Senator Lewis and Mass. Senate Pass Child Welfare Bill

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate to pass new legislation that safeguards the wellbeing of children, particularly those in state and foster care. The bill increases access to community support for children at risk of court involvement and strengthens investigations of abuse cases.

Notably, the legislation establishes a Foster Child Bill of Rights to codify and guarantee basic rights for children in foster care related to their safety, education, and health care.

“Protecting children, especially those dealing with difficult circumstances that brought them into state or foster care, is critically important,” said Senator Jason Lewis. “This legislation ensures that the health, safety, and wellbeing of a child always come first.”

The Senate’s bill expands the diversion of children dealing with behavior or attendance problems to Family Resource Centers (FRCs) instead of the court system.

FRCs provide accessible, confidential support to children and families in crisis close to home and have proven successful in helping kids and teens stay in school, connecting families with services such as mental health or substance use treatment, housing aid, and legal aid, and—most importantly—avoiding the need for the child to obtain a court record just to access assistance.

The bill also further strengthens the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) to support robust investigations into reports of harm or abuse to a child. It places the Child Fatality Review Team within the OCA and explicitly empowers the OCA to review cases of indecent assault and battery, abuse or rape of a child.

After passing with a bipartisan vote in the state Senate, the bill will now be reconciled with a similar version that was previously passed by the House of Representatives before being sent to Governor Healey for her signature.