Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H153 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3742 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 153
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Paul J. Donato
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to eliminate disproportionality and inequities for at-risk children.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	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
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3742 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 153
18	18	By Representative Donato of Medford, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 153) of Paul
19	19	J. Donato and others that the Child Advocate report on disproportionality and inequity in
20	20	services provided by child-serving state entities. Children, Families and Persons with
21	21	Disabilities.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
25	25	(2023-2024)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act to eliminate disproportionality and inequities for at-risk children.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 18C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
31	31	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the eighth paragraph the following
32	32	3paragraphs:-
33	33	4 “Disproportionality”, a situation in which the demographics of a particular group differs
34	34	5substantially from the demographics of the population at large. Examples of demographic
35	35	6categories for which disproportionality may exist include race, cultural background, ethnicity,
36	36	7gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender status or disability. “
37	37	8 Inequity”, a situation in which members of a particular group are given an unequal share
38	38	9of treatment, status, or opportunity. Examples of group categories which may experience
39	39	10inequities include race, ethnicity, cultural background, gender identity, sexual orientation,
40	40	11transgender status, or disability. 2 of 5
41	41	12 “Child Serving State Entities”, state entities that provide services to children, including
42	42	13the executive office of health and human services, the department of children and families, the
43	43	14department of developmental services, the department of mental health, the commission for the
44	44	15deaf and hard of hearing, the department of youth services, the department of public health, the
45	45	16department of transitional assistance, the department of early education and care, MassHealth,
46	46	17the department of elementary and secondary education, the trial court, and the Massachusetts
47	47	18probation service.
48	48	19 SECTION 2. Chapter 18C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
49	49	20section 14 the following section:-
50	50	21 Section 15: Collection and Reporting of Information on Inequity in Child Serving Entities
51	51	22 Subject to appropriation, the child advocate shall produce a report on disproportionality
52	52	23and inequity in services provided by child-serving state entities. The report shall include, to the
53	53	24extent available, statistics on: (a) the level and type of involvement of children in various
54	54	25demographic groups in each of the state's child serving entities, including the points of entry and
55	55	26exit, and at each point at which a critical decision is made; (b) the number of children in low-
56	56	27income families involved in each of the state's child serving entities; and (c) any short and long-
57	57	28term outcomes of that involvement, including but not limited to the results of critical decisions
58	58	29and any other outcomes identified by each child-serving state entity. The demographic categories
59	59	30to be examined shall include, but are not limited to: (a) race and ethnicity; (b) sexual orientation;
60	60	31(c) gender identity; (d) transgender status; and (e) disability status. The report shall also identify
61	61	32outcomes and how they are measured. The report shall provide a detailed description of any
62	62	33relevant data that was not available to the child advocate in writing the report. The initial report 3 of 5
63	63	34shall be produced within one year of passage of this law and updated annually thereafter. The
64	64	35report shall be submitted to the governor, the secretary of health and human services, the house
65	65	36and senate chairs of the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and
66	66	37the chief justice of the trial court. The report shall also be made publicly available on the child
67	67	38advocate’s website. The child advocate shall request data from child-serving state entities
68	68	39holding data necessary to complete the aforementioned report. The office of the child advocate
69	69	40shall additionally annually produce a public report with detailed recommendations for addressing
70	70	41inequities in child serving state entities. Topics that may be examined include, but are not limited
71	71	42to: (a) statewide data reporting systems that ensure child serving state entities collect accurate,
72	72	43consistent, and comprehensive data that measures disproportionality and inequity; (b) staff
73	73	44trainings on implicit bias, privilege, cultural awareness and professional practice; (c) existing and
74	74	45new early intervention and preventive programming services and curriculum for children
75	75	46involved with state care including, but not limited to: (1) strength-based approaches to engage
76	76	47and promote positive outcomes; (2) community based, wraparound services; (3) educational
77	77	48advocacy and support services; (4) school based referrals to mental health care, the department
78	78	49of children and families, the department of youth services and the department of mental health;
79	79	50(5) programming that supports collaborative relationships among community, faith based,
80	80	51private, and public organizations; (6) home based prevention services in the child serving state
81	81	52entities; (7) transitional services for foster youth and former foster youth; (8) child and family
82	82	53teams for youth in state entities; and (9) other early intervention and preventive programming
83	83	54services; (d) model procurement language and contract oversight that supports culturally
84	84	55accessible services for children, youth and families; (e) a strategic plan to recruit and retain
85	85	56diverse professionals and staff level employees throughout all service delivery systems; (f) 4 of 5
86	86	57recommendations on existing policies that have reduced disproportionality and inequities for
87	87	58youth and children within Massachusetts, nationally, and in other states and localities including
88	88	59but not limited to: (1) blind removal meetings; (2) accountability, quality assurance, and
89	89	60improvements structures to measure outcomes and ensure fidelity; (3) nondiscrimination
90	90	61policies and implementation; and (4) recruitment of affirming foster parents and appropriate kin;
91	91	62(g) recommendations for administrative and legislative actions related to appropriate programs
92	92	63and services to reduce and eliminate disparities in the child serving state entities and improve the
93	93	64long-term outcomes for children who are served by state entities; and (h) performance measures
94	94	65for implementing the recommendations. The child advocate shall write both reports in
95	95	66consultation with individuals and groups with relevant expertise, including expertise in the
96	96	67operation of child-serving entities, experience interacting with child-serving entities, and
97	97	68expertise in identifying and addressing disproportionality and inequity in government policies
98	98	69and practices. Based on the findings of either report, each child serving state entity will be
99	99	70required to publicly produce a corrective action plan to ensure that it collects accurate,
100	100	71consistent, and comprehensive data that measures disproportionality and inequity, and identifies
101	101	72and implements effective policies and practices for reducing disproportionality and inequity –
102	102	73which may include recommendations from the report. The office of the child advocate shall
103	103	74review the corrective action plans and make recommendations for their improvement. The child
104	104	75advocate shall issue guidance or promulgate regulations for the administration and enforcement
105	105	76of this section, including guidance or regulations establishing schedules for the submission,
106	106	77transmission and publication of the data and the format and form that the data from child-serving
107	107	78state entities shall take, including any requirements that data should be available for
108	108	79manipulation or disaggregation, and the format that transmission of the data shall take. The child 5 of 5
109	109	80advocate may request, and if such a request is made all child-serving state entities shall provide,
110	110	81individual level data to facilitate analysis, provided that the child advocate shall be bound by any
111	111	82limitations on the use or release of information imposed by law upon the party furnishing such
112	112	83information as described in section 12 of this chapter