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 Executive Director Rachel Gwaltney and Policy Director Sue O'Callaghan orally testified in support of An Act regarding families and children in need of assistance, An Act protecting benefits owed to foster children, and An Act establishing a bill of rights for children in foster care.
In addition to presenting oral testimony, CLM submitted written testimony for six bills from CLM's policy agenda:
An Act protecting benefits owed to foster children (H.157/S.65)
- View CLM's written testimony
- This bill will ensure kids eligible for benefits are receiving them and that funds are not being used by DCF for other children in care. This bill will also ensure children are provided with financial literacy training.
An Act minimizing trauma to court-involved children and families (S.71/H.204)
- (Testimony currently being finalized)
- This bill promotes foster care placements with relatives that keep siblings and half siblings together and preserves/promotes cultural, racial, ethnic, religion, and linguistic identities. It also updates DCF reporting requirements.
An Act establishing a bill of rights for children in foster care (S.68/H.164)
- View CLM's written testimony
- The bill codifies and creates rights for children in care, such as regarding sharing documents, promoting connection to family, community, and identity, prioritizing families first with placements, duration/frequency of visits, positive contacts/languages maintained, health care accessibility, right to school of origin/education supports, age-appropriate activities, milestones, being informed of supports/services available, access to case worker/attorney, participation in planning, notice, records, and complaints.
An Act regarding families and children in need of assistance (S.101/H.134)
- View CLM's written testimony
- This bill expands the role and function of Family Resource Centers (FRCs) to support more children and families outside of the court process, changes the Juvenile Court CRA filing process to ensure the court is a true “last resort,” and raises the lower age of Juvenile Court jurisdiction for CRA filings from 6 to 12 years old.
An Act establishing the Massachusetts foster care review office (H.158/S.66)
- View CLM's written testimony
- This bill creates a Foster Care Review Board independent of DCF and will create an independent review process that addresses challenges both at the individual case level and at the systems level.
- Fact Sheet
An Act enhancing child welfare protections (Child Welfare Omnibus) (S.124/H.165)
- View CLM's written testimony
- This bill is similar to the Child Welfare Omnibus bill of 2021-2022, such as to codify DCF's use of an education manager and enhance reporting requirements. It also adds a bill of rights for children in foster care, including to promote sibling connections.
A big thank you to our Members who testified, as well our partners, legislators, and fellow advocates who stood alongside us in support of children!
