Thank you to our January Meeting guest speaker, Jessica Chicco, from the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, state agency partners, and members who engaged in productive dialogue.
Highlights from Jessica Chicco's informative "Know Your Rights" presentation
- State Legislative Priorities
- An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents
- An Act ensuring access to equitable representation in immigration proceedings
- Save the Date: Immigrants' Day 2025
- March 19, 9:00 A.M. at the State House in Boston.
- Click here to view the flyer and inquire about more information
State Agency Updates
- DCF:
- Support and Stabilization communication regarding contracts negotiations is going out over the course of three weeks and the intention is to launch programming under the new contracts March 1.
- DCF will be reaching out to Support and Stabilization providers in February about transitioning families who are mid-service to new programs or how to finish out their services.
- There will be rolling procurement of RFRs. This will not be the only time RFRs will be made in order to promote equity in the process.
- DMH
- Primary focus is the FY2026 budget and watching which programs will be affected by potential cuts.
- DYS
- DYS is also focusing on the FY2026 budget and preparing to make necessary internal cuts to reflect expected cuts in the final state budget.
- OCA
- The OCA is reviewing the state budget for cuts that will impact children and will be doing advocacy with the Legislature accordingly, particularly for mental health services and Transition Age youth.
- The OCA has several bills they have worked with the Legislature to file/refile this session that CLM is also aware of and in some cases supporting. Please contact Melissa Threadgill at the OCA if you want more information about the OCA's agenda (Melissa.Threadgill@mass.gov).
- An Act relative to training of mandated reporters
- An Act Regarding Families and Children Requiring Assistance
- An Act Enhancing Child Welfare Protections [Omnibus bill]
- The Juvenile Justice Policy & Data Board, which the OCA chairs and CLM sits on, recently released a report with recommendations on improving the pretrial system for youth, available here. We appreciate the good work of CLM members on this report, including Lydia Todd, Michael Ames, and Rachel Gwaltney.
CLM Resources
Shared Resources
- Governor's Budget
- EOHHS Highlights
- ORI Know Your Rights slides from the Collaborative with Susan Church at ORI
- State guidance issued to Massachusetts schools this week regarding ICE requests for access or information