Hearing DetailsJoint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

Event Details

Status:

Completed

Event Date:

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Start Time:

1:00 PM

Location:

A-1 and Virtual

Event Description

Department of Children and Families

The Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities will hold a hybrid public hearing to solicit written and oral testimony in-person and remotely on the following bills that pertain to: Department of Children and Families.

This hearing will be chaired by Senate Chair Robyn Kennedy. CART services and ASL interpretation will be available. All matters filed in the House that are listed above are required to be reported on by September 6, 2025, subject to extensions consistent with House Rule 27.

The public is invited to participate in this hearing. To sign up to provide oral testimony, please fill out this form. Sign-ups for oral testimony will close on Thursday, July 3, 2025 at 12:00PM, but same-day, in-person testimony will be accepted, time permitting. Please note, you will not be able to sign up for virtual testimony on the day of the hearing.

The Chairs will limit testimony to 3 minutes per speaker and 6 minutes for a panel. There is no limit to the number of people permitted to be on a panel, although the Chairs do not recommend panels that are larger than 3 people. Please note, to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to testify, each person is only permitted to testify once throughout the entirety of the hearing.

Written testimony may be submitted to the Joint Committee via email and will be accepted until the bill is acted upon. Written testimony on House bills should be sent to Audrey Herrmann Audrey.Herrmann@mahouse.gov) and written testimony on Senate bills should sent to Carole Meehan Oyama (carole.meehanoyama@masenate.gov). Written testimony may also be physically mailed to the House and Senate Chairs at the addresses below:

Chair Jay Livingstone

Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

Attn: Audrey Herrmann
24 Beacon St, Room 146
Boston, MA 02133

Chair Robyn Kennedy

Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

Attn: Olivia Mathot
24 Beacon St, Room 312-D
Boston, MA 02133

Note: All written testimony received by the Committee will be made publicly available, provided however, the Chairs may limit and redact testimony that includes sensitive personal information or information that may jeopardize the health, wellness, or safety of the testifier or others.

If you have any questions regarding the hearing, legislation, format of the hearing, or reasonable accommodations required to ensure people with disabilities can participate fully in the committee process, please email: Carole Meehan Oyama in Chair Kennedy’s Office, at (carole.meehanoyama@masenate.gov) or Audrey Herrmann in Chair Livingstone’s Office, at (Audrey.Herrmann@mahouse.gov).

The bills will be heard in the order displayed on the hearing notice with House and Senate companion bills heard together. Please be advised that the schedule and agenda are subject to change at the discretion of the Chairs.

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Item Name	Start Time	Duration	Webcast
Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities	7/8/2025 1:00 PM	03:22:20

Department of Children and Families 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Bill	Bill Title	Sponsor
H.8	An Act creating an electronic backpack for foster children’s educational records	Auditor of the Commonwealth
H.205	An Act relating to background checks for kinship foster care	Donald R. Berthiaume, Jr.
H.228	An Act transferring foster care review responsibilities to the Office of the Child Advocate	Tricia Farley-Bouvier
H.230	An Act empowering the office of the child advocate to enforce its statutory duties	Tricia Farley-Bouvier
H.235	An Act establishing a bill of rights for children in foster care	Michael J. Finn
H.236	An Act relative to training of mandated reporters	Carole A. Fiola
H.246	An Act relative to bias-free child removals	Natalie M. Higgins
H.249	An Act relative to financial literacy	Daniel J. Hunt
H.258	An Act creating an electronic backpack for foster children’s educational records	David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf
H.265	An Act regarding families and children in need of assistance	Rita A. Mendes
H.266	An Act minimizing trauma to children and families	Joan Meschino
H.273	An Act relative to a maltreatment coding system	Samantha Montaño
S.106	An Act transferring foster care review responsibilities to the Office of the Child Advocate	Joanne M. Comerford
S.107	An Act establishing a bill of rights for children in foster care	Joanne M. Comerford
S.109	An Act minimizing trauma to children and families	Cynthia Stone Creem
S.125	An Act creating an electronic backpack for foster children’s educational records	Ryan C. Fattman
S.127	An Act authorizing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to establish additional mandated reporters for the purpose of the protection and care of children	Paul R. Feeney
S.129	An Act relative to training of mandated reporters	Paul R. Feeney
S.141	An Act regarding families and children in need of assistance	Robyn K. Kennedy
S.142	An Act relative to bias-free child removals	Robyn K. Kennedy
S.146	An Act relative to a maltreatment coding system	Robyn K. Kennedy
S.159	An Act relative to supporting families dealing with sudden unexplained death in pediatrics	Joan B. Lovely

Hearing DetailsJoint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

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