Amendment #15 to H4841

Impacts of COVID-19 on Parents

Ms. Meschino of Hull moves to amend the bill in section 30 by striking the first paragraph, and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:

"The department of children and families shall report on its efforts to support and reform the foster care system in the commonwealth during the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, including, but not limited to, protocols and practices to provide: (i) timely information sharing with foster families, including, but not limited to, relevant medical history; (ii) tracking and surveying of parents and foster care families, including those foster care families who leave the program; (iii) parents’, children’s, and foster care families’ access to supports, including, but not limited to, mental health supports; (iv) consistent and cohesive policies across the commonwealth’s department of children and families offices, including, but not limited to, how information is communicated with staff, parents, older children, and foster care families; (v) increased access to care in underserved regions; (vi) timely information to parents, including in languages other than English, regarding: A) steps the department is taking to protect their children from COVID-19; B) their children testing positive to COVID-19, their exposure to individuals who have tested positive, and the department’s response to those positive tests and exposures; C) how parents can have visits with their children and have contact with their children by other means; D) how parents can access services that the department has recommended for them; and E) changes in department protocols, policies, and procedures during the pandemic; and (vii) access to timely information relative to the health and well-being of children in the department’s custody, including any children who have died from abuse or neglect."

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #15 to H4841

Impacts of COVID-19 on Parents