Head Coach Chris White, National Coach of the Year for girls track and field

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Terry Alexander and 121 co-sponsors

Adds a rebuttable presumption that survivor actions under domestic violence do not alone constitute neglect in child removal cases, and requires mandatory DV training for DCF staff

Introduced and adopted

Summary — H 4065: “An Act relative to supporting survivors of domestic violence and enhancing child welfare”

Status & procedural history
- Bill number: H 4065 (House Docket No. 4142). Filed Jan 17, 2025; presented by Rep. David H. A. LeBoeuf. Co-petitioners: Reps. Natalie Higgins and Patrick Kearney.
- Referred to: Committee on the Judiciary (record shows referral 05/01/2025). Senate concurrence recorded 05/05/2025. Hearings were scheduled for 06/17/2025.
- Note on record inconsistency: the docket file also contains an unrelated South Carolina House resolution congratulating a coach (Chris White). That resolution text is not part of the substantive Massachusetts bill; the operative legislative text in this file concerns domestic violence and child-welfare law changes.

Main purpose and intent
- To protect survivors of domestic violence from having a child removed from their care solely because the survivor did not take certain actions (actions which may be prevented by coercion or danger), and to require mandatory domestic-violence training for department employees involved in child-welfare proceedings.

Key provisions
1. New rebuttable presumption in court removal proceedings (adds Section 29E to Chapter 119):
- In proceedings seeking removal of a child for neglect, there is a rebuttable presumption that “neglect” does NOT include a caregiver’s failure to:
- prevent a child from witnessing the domestic violence;
- leave the home where the alleged perpetrator resides;
- end a relationship with the alleged perpetrator;
- report the domestic violence to law enforcement or the department; or
- seek an order of protection.
- “Domestic violence” explicitly includes coercive control (referenced to G.L. c.209A, §1).

Parallel presumption and training requirement in department proceedings (adds Section 37A to Chapter 119):

The same rebuttable presumption applies in all Department (DCF) proceedings.
All employees of the department must receive mandatory training on issues related to domestic violence.

Who is affected
- Survivors of domestic violence who are parents or caregivers involved in child-welfare investigations or court proceedings.
- Children and families subject to neglect/removal proceedings.
- The Department of Children and Families (DCF) and its employees (training obligation).
- Courts, attorneys, child-welfare investigators, and caseworkers who must apply the new presumption and consider coercive control.

Practical effects and considerations
- The presumption shifts the initial burden away from labeling survivor conduct (or inaction) as neglect where domestic violence or coercive control is present; it is rebuttable, so child safety concerns can still lead to removal if the state proves neglect despite the presumption.
- Requires DCF to institute or expand staff training on domestic violence dynamics (no appropriation or timeline specified in the text).
- May reduce removal rates in cases where a survivor’s choices are constrained by abuse, and aims to center safety and coercion dynamics in assessments.
- Does not change the child-safety standard itself; it modifies how certain caregiver behaviors are treated procedurally.

Related bill
- HD 4142 is noted as a prior or replacing docket entry associated with this filing.