4800-0015 Clinical Support Services and Operations

For central and area office administration and service coordination of the department of children and families; provided, that the associated expenses of employees whose AA and DD object class costs are paid from item 4800-1100 shall be paid from this item; provided further, that the commissioner of the department of children and families may transfer funds between items 4800-0030, 4800-0038, 4800-0040 and 4800-0041 as necessary, pursuant to an allocation plan, which shall detail by object class the distribution of the funds to be transferred and which the commissioner shall file with the house and senate committees on ways and means 30 days prior to any such transfer; provided further, that not more than 5 per cent of any item shall be transferred in fiscal year 2027; provided further, that the commissioner may transfer funds from line item 4800-1100 into line item 4800-0015 for the purpose of maintaining appropriate staffing ratios; provided further, that the commissioner shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means 30 days in advance of any such transfer; provided further, that not more than 2 per cent of funds from line item 4800-1100 shall be transferred in fiscal year 2027; provided further, that no funds shall be expended from this item for the compensation of unit 8 employees; provided further, that the department of children and families shall not place a child or adolescent referred by, or discharged from, the care of the department of mental health until the department of mental health forwards an assessment and recommendation as to whether the child or adolescent may be appropriately placed in foster care or if, due to severe emotional disturbance, such child or adolescent is more appropriate for congregate care placement; provided further, that the department of children and families shall assist the department of mental health in making such assessments and recommendations; provided further, that if placement of a child with someone other than a parent becomes necessary, the department of children and families shall place the highest priority on identifying a family resource within the child's kinship or family circle and shall provide services and support to partner with the family resource in meeting the child's needs; provided further, that unless otherwise authorized, all funds including federal reimbursements received by the department shall be credited to the General Fund, except for federal reimbursement used to support revenue maximization projects; provided further, that the department of children and families and the department of early education and care shall provide standards for early education and care placements made through the supportive child care program; provided further, that the department of children and families, in collaboration with the department of early education and care, shall maintain a centralized list detailing the number of children eligible for supportive child care services, the number of supportive slots filled and the number of supportive slots available; provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of children and families shall not reduce recoupment amounts recommended by the state auditor; provided further, that there shall not be a waiting list for the services; provided further, that all children eligible for services under item 3000-3060 shall receive those services; provided further, that the department shall maintain a timely, independent and fair administrative hearing system; provided further, that not later than December 2, 2026, and February 26, 2027, the department shall submit reports to the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the house and senate committees on ways and means which shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the fair hearing requests filed in fiscal year 2027, using non--identifying information, which shall state, for each hearing request: (a) the subject matter of the appeal; (b) the number of days between the hearing request and the first day of the hearing; (c) the number of days between the first day of the hearing and the hearing officer's decision; (d) the number of days between the hearing officer's decision and the agency's final decision; (e) the number of days of continuance granted at the appellant's request; (f) the number of days of continuance granted at the request of the department or the hearing officer's request, specifying which party made the request; and (g) whether the department's decision that was the subject of the appeal was affirmed or reversed; and (ii) the fair hearing requests filed before fiscal year 2027, which have been pending for more than 180 days, stating the number of those cases, how many of those cases have been heard but not decided and how many have been decided by the hearing officer but not yet issued as a final decision of the agency; provided further, that the department shall maintain and make available to the public, during regular business hours, a record of its fair hearings, with personal identifying information removed, including for each hearing request: (1) the date of the request; (2) the date of the hearing decision; (3) the decision rendered by the hearing officer; and (4) the final decision rendered by the commissioner of children and families after review; provided further, that the department shall make redacted copies of fair hearing decisions available within 30 days of a written request; provided further, that the department shall not make available any information in violation of federal privacy regulations; provided further, that not later than February 26, 2027, the department shall submit a report to the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the house and senate committees on ways and means that shall include, but not be limited to, the: (A) number of medical and psychiatric personnel and their level of training currently employed by or under contract with the department; (B) number of foster care reviews conducted by the department and the average length of time in which each review was completed; (C) number of social workers and supervisors who have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in social work; (D) total number of social workers and the total number of social workers holding licensure, by level; (E) number of the department's contracts reviewed by the state auditor and number of corrective action plans issued; and (F) number of corrective action plans entered into by the department; provided further, that the department shall submit quarterly reports to the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the house and senate committees on ways and means on the caseload of the department; provided further, that the report shall include, but not be limited to: (I) the caseloads of residential placements, congregate care, foster care, therapeutic foster care, adoption, guardianship, 51A reports, substantiated 51A reports, the number of children who die in the care and custody of the department, the number of children currently eligible for supportive child care, the number of children presently receiving supportive child care and the number of medical and psychiatric consultation requests made by the department's social workers; (II) the number of approved foster care placements; (III) the number of children in psychiatric hospitals and community--based acute treatment programs who remain hospitalized beyond their medically--necessary stay while awaiting placement and the number of days each child remains in placement beyond that which is medically necessary; (IV) the number of children in the department's care and custody who are receiving medical or psychiatric care through other publicly--funded sources; (V) the number of children served by supervised visitation centers and the number of those children who are reunified with their families; (VI) the total number of children served, their ages, the number of children served in each service plan, the number of children in out--of--home placements and the number of placements each child has had before receiving an out--of--home placement; (VII) for each area office, the number of kinship guardianship subsidies provided in the quarters covered by the report and the number of kinship guardianship subsidies provided in that quarter for which federal reimbursement was received; (VIII) for each area office, the total spending amount on services other than case management services provided to families to keep a child with the child's parents or reunifying the child with the child's parents, detailing spending by the type of service provided including, but not limited to, the number of children and a breakdown of spending for respite care, intensive in--home services, client financial assistance and flexible funding, community--based after--school social and recreation program services, family navigation services and parent aide services and the unduplicated number of families that receive the services; (IX) for each area office, the total number of families residing in shelters paid for by the department, a list of where the families are sheltered, the total cost and average cost per family at those shelters and a description of how the department determines who qualifies or does not qualify for a shelter; (X) for each area office, the number of requests for voluntary services, delineated by type of service requested, whether the request was approved or denied, the number of families that were denied voluntary services and received a 51A report, the reasons for denying such services and what, if any, referrals were made for services by other agencies or entities; (XI) the number of families receiving multiple 51A reports within a 10--month period, the number of cases reopened within 6 months of being closed and the number of children who return home and then reenter an out--of--home placement within 6 months; (XII) the number of children and families served by the family resource centers, delineated by area; and (XIII) the number of children in the care and custody of the department whose whereabouts are unknown; provided further, that not later than January 29, 2027, the department shall submit a report to the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the house and senate committees on ways and means that details any changes to the rules, regulations or guidelines established by the department in the previous fiscal year to carry out its duties under chapter 119 of the General Laws including, but not limited to: (aa) criteria used to determine whether a child has been abused or neglected; (bb) guidelines for removal of a child from the home; and (cc) standards to determine what reasonable efforts are being made to keep a child in the home; provided further, that on a monthly basis, the department shall provide the caseload forecasting office with data on children receiving services, young adults receiving services as defined in section 21 of said chapter 119 who continue to receive services as authorized in subsection (f) of section 23 of said chapter 119 and other pertinent data related to items 4800-0038 and 4800-0041 that is requested by the office; provided further, that the report shall also contain the number of children and families served by the family resource centers, by area, and an evaluation of the services provided and their effectiveness; provided further, that to the extent feasible within existing appropriations, the department shall maintain existing services for the aging--out population; provided further, that the commissioner of children and families may transfer funds from item 4800-1100 to this item to maintain appropriate staffing ratios under the memorandum of agreement between the commonwealth and the Alliance/Local 509, SEIU executed on March 25, 2013; provided further, that not less than 15 days before any such transfer, the commissioner shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means; provided further, that not more than 2 per cent of the funds from said item 4800-1100 shall be transferred in fiscal year 2027; provided further, that the commissioner may transfer funds between items 4800-0030, 4800-0038, 4800-0040 and 4800-0041 for services only and, as necessary, under an allocation plan, which shall detail, by object class, the distribution of the funds to be transferred; provided further, that transfers shall not be made for administrative costs; provided further, that not less than 15 days before any such transfer, the commissioner shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means; provided further, that not less than $125,000 shall be expended to Rick's Place, Inc. of Wilbraham for providing grief support to youth and their families in the Pioneer Valley; provided further, that funds shall be expended for a unit to help identify at--risk youth and provide preventative services and to implement a missing or absent youth recovery response policy; and provided further, that not later than January 15, 2027, the department shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities that shall include, but not be limited to, the: (aaa) number of young adults as defined in said section 21 of said chapter 119 who are continuing to receive services from the department as set forth in said subsection (f) of said section 23 of said chapter 119, by each area office of the department; and (bbb) total cost of such services