Category: Advocacy Feature

Join us in advocating for critical legislation and spreading awareness on the importance of empowering children and teens along their adoption journey for Adoption Month. November is National Adoption Month and National Adoption Day is Saturday, November 18th. This month, it is vital to raise awaren...

As October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we want to share key information and resources with our community. Domestic violence affects all people regardless of age, socio-economic status, gender, race, religion, or nationality. Physical violence and emotional abuse can result in psyc...

On October 18th, Governor Healey introduced the Affordable Homes Act to the Legislature, a $4.12 billion housing bond bill to be implemented over 5 years. Governor Healey indicated that this bill, “together with the increases to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and the Housing Development Incenti...

On Thursday, October 5th, the Senate completed 24 overrides to Gov. Maura Healey's fiscal vetoes within the FY24 Budget, following action by the House last week. In total, the Legislature returned about $80 million back into the state's annual budget. For the Children's League, the most notable res...

Background: On Wednesday, October 4th, Gov. Maura Healey signed the long-awaited $1 billion tax package at the State House. The tax package includes the Child and Dependent Tax Credit (CDTC), which CLM has strongly advocated for since Governor Healey’s inauguration. The adopted version of the Chil...

CLM Testifies in Support of Vulnerable Children and Families On Tuesday, September 26th, the CLM Team headed to the State House to testify at a public hearing and strongly advocate in support of numerous bills on CLM's policy agenda pertaining to the Department of Children and Families (DCF). CLM's ...

To round off Kinship Care Month, the Biden-Harris Administration announced on September 27th, 2023 that the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released three new rules that will enhance supports and equity for child welfare across the country. The rules will 1) support kinship caregivers...

Yesterday, Governor Healey signed a $55.98 billion FY24 state budget very similar to the Massachusetts Legislature's $56.2 billion Conference Report, including funding for nearly every line item CLM has been tracking and prioritizing (scroll down here to see CLM's Budget Chart). We are pleased ...

July 13, 2023 On June 27th, CLM's Executive Director Rachel Gwaltney and CLM member Robert Costa from Justice Resource Institute testified in support of An Act clarifying insurance liability for foster care providers (H.1600/S.1134). Rachel explained that over the past several years, community-based...

June 29, 2023 At the Children’s League of Massachusetts, we have reflected on the impacts of the Supreme Court’s detrimental decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, overturning Roe v. Wade’s health protections for women, which now has reached its one-year anniversary. We’re gravely concerned about the...