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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1684 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 120
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Susan L. Moran
_________________
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 :Susan L. MoranPlymouth and BarnstableJoanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester3/1/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester3/6/2023Mark C. MontignySecond Bristol and Plymouth3/6/2023 1 of 6
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1684 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 120
By Ms. Moran, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 120) of Susan L. Moran, Joanne M.
Comerford, James B. Eldridge and Mark C. Montigny for legislation to eliminate
disproportionality and inequities for at-risk children. 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 6
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:
25 (a) the level and type of involvement of children in various demographic groups in each
26of the state's child serving entities, including the points of entry and exit, and at each point at
27which a critical decision is made;
28 (b) the number of children in low-income families involved in each of the state's child
29serving entities; and
30 (c) any short and long-term outcomes of that involvement, including but not limited to
31the results of critical decisions and any other outcomes identified by each child-serving state
32entity. 3 of 6
33 The demographic categories to be examined shall include, but are not limited to:
34 (a) race and ethnicity;
35 (b) sexual orientation;
36 (c) gender identity;
37 (d) transgender status; and
38 (e) disability status.
39 The report shall also identify outcomes and how they are measured. The report shall
40provide a detailed description of any relevant data that was not available to the child advocate in
41writing the report.
42 The initial report shall be produced within one year of passage of this law and updated
43annually thereafter. The report shall be submitted to the governor, the secretary of health and
44human services, the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on children, families and
45persons with disabilities and the chief justice of the trial court. The report shall also be made
46publicly available on the child advocate’s website.
47 The child advocate shall request data from child-serving state entities holding data
48necessary to complete the aforementioned report.
49 The office of the child advocate shall additionally annually produce a public report with
50detailed recommendations for addressing inequities in child serving state entities. Topics that
51may be examined include, but are not limited to: 4 of 6
52 (a) statewide data reporting systems that ensure child serving state entities collect
53accurate, consistent, and comprehensive data that measures disproportionality and inequity;
54 (b) staff trainings on implicit bias, privilege, cultural awareness and professional practice;
55 (c) existing and new early intervention and preventive programming services and
56curriculum for children involved with state care including, but not limited to:
57 (1) strength-based approaches to engage and promote positive outcomes;
58 (2) community based, wraparound services;
59 (3) educational advocacy and support services;
60 (4) school based referrals to mental health care, the department of children and families,
61the department of youth services and the department of mental health;
62 (5) programming that supports collaborative relationships among community, faith based,
63private, and public organizations;
64 (6) home based prevention services in the child serving state entities;
65 (7) transitional services for foster youth and former foster youth;
66 (8) child and family teams for youth in state entities; and
67 (9) other early intervention and preventive programming services;
68 (d) model procurement language and contract oversight that supports culturally accessible
69services for children, youth and families; 5 of 6
70 (e) a strategic plan to recruit and retain diverse professionals and staff level employees
71throughout all service delivery systems;
72 (f) recommendations on existing policies that have reduced disproportionality and
73inequities for youth and children within Massachusetts, nationally, and in other states and
74localities including but not limited to:
75 (1) blind removal meetings;
76 (2) accountability, quality assurance, and improvements structures to measure outcomes
77and ensure fidelity;
78 (3) nondiscrimination policies and implementation; and
79 (4) recruitment of affirming foster parents and appropriate kin;
80 (g) recommendations for administrative and legislative actions related to appropriate
81programs and services to reduce and eliminate disparities in the child serving state entities and
82improve the long-term outcomes for children who are served by state entities; and
83 (h) performance measures for implementing the recommendations.
84 The child advocate shall write both reports in consultation with individuals and groups
85with relevant expertise, including expertise in the operation of child-serving entities, experience
86interacting with child-serving entities, and expertise in identifying and addressing
87disproportionality and inequity in government policies and practices.
88 Based on the findings of either report, each child serving state entity will be required to
89publicly produce a corrective action plan to ensure that it collects accurate, consistent, and 6 of 6
90comprehensive data that measures disproportionality and inequity, and identifies and implements
91effective policies and practices for reducing disproportionality and inequity – which may include
92recommendations from the report. The office of the child advocate shall review the corrective
93action plans and make recommendations for their improvement.
94 The child advocate shall issue guidance or promulgate regulations for the administration
95and enforcement of this section, including guidance or regulations establishing schedules for the
96submission, transmission and publication of the data and the format and form that the data from
97child-serving state entities shall take, including any requirements that data should be available
98for manipulation or disaggregation, and the format that transmission of the data shall take. The
99child advocate may request, and if such a request is made all child-serving state entities shall
100provide, individual level data to facilitate analysis, provided that the child advocate shall be
101bound by any limitations on the use or release of information imposed by law upon the party
102furnishing such information as described in section 12 of this chapter.