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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3742 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 153
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Paul J. Donato
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to eliminate disproportionality and inequities for at-risk children.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Paul J. Donato35th Middlesex1/20/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex2/7/2023Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk3/13/2023Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester3/13/2023Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex3/13/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire3/13/2023James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex3/13/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester3/13/2023Joanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester3/13/2023 1 of 5
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3742 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 153
By Representative Donato of Medford, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 153) of Paul
J. Donato and others that the Child Advocate report on disproportionality and inequity in
services provided by child-serving state entities. Children, Families and Persons with
Disabilities.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act to eliminate disproportionality and inequities for at-risk children.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 18C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the eighth paragraph the following
3paragraphs:-
4 “Disproportionality”, a situation in which the demographics of a particular group differs
5substantially from the demographics of the population at large. Examples of demographic
6categories for which disproportionality may exist include race, cultural background, ethnicity,
7gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender status or disability. “
8 Inequity”, a situation in which members of a particular group are given an unequal share
9of treatment, status, or opportunity. Examples of group categories which may experience
10inequities include race, ethnicity, cultural background, gender identity, sexual orientation,
11transgender status, or disability. 2 of 5
12 “Child Serving State Entities”, state entities that provide services to children, including
13the executive office of health and human services, the department of children and families, the
14department of developmental services, the department of mental health, the commission for the
15deaf and hard of hearing, the department of youth services, the department of public health, the
16department of transitional assistance, the department of early education and care, MassHealth,
17the department of elementary and secondary education, the trial court, and the Massachusetts
18probation service.
19 SECTION 2. Chapter 18C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
20section 14 the following section:-
21 Section 15: Collection and Reporting of Information on Inequity in Child Serving Entities
22 Subject to appropriation, the child advocate shall produce a report on disproportionality
23and inequity in services provided by child-serving state entities. The report shall include, to the
24extent available, statistics on: (a) the level and type of involvement of children in various
25demographic groups in each of the state's child serving entities, including the points of entry and
26exit, and at each point at which a critical decision is made; (b) the number of children in low-
27income families involved in each of the state's child serving entities; and (c) any short and long-
28term outcomes of that involvement, including but not limited to the results of critical decisions
29and any other outcomes identified by each child-serving state entity. The demographic categories
30to be examined shall include, but are not limited to: (a) race and ethnicity; (b) sexual orientation;
31(c) gender identity; (d) transgender status; and (e) disability status. The report shall also identify
32outcomes and how they are measured. The report shall provide a detailed description of any
33relevant data that was not available to the child advocate in writing the report. The initial report 3 of 5
34shall be produced within one year of passage of this law and updated annually thereafter. The
35report shall be submitted to the governor, the secretary of health and human services, the house
36and senate chairs of the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and
37the chief justice of the trial court. The report shall also be made publicly available on the child
38advocate’s website. The child advocate shall request data from child-serving state entities
39holding data necessary to complete the aforementioned report. The office of the child advocate
40shall additionally annually produce a public report with detailed recommendations for addressing
41inequities in child serving state entities. Topics that may be examined include, but are not limited
42to: (a) statewide data reporting systems that ensure child serving state entities collect accurate,
43consistent, and comprehensive data that measures disproportionality and inequity; (b) staff
44trainings on implicit bias, privilege, cultural awareness and professional practice; (c) existing and
45new early intervention and preventive programming services and curriculum for children
46involved with state care including, but not limited to: (1) strength-based approaches to engage
47and promote positive outcomes; (2) community based, wraparound services; (3) educational
48advocacy and support services; (4) school based referrals to mental health care, the department
49of children and families, the department of youth services and the department of mental health;
50(5) programming that supports collaborative relationships among community, faith based,
51private, and public organizations; (6) home based prevention services in the child serving state
52entities; (7) transitional services for foster youth and former foster youth; (8) child and family
53teams for youth in state entities; and (9) other early intervention and preventive programming
54services; (d) model procurement language and contract oversight that supports culturally
55accessible services for children, youth and families; (e) a strategic plan to recruit and retain
56diverse professionals and staff level employees throughout all service delivery systems; (f) 4 of 5
57recommendations on existing policies that have reduced disproportionality and inequities for
58youth and children within Massachusetts, nationally, and in other states and localities including
59but not limited to: (1) blind removal meetings; (2) accountability, quality assurance, and
60improvements structures to measure outcomes and ensure fidelity; (3) nondiscrimination
61policies and implementation; and (4) recruitment of affirming foster parents and appropriate kin;
62(g) recommendations for administrative and legislative actions related to appropriate programs
63and services to reduce and eliminate disparities in the child serving state entities and improve the
64long-term outcomes for children who are served by state entities; and (h) performance measures
65for implementing the recommendations. The child advocate shall write both reports in
66consultation with individuals and groups with relevant expertise, including expertise in the
67operation of child-serving entities, experience interacting with child-serving entities, and
68expertise in identifying and addressing disproportionality and inequity in government policies
69and practices. Based on the findings of either report, each child serving state entity will be
70required to publicly produce a corrective action plan to ensure that it collects accurate,
71consistent, and comprehensive data that measures disproportionality and inequity, and identifies
72and implements effective policies and practices for reducing disproportionality and inequity –
73which may include recommendations from the report. The office of the child advocate shall
74review the corrective action plans and make recommendations for their improvement. The child
75advocate shall issue guidance or promulgate regulations for the administration and enforcement
76of this section, including guidance or regulations establishing schedules for the submission,
77transmission and publication of the data and the format and form that the data from child-serving
78state entities shall take, including any requirements that data should be available for
79manipulation or disaggregation, and the format that transmission of the data shall take. The child 5 of 5
80advocate may request, and if such a request is made all child-serving state entities shall provide,
81individual level data to facilitate analysis, provided that the child advocate shall be bound by any
82limitations on the use or release of information imposed by law upon the party furnishing such
83information as described in section 12 of this chapter