H4416
An Act enhancing child welfare protections
Take action
Record your position on this measure.
Sign in to record your position, submit testimony, or contact your legislator.
Sign in to take action- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Bill overview
This bill aims to strengthen protections for children within the Massachusetts child welfare system. It seeks to improve the processes and outcomes related to child abuse and neglect investigations, permanency planning, and foster care. The legislation focuses on enhancing data collection and analysis to better understand child welfare needs and improve service delivery. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of children in Massachusetts.
Key provisions
- Enhance data collection and analysis to improve understanding of child welfare needs.
- Improve permanency planning processes for children in foster care.
- Strengthen requirements for training and supervision of child welfare workers.
- Increase oversight of foster care placements.
- Expand access to mental health and substance use treatment services for children and families involved in the child welfare system.
- Improve reporting of child abuse and neglect cases.
Who is affected
- Children in Massachusetts
- Foster parents
- Child welfare workers
- Families involved in the child welfare system
- The Department of Children and Families
Notable changes
- The bill is closely related to and potentially incorporates elements from similar bills, H.262, S.148, S.2659, H.4644, and H.4646.
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
Families and Persons with Disabilities Joint Committee on Children
Cosponsors
Christopher J. Worrell
Jay D. Livingstone
Russell E. Holmes
Arguments in favor
Reasons to support this legislation.
No arguments in favor have been submitted.
Submit yoursArguments opposed
Reasons to oppose this legislation.
No arguments opposed have been submitted.
Submit yoursRead the latest version inline or switch to a previous version.
Bill H.4416 194th (Current)
An Act enhancing child welfare protections
View Text Print Preview Download PDF
Bill Information
Bill Information
Sponsor: Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities
Tabs
Bill History Cosponsors Committee Vote Committee Summary
Bill History
Displaying 9 actions for Bill H.4416
| Date | Branch | Action |
| 8/28/2025 | House | Reported from the committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities |
| 8/28/2025 | House | New draft of H227 and H262 |
| 8/28/2025 | House | Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means |
| 10/22/2025 | House | Committee recommended ought to pass with an amendment, substituting therefor a bill with the same title, see H4644 |
| 10/22/2025 | House | Referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling with the amendment pending |
| 10/22/2025 | House | Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting for a second reading with the amendment pending |
| 10/22/2025 | House | Rules suspended |
| 10/22/2025 | House | Read second, amended (as recommended by the committee on House Ways and Means) |
| 10/22/2025 | House | New draft substituted, see H4644 |
Similar Bills
H.262 194th (Current)
An Act enhancing child welfare protections
S.148 194th (Current)
An Act enhancing child welfare protections
S.2659 194th (Current)
An Act enhancing child welfare protections
H.4644 194th (Current)
An Act enhancing child welfare protections
H.4646 194th (Current)
An Act enhancing child welfare protections
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The General Court provides this information as a public service and while we endeavor to keep the data accurate and current to the best of our ability, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.