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Bill

S 115

School Safety

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Brian Adams and 5 co-sponsors

Summary — S.115 (Introduced 1/16/2025): Establishing a Massachusetts Children’s CabinetNote on materials provided- The bill text supplied establishes a Massachusetts children’s cab

Referred to Committee on Education
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Bill Summary · S 115

Summary — S.115 (Introduced 1/16/2025): Establishing a Massachusetts Children’s Cabinet

Note on materials provided
- The bill text supplied establishes a Massachusetts children’s cabinet. Other metadata (the bill title at top about arts organizations, listed sponsors, and some committee references) appears inconsistent with that text. This summary focuses on the legislative text included, which creates a Children’s Cabinet under Chapter 6A §16GG.

Purpose and intent
- Create an interagency Children’s Cabinet within the Governor’s Executive Office to coordinate state policy, planning, budgeting, and service delivery for children and youth across departments. The cabinet is intended to promote integrated, evidence‑based, and outcome‑driven services from prenatal care through transition to adulthood.

Key provisions
- Establishment and leadership
- Adds Section 16GG to Chapter 6A to create the Children’s Cabinet within the Governor’s Executive Office.
- Co‑chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education.

  • Membership (includes, but not limited to)

    • Secretary of Administration and Finance
    • Secretaries of Health & Human Services, Education, Labor & Workforce Development, Housing & Community Development
    • Commissioners of Children and Families; Youth Services; Transitional Assistance; Mental Health; Public Health; Early Education and Care; Elementary & Secondary Education; Higher Education; Developmental Services
    • Director of the Office of the Child Advocate
    • Assistant Secretary for MassHealth

  • Duties and functions

    • Develop and implement a shared, cohesive vision and strategic plan to improve outcomes on child poverty, educational readiness, mental health, homelessness, foster care, juvenile justice, safety, and welfare.
    • Create a continuum of services from prenatal care through youth transition to adulthood.
    • Establish measurable outcomes for each department/program, set baselines, and regularly report progress.
    • Promote interdepartmental collaboration, information sharing, efficiency, and evidence‑based program recommendations.
    • Prepare a “children and youth impact statement” to evaluate proposed legislation, appropriations, and programs and share it with the Legislature.
    • Identify funding streams (public, philanthropic, private, public‑private) and design a children‑focused budget structure to improve coordination and maximize federal financial participation.

  • Advisory committee

    • Governor appoints an advisory committee that must meet at least four times per year and at least twice jointly with the Cabinet.
    • Membership includes legislative chairs of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities; representatives from family resource centers (regional representation required); various executive directors/designees (Children’s Trust Fund, Parent/Professional Action League, Center for Health Information & Analysis, Cultural Council, Disability Law Center, etc.); representatives from child welfare nonprofits; and additional members with health, education, early childhood, parent, youth, and diversity expertise.
    • Governor designates an advisory committee chair.

  • Reporting

    • The Cabinet must provide an annual report by November 1 each year on activities, status of children and youth in the Commonwealth, and progress toward goals (full text truncated in supplied materials).

Who would be affected
- State agencies and departments listed as Cabinet members (policy, budgeting, and program planning responsibilities).
- Children and youth across Massachusetts and their families through coordinated service delivery and planning.
- Local agencies, health and education providers, child‑serving nonprofits, family resource centers, and potential private/philanthropic partners involved in children’s services.
- The Legislature (receives impact statements and annual report).

Procedural/timeline notes (from provided legislative actions)
- Introduced in the Senate: 1/16/2025.
- Passed the Senate: 3/3/2025; delivered to the House/Assembly thereafter.
- Amended on third reading as 115A (4/1/2025) and multiple committee referrals noted (including Judiciary; Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development; and Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities).
- A hearing was scheduled for 10/21/2025 (per provided calendar entry).
- The statutory annual report deadline: November 1 each year.

Potential impact
- Seeks to centralize and align children’s policy and budgeting across state government, with potential to improve cross‑agency coordination, reduce service fragmentation, and drive outcomes-based investment for children and families. Implementation will require interagency cooperation, appropriation alignment, and ongoing measurement/reporting capacity.

If you want, I can:
- Extract the exact advisory committee membership list into a single table; or
- Draft a one‑page explainer for stakeholders (providers, legislators, parents).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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