 1, 2023, the department shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities on: (i) the fair hearing requests filed in fiscal year 2023, using nonidentifying information which shall state, for each hearing request: (a) the subject matter of the appeal; (b) the number of days between the hearing request and the first day of the hearing; (c) the number of days between the first day of the hearing and the hearing officer’s decision; (d) the number of days between the hearing officer’s decision and the agency’s final decision; (e) the number of days of continuance granted at the appellant’s request; (f) the number of days of continuance granted at the request of the department of children and families or the hearing officer’s request, specifying which party made the request; and (g) whether the department’s decision that was the subject of the appeal was affirmed or reversed; and (ii) the fair hearing requests filed before fiscal year 2023, which have been pending for more than 180 days, stating the number of those cases, how many of those cases have been heard but not decided and how many have been decided by the hearing officer but not yet issued as a final agency decision; provided further, that the department shall maintain and make available to the public, during regular business hours, a record of its fair hearings, with identifying information removed, including for each hearing request: the date of the request, the date of the hearing decision, the decision rendered by the hearing officer and the final decision rendered upon the commissioner’s review; provided further, that the department shall make redacted copies of fair hearing decisions available within 30 days of a written request; provided further, that the department shall not make available any information in violation of federal privacy regulations; provided further, that not later than March 1, 2023, the department shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities that shall include, but not be limited to, the: (1) number of medical and psychiatric personnel and their level of training currently employed by or under contract with the department; (2) number of foster care reviews conducted by the department and the average length of time in which each review is completed; (3) the number of social workers and supervisors who have earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree in social work; (4) the total number of social workers and the total number of social workers holding licensure, by level; (5) number of the department’s contracts reviewed by the state auditor and the number of corrective action plans issued; and (6) number of corrective action plans entered into by the department; provided further, that on the first business day of each quarter, the department shall file a report with the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities on the caseload of the department; provided further, that the report shall include, but not be limited to: (A) the caseloads of residential placements, congregate care, foster care, therapeutic foster care, adoption, guardianship, 51A reports, substantiated 51A reports, the number of children who die in the care and custody of the department, the number of children currently eligible for supportive child care, the number of children presently receiving supportive child care and the number of medical and psychiatric consultation requests made by the department’s social workers; (B) the number of approved foster care placements; (C) the number of children in psychiatric hospitals and community-based acute treatment programs who remain hospitalized beyond their medically-necessary stay while awaiting placement and the number of days each case remains in placement beyond that which is medically necessary; (D) the number of children under the department of children and families’ care and custody who are being served in medical or psychiatric care provided through other publicly-funded sources; (E) the number of children served by supervised visitation centers and the number of those children who are reunified with their families; (F) the total number of children served, their ages, the number of children served in each service plan, the number of children in out-of-home placements and the number of placements each child has had before receiving an out-of-home placement; (G) for each area office, the number of kinship guardianship subsidies provided in the quarters covered by the report and the number of kinship guardianship subsidies provided in that quarter for which federal reimbursement was received; (H) for each area office, the total spending on services other than case management services provided to families to keep a child with the child’s parents or reunifying the child with the child’s parents, spending by the type of service including, but not limited to, the number of children and a breakdown of spending for respite care, intensive in-home services, client financial assistance and flexible funding, community-based after-school social and recreation program services, family navigation services and parent aide services and the unduplicated number of families that receive the services; (I) for each area office, the total number of families residing in shelters paid for by the department, a list of where the families are sheltered, the total cost and average cost per family at those shelters and a description of how the department determines who qualifies or does not qualify for a shelter; (J) for each area office, the number of requests for voluntary services, broken down by type of service requested, whether the request was approved or denied, the number of families that were denied voluntary services and received a 51A report, the reasons for denying the service and what, if any, referrals were made for services by other agencies or entities; (K) the number of families receiving multiple 51A reports within a 10-month period, the number of cases reopened within 6 months of being closed and the number of children who return home and then reenter an out-of-home placement within 6 months; (L) the number of children and families served by the family resource centers by area; and (M) the number of children within the care and custody of the department whose whereabouts are unknown; provided further, that not later than January 31, 2023, the department shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities that details any changes to said rules, regulations or guidelines established by the department in the previous fiscal year to carry out its duties under chapter 119 of the General Laws including, but not limited to: (I) criteria used to determine whether a child has been abused or neglected; (II) guidelines for removal of a child from the home; and (III) standards to determine what reasonable efforts are being made to keep a child in the home; provided further, that on a monthly basis, the department shall provide the caseload forecasting office with data on children receiving services and other pertinent data related to items 4800-0038 and 4800-0041 that is requested by the office; provided further, that the report shall also contain the number of children and families served by the family resource centers, by area, and an evaluation of the services provided and their effectiveness.”