Bill S.109 194th (Current)

This bill requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to report on the number of emergency removals that occur without judicial approval and establishes a mandatory judicial response system for emergency removals when the Court is closed. 

SECTION 1 of this bill amends M.G.L. c. 18B by inserting a new section, section 26. It requires DCF to report each quarter on the number of cases in which it took custody of a child under M.G.L. c. 119, §51B without first obtaining a court order under section 24 or 24A (inserted by this bill) of chapter 119, the total number of children over whom it assumed custody in those cases, the median amount of time between DCF taking custody and its employees requesting court approval of that decision, and the number of cases in which it took more than four hours to request court approval. Data in the report is to be broken down by area office. The report is required to be publicly available on the DCF website.

SECTION 2 amends M.G.L. c. 119 by inserting a new section. This section states that when the Juvenile Court is closed for business, any justice acting under the Chief Justice of the Trial Court has the responsibility to establish, manage and implement a mandatory emergency judicial response system for all judges, may grant relief to the Court for the right to issue an emergency order transferring custody of a child for up to 72 hours to DCF, a licensed child care agency, or individual if there is reasonable cause to believe that a child is suffering from serious abuse or neglect or that immediate removal is necessary to protect the child from serious abuse or neglect. Any order issued under this section and any accompanying documentation should be certified by the Clerk-Magistrate or Register of the Court on the next business day.

SECTION 3 amends M.G.L. c. 119, §51B by including language that incorporates the requirement for judicial approval within four hours of taking a child into temporary custody and the requirement for a sworn affidavit from the DCF employees who made the reasonable cause determination explaining the basis for temporary custody.

SECTION 4 amends M.G.L. c. 119, §51B by striking out subsection (e). This has the effect of removing language about temporary custody that would conflict with the language in this bill (i.e. a more simplified process with less documentation and details).