Bill
S 107
Establishes a statutory Bill of Rights for children in DCF care, ensuring clear rights, language accessibility, and placement protections including safety, dignity, and family conn
Status and procedural timeline
- Introduced in the Massachusetts Senate on January 16, 2025; presented by Senator Joanne M. Comerford (petitioners include Senators Nick Collins and Lydia Edwards).
- Referred to relevant committees (records show referral to Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities and/or Housing, Construction and Community Development), with hearings scheduled and later held and a new draft filed (see docket for dates: 07/08/2025 hearing scheduled; 11/05/2025 hearings held; new draft S2659 filed 11/03/2025).
- The bill would amend Chapter 119 of the Massachusetts General Laws by adding Section 23D.
Purpose and intent
- To create an explicit Bill of Rights for any child, youth, or young adult under the custody, care or responsibility of the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
- To ensure children in care and their families receive clear, accessible information about those rights and to require DCF to adopt policies and practices that protect children’s safety, identity, family connections, language access, privacy and well‑being.
Key provisions
- New statutory definitions: “child,” “child‑specific family,” and “department” (Department of Children and Families).
- Rights document and accessibility (subsection b):
- DCF must present a document listing the enumerated rights to the child, the child’s parents and foster parents (and the child’s attorney when appropriate) when the child enters care and at other times as appropriate.
- Within 3 months of the statute’s effective date, DCF must create a plain‑language version developed with participation from people with lived experience; translate the document into the child/parents’ language; post it in congregate care facilities, area offices and on DCF’s website.
- Regulatory alignment (subsection c):
- DCF must amend any regulations or policies that conflict with the new section.
- Enumerated rights (selected highlights from subsection d — excerpt provided):
- Safety, dignity and non‑discrimination on grounds including religion, race, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, disability, language and culture.
- Right to gender‑affirming placements and care, privacy, access to personal possessions, and autonomy over photographs of the child.
- Right to sufficient healthy food, culturally and gender‑appropriate clothing and personal care items.
- Placement in the least restrictive setting that meets needs and addresses trauma; placements should reflect child’s culture, religion and identity where possible.
- Prohibition on using secure Department of Youth Services placements solely because DCF lacks an available foster placement; DCF shall not advocate for bail for children in its custody.
- Advance, developmentally appropriate information about placements and notice of placement changes (at least 5 days when possible); care in packing a child’s belongings and allowing comfort items.
- Rights to preserve and develop racial/cultural/linguistic/religious/gender identity, to language access, to placement consistent with gender identity (and confidentiality of sexual orientation/gender identity except in limited circumstances), and prioritization of placement with parents, relatives, child‑specific family and siblings.
Who is affected
- Primary: children, youth and young adults in DCF custody or care.
- Secondary: parents and families, foster parents and providers, DCF staff and area offices, congregate care facilities, attorneys for children, and service providers.
Impact and considerations
- Establishes statutory baseline protections and promotes transparency and consistency in DCF practice.
- Emphasizes cultural, linguistic and gender‑affirming care; strengthens family/sibling placement prioritization.
- Requires DCF to produce accessible materials and revise conflicting regulations — implementation will require administrative rule changes, staff training and translation/communication resources.
- Note: the provided bill text is excerpted and truncated; consult the full bill/draft (and subsequent S2659 draft) for the complete list of rights, enforcement mechanisms, and any additional procedural provisions.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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