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Massachusetts House Bill H2028

Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2028 Compare Versions

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22 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2957 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
33 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2028
44 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
55 _________________
66 PRESENTED BY:
77 Andres X. Vargas
88 _________________
99 To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
1010 Court assembled:
1111 The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
1212 An Act improving juvenile justice data collection.
1313 _______________
1414 PETITION OF:
1515 NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Andres X. Vargas3rd Essex1/16/2025 1 of 14
1616 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2957 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
1717 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2028
1818 By Representative Vargas of Haverhill, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2028) of
1919 Andres X. Vargas relative to improving juvenile justice data collection. The Judiciary.
2020 [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
2121 SEE HOUSE, NO. 1802 OF 2023-2024.]
2222 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
2323 _______________
2424 In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
2525 (2025-2026)
2626 _______________
2727 An Act improving juvenile justice data collection.
2828 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
2929 of the same, as follows:
3030 1 SECTION 1. The purpose of these provisions is to ensure that the Commonwealth
3131 2establishes systems to collect accurate, consistent, and comprehensive data on juveniles’ contacts
3232 3with officials in the law enforcement and juvenile justice systems.
3333 4 SECTION 2. Section 12(a) of Chapter 18C of the General Laws is hereby amended by
3434 5inserting the words “or any law protecting the confidentiality of juvenile justice records and
3535 6information” after “20K of chapter 233”
3636 7 SECTION 3. Chapter 18C of the General Laws is hereby further amended by inserting
3737 8after section 14, the following section:
3838 9 Section 15. Collection and Reporting of Juvenile Justice Data 2 of 14
3939 10 (a)The child advocate shall report statistical data on the juvenile justice system annually
4040 11by December 31st to the governor, the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on the
4141 12judiciary, the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on public safety and homeland
4242 13security, the house and senate chairs of the committee on children, families and persons with
4343 14disabilities, the chief justice of the supreme judicial court and the chief justice of the trial court.
4444 15The report, which shall be made public pursuant to reporting recommendations of the Juvenile
4545 16Justice Policy and Data Board as required by section 89 of chapter 119, shall include statistics on
4646 17the utilization of the juvenile justice system at various process points as well as information on
4747 18decisions made at justice system decision points impacting juveniles, as described in Section 89
4848 19and Section 90 of Chapter 119 of the General Laws.
4949 20 (b)The child advocate shall request data from relevant Offices and Departments holding
5050 21data necessary to complete the aforementioned report at least annually and may request data be
5151 22provided on a quarterly basis.
5252 23 (c)The Child Advocate shall issue guidance, in consultation with the Juvenile Justice
5353 24Policy and Data Board, for the administration and enforcement of this section, including
5454 25guidance establishing (1) schedules for the submission, transmission and publication of the data
5555 26(2) the format and form that the aforementioned data from Offices and Departments shall take,
5656 27including any requirements that data should be available for analysis or disaggregation, and the
5757 28format that transmission of the data shall take (3) the categories and types of data on juvenile
5858 29interactions with the justice system to be submitted by each agency. The child advocate may
5959 30request, and all Offices and Departments subject to this law shall provide, individual-level
6060 31data to facilitate analysis, provided that the child advocate shall be bound by any limitations on 3 of 14
6161 32the use or release of such individual-level data imposed by law upon the party furnishing such
6262 33information as described in Section 12 of this chapter.
6363 34 (d)The guidance required by subsection (c) shall, at minimum, require data be provided
6464 35in such a way as to allow cross tabulated analysis by demographic subgroups including, at a
6565 36minimum, age at the time of offense, sex/gender, gender identity and expression, racial or
6666 37ethnicity category, sexual orientation, charge type and level, geographic location such as county
6767 38or court location, involvement with the Department of Children and Families and any
6868 39combination thereof. The Child Advocate shall provide guidance about the manner in which
6969 40demographic data is designated and collected, with consideration of the juveniles’ self-reporting
7070 41of such categories based on data reporting standards issued by the Juvenile Justice Policy and
7171 42Data Board as required by section 89 of chapter 119.
7272 43 SECTION 4. Section 89 of chapter 119 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
7373 44Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “criminal justice agency”
7474 45the following paragraph:-
7575 46 “Gender identity” shall be defined pursuant to clause 59 of section 7 of chapter 4 of the
7676 47General Laws
7777 48 SECTION 5. Section 89 of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby further amended
7878 49by inserting after the definition of “racial or ethnic category” the following paragraph:-
7979 50 “Sexual orientation”, having an orientation for or being identified as having an
8080 51orientation, for heterosexuality, bisexuality, or homosexuality. 4 of 14
8181 52 SECTION 6. Subsection (b) of section 89 of said chapter 119 of the General Laws, as so
8282 53appearing, is hereby further amended by striking the words “mental health care system”, and
8383 54inserting in place thereof the words “mental health care and child welfare systems”
8484 55 SECTION 7. Chapter 119 of the General Laws, as appearing in section 80 of chapter 69
8585 56of the acts of 2018, is hereby amended by inserting after section 89 the following section:
8686 57 Section 90. Collection and Reporting of Juvenile Justice Data
8787 58 (a)As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires
8888 59otherwise, have the following meaning:—
8989 60 (1)“Justice system decision point” shall refer to set points in the justice process where a
9090 61criminal justice agency makes a decision which results in a change in a juvenile’s status,
9191 62including, but not limited to: decisions to refer a juvenile to a diversion program; to arrest a
9292 63juvenile or issue a court summons; to hold a juvenile in custody prior to arraignment; to file a
9393 64delinquency or criminal complaint; to advance a delinquency or criminal complaint; to proceed
9494 65with a prosecution; to make a finding as to legal competency; to issue an indictment; to arraign a
9595 66juvenile; to dismiss a case; to hold a hearing regarding dangerousness; to detain a juvenile
9696 67without bail; to transfer a case to district or superior Court; to impose bail; to impose pretrial
9797 68release conditions; to place a juvenile on an electronic monitoring device, either as a condition of
9898 69pretrial release, as a condition of probation after disposition of a case to revoke bail; to order a
9999 70juvenile to be held in detention; to continue a case without a finding; to adjudicate a juvenile; to
100100 71issue a disposition; to place a juvenile on probation; to issue probation conditions; to commit a
101101 72juvenile to the Department of Youth Services; to sentence a juvenile to serve time in an adult
102102 73custodial facility; to refer a juvenile to a court for a probation violation; to revoke a juvenile’s 5 of 14
103103 74probation; to confine a juvenile; to change a juvenile’s placement type in a custodial facility; to
104104 75issue a grant of conditional liberty; to grant or revoke a grant of conditional liberty; to grant
105105 76parole after an initial parole hearing; to grant parole after a subsequent review hearing; to revoke
106106 77parole; to certify or deny sealing or expungement petition, pursuant to sections 100B, 100F and
107107 78100G of Chapter 276 of the General Laws.
108108 79 (2)“Juvenile” shall be defined pursuant to Section 89 of Chapter 119 of the General
109109 80Laws.
110110 81 (b) All criminal justice agencies, as defined by Section 89 of Chapter 119 of the General
111111 82Laws, shall comply with data requests from the child advocate pursuant to section 15 of Chapter
112112 8318C regarding decisions made impacting juveniles at justice system decision points. The
113113 84attorney general may enforce the provisions of this paragraph by a suit in equity commenced in
114114 85the superior court.
115115 86 (c) The department of state police, municipal police departments, Massachusetts Bay
116116 87Transportation Authority police, any police or law enforcement officer stationed at or affiliated
117117 88with a local education authority, and any contractor, vendor or service-provider working with
118118 89such police including any alternative lock-up programs, shall collect and provide the necessary
119119 90information to comply with the data request from the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of
120120 91Chapter 18C for each juvenile subjected to the following contacts for each fiscal year, provided
121121 92on a quarterly basis if requested by the child advocate:
122122 93 (1) referral to and/or use of diversion programming; and
123123 94 (2) custodial arrests and issuance of court summons 6 of 14
124124 95 (d) Clerk magistrates shall collect and provide the necessary information to comply with
125125 96the data request from the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C for each juvenile
126126 97subjected to the following contacts for each fiscal year, provided on a quarterly basis if requested
127127 98by the child advocate:
128128 99 (1) application for complaint filed;
129129 100 (2) finding of probable cause;
130130 101 (3) diversion from further court proceedings, including referral to and/or use of diversion
131131 102programming;
132132 103 (4) complaint issued;
133133 104 (5) appeal to judge of the finding by the clerk magistrate; and
134134 105 (6) complaint issued after appeal.
135135 106 (e) The district attorneys shall collect and provide the necessary information to comply
136136 107with the data request from the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C for each
137137 108juvenile subjected to the following contacts for each fiscal year, provided on a quarterly basis if
138138 109requested by the child advocate:
139139 110 (1) decision not to proceed with prosecution, including but not limited to entering a nolle
140140 111prosequi or moving to dismiss a case;
141141 112 (2) diversion from further court proceedings, including referral to and/or use of diversion
142142 113programming; 7 of 14
143143 114 (3) decision to proceed with dangerousness hearing pursuant to section 58A of chapter
144144 115276
145145 116 (4) indictment as a youthful offender;
146146 117 (5) dismissal of indictment/dismissal of indictment in exchange for other action; and
147147 118 (6) prosecution in criminal court under section 74 of chapter 119 of the General Laws.
148148 119 (f) The juvenile court department shall collect and provide the necessary information to
149149 120comply with the data request from the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C for
150150 121each juvenile subjected to the following contacts for each fiscal year, provided on a quarterly
151151 122basis if requested by the child advocate:
152152 123 (1) arraignment as a delinquent
153153 124 (2) arraignment as a youthful offender;
154154 125 (3) diversion from further court proceedings, including referral to and/or use of diversion
155155 126programming pursuant to section 54A of chapter 119 of the General Laws;
156156 127 (4) court hearing on dangerousness pursuant to section 58A of chapter 276 of the General
157157 128Laws;
158158 129 (5) competency hearing;
159159 130 (6) transfer of case to adult criminal court under section 72A of chapter 119 of the
160160 131General Laws;
161161 132 (7) imposition of bail or order to hold without bail; 8 of 14
162162 133 (8) imposition of pretrial release conditions, including pre-trial probation pursuant to
163163 134section 87 of chapter 276 of the General Laws;
164164 135 (9) bail revocation hearings;
165165 136 (10) cases which are continued without a finding pursuant to section 18 of chapter 278
166166 137and to section 58 of chapter 119 of the General Laws;
167167 138 (11) dismissal of charges;
168168 139 (12) adjudication as a delinquent;
169169 140 (13) adjudication as a youthful offender;
170170 141 (14) imposition of an adult sentence pursuant to section 58 of chapter 119 of the General
171171 142Laws;
172172 143 (15) disposition, including but not limited to:
173173 144 i.sentence to probation;
174174 145 ii.commitment to the department of youth services pursuant to section 58 of chapter 119
175175 146of the General Laws;
176176 147 (16) commitment to the department of youth services pursuant to section 2 of chapter 279
177177 148of the General Laws that are suspended;
178178 149 (17) juvenile surrendered on criminal and non-criminal violations of probation;
179179 150 (18) commitments to department of youth services following a probation violation; and 9 of 14
180180 151 (19) revocation of a continuation without a finding pursuant to pursuant to section 18 of
181181 152chapter 278 and to section 58 of chapter 119 of the General Laws;
182182 153 (g) The office of the commissioner of probation shall collect and provide the necessary
183183 154information to comply with the data request from the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of
184184 155Chapter 18C for each juvenile subjected to the following contacts for each fiscal year, provided
185185 156on a quarterly basis if requested by the child advocate:
186186 157 (1) referral to and/or use of diversion programming;
187187 158 (2) supervision of pre-trial probation;
188188 159 (3) supervision of continuances without a finding;
189189 160 (4) supervision of juvenile on probation; and
190190 161 (5) referral to the court for a probation violation.
191191 162 (6) number of petitions and number of allowances and denials on petitions for sealing,
192192 163pursuant to section 100B of Chapter 276 of the General Laws;
193193 164 (7) number of petitions and number of allowances and denials of petitions for
194194 165expungement, pursuant to sections 100F, 100G and 100H of Chapter 276 of the General Laws;
195195 166 (8) number of petitions and number of allowances and denials of petitions for
196196 167expungement, pursuant to section 100K of Chapter 276 of the General Laws;
197197 168 (9) number of petitions and number of allowances and denials on petitions for sealing,
198198 169pursuant to section 100A of Chapter 276 of the General Laws; 10 of 14
199199 170 (10) number of juveniles on electronic monitoring, disaggregated by race, ethnicity,
200200 171gender, county, court, length of time on GPS
201201 172 (h)The department of youth services and any contractor, vendor or service provider
202202 173working with said department including alternative lock-up programs shall collect and provide
203203 174the necessary information to comply with the data request from the child advocate pursuant to
204204 175Section 15 of Chapter 18C for each juvenile subjected to the following contacts for each fiscal
205205 176year, provided on a quarterly basis if requested by the child advocate:
206206 177 (1) pre-arraignment detention;
207207 178 (2) pre-trial detention;
208208 179 (3) commitment;
209209 180 (4) placement type, including, but not limited to, security level
210210 181 (5) notice of revocation of grants of conditional liberty;
211211 182 (6) hearing on grants of conditional liberty; and
212212 183 (7) revocation of grants of conditional liberty for violation of conditions of liberty; and
213213 184 (8) voluntary extensions of commitments with the department of youth services.
214214 185 (i) The district and superior court shall collect and provide the necessary information to
215215 186comply with the data request from the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C for
216216 187each juvenile subjected to the following contacts for each fiscal year, provided on a quarterly
217217 188basis if requested by the child advocate: 11 of 14
218218 189 (1) arraignment for murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree; and
219219 190 (2) convictions.
220220 191 (j) The department of correction and each sheriff’s department shall collect and provide
221221 192the necessary information to comply with the data request from the child advocate pursuant to
222222 193Section 15 of Chapter 18C for each juvenile subjected to the following contacts for each fiscal
223223 194year, provided on a quarterly basis if requested by the child advocate:
224224 195 (1) pre-arraignment detention;
225225 196 (2) pre-trial detention;
226226 197 (3) post-disposition confinement of youthful offenders; and
227227 198 (4) post-conviction confinement for murder.
228228 199 (k) The parole board shall collect and provide the necessary information to comply with
229229 200the data request from the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C for each juvenile
230230 201subjected to the following contacts for each fiscal year, provided on a quarterly basis if requested
231231 202by the child advocate:
232232 203 (1) grant of parole after an initial parole hearing;
233233 204 (2) grant of parole after a subsequent review hearing;
234234 205 (3) supervision of parole; and
235235 206 (4) revocation of parole. 12 of 14
236236 207 (l) The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security shall be responsible for
237237 208assembling the data requested by the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C
238238 209collected by the below offices and departments. Said data shall be provided to the Office of the
239239 210Child Advocate no later than 75 days after the end of the fiscal year or quarter if the child
240240 211advocate requests data on a quarterly basis.
241241 212 1. The Commissioner of the Department of Correction
242242 213 2. Sheriffs of each County;
243243 214 3. The Parole Board;
244244 215 4. The Department of the State Police;
245245 216 5. Municipal police departments;
246246 217 6. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police;
247247 218 7. School based police, including those from any local education authority;
248248 219 8. Alternative Lock-up Programs; and
249249 220 9. any other contractor, vendor or service provider working with school based or other
250250 221police officers.
251251 222 (m) The Massachusetts District Attorneys Association shall be responsible of assembling
252252 223data requested by the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C collected by District
253253 224Attorney’s Offices. Said data shall be provided to the Office of the Child Advocate no later than
254254 22575 days after the end of the fiscal year or quarter if the child advocate requests data on a
255255 226quarterly basis. 13 of 14
256256 227 (n) The Court Administrator shall be responsible for assembling data requested by the
257257 228child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C collected by judicial officers and court
258258 229personnel including the Commissioner of Probation, judicial officers and court personnel, and
259259 230the Executive Director of Community Correction. Said data shall be provided to the Office of the
260260 231Child Advocate no later than 75 days after the end of the fiscal year or quarter if the child
261261 232advocate requests data on a quarterly basis.
262262 233 (o) The Department of Youth Services shall be responsible for assembling data requested
263263 234by the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C collect by all department personnel,
264264 235contractors or vendors working with the Department. Said data shall be provided to the Office of
265265 236the Child Advocate no later than 75 days after the end of the fiscal year or quarter if the child
266266 237advocate requests data on a quarterly basis.
267267 238 (p) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the child advocate may request, and all
268268 239Offices and Departments subject to this law shall provide upon request, individual level data to
269269 240facilitate analysis by the Office of the Child Advocate, provided that the child advocate shall be
270270 241bound by any limitations on the use or release of such individual-level data imposed by law upon
271271 242the party furnishing such information as described in Section 12 of Chapter 18C. Any individual
272272 243data described or acquired under the provisions of this section shall be used only for statistical
273273 244purposes and may not be disseminated if it contains data that reveal the identity of an individual
274274 245who had contact with the juvenile justice system within the meaning of this chapter.
275275 246 (q) If any Offices or Departments subject to this law are unable to fulfill the data request
276276 247made by the child advocate, in whole or in part, they shall submit to the child advocate a report
277277 248detailing what data could not be provided, stating clearly the reason data could not be provided, 14 of 14
278278 249and clearly documenting the efforts the Office or Department has made and will make to ensure
279279 250data can be provided in the future. If the data cannot be provided due to budgetary constraints,
280280 251the Office or Department shall provide a budget detailing the additional funding required to
281281 252fulfill the data request. These reports on data availability shall be included in the annual juvenile
282282 253justice data report of the child advocate pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 18C and shall be a
283283 254matter of public record.