DIVERSITY COMMITTEE

The Diversity Committee is committed to working in partnership with our FAC Leadership and DCF to assure that our members, and our work, reflect the expressed values required to effectively engage with the community. There are two distinct areas of focus for this team:

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

In this area were focus upon the overarching needs of the community members that we serve and support, with a particular eye upon the varied responses that different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups receive from the child welfare community. To best inform our work we held Statewide Community Listening Sessions which provided content and context for our work, based upon statewide and regional variances. The executive summary can be viewed in our 2022 Community Listening Session publication.

LGBTQIA+ Youth and Family Support

The Diversity Committee has a long-standing body of work in supporting the LGBTQIA+ community through engagement in direct service work, as well as through service on the DCF Statewide LGBTQ Liaison Committee, in past intersection with the Massachusetts Commission for LGBTQ Youth, and most recently in our programmatic work with our Statewide LGBTQ+ Partners program, piloted in FY 22 and now part of our regular work. Through providing direct support to caregivers and youth with expressed LGBTQIA+ identities, as well as creating opportunities to gather as a community, we have helped numerous people connect to resources, worked in conjunction with DCF to provide adequate support for youth in care, and educated countless community partners about the need for specialized support of LGBTQIA+ youth. We are pleased to continue to offer this critical program to families, free of charge, into FY 24.

Education Committee

The Education Committee’s purpose is to assess youth and family needs and provide training for any engaged families and DCF staff. We liaise with DCF to contribute to education policy. During FY23 the team took a brief hiatus in response to funding challenges and while awaiting approval on a forward-facing education initiative. The team provided input on the new education policy, and distributed Individual Education Plan (IEP) and Special Education (SPED) training materials.

In FY 24 the team is positioned to work directly with the Education Team at DCF to gather knowledge about the expressed needs of youth and parents, as they engage with the DCF Education support Team. That feedback, along with direct feedback from community members will help to inform the needs for the coming year. This committee will formulate a response to begin to meet those needs, in support of youth’s educational success and engagement.

Committee Chair

Committee Chair

Fatherhood Committee

The Fatherhood Committee has three main focuses of work. This includes working across the Commonwealth to ensure that the DCF Fatherhood Engagement Leadership Teams (FELTs) are engaged in the feedback loop from the community, delivering direct training and support to fathers who are engaged with the child welfare system, and connection to the larger statewide and national fatherhood forums to ensure that they keep pace with the best practices and current engagement methods used to create positive outcomes for youth and families.

In FY 23, in an effort to assure that the FELT connection is as strong as possible, this team engaged in a statewide data collection effort, across all 29 DCF Area Offices, to assure that they had accurate information about the leadership of each team. In a second phase (launched in FY 23 and continuing into FY 24) they are exploring the work of each FELT team in an effort to better understand the internal DCF response to fatherhood engagement and to seek opportunities to educate DCF staff about current needs, trends and practices.

KINSHIP & FOSTER COMMITTEE

The Kinship & Foster Care Committee was sunset during FY 23. Richard continued his advocacy around the need to execute his proposal to support youth after school. Because of his passion and leadership we have found a home for, and are piloting, the program out of the DCF Worcester East & West Area offices, in partnership with the Greendale YMCA. The pilot will offer three youth from each office the opportunity to participate in a formal youth Leadership Program which includes programming designed to formalize peer-topeer support, homework assistance, leadership skills, and other critical supports. If this program proves successful we hope to scale this to a statewide version sometime in 2024.

In phase II (after January 2024) the committee hopes to expand the program to four additional pilot sites in DCF Area Offices across the state. This will bring the program to a wider audience of youth. They will also expand the number of youth engaged in the Worcester program, as they bring it to scale.

riChard benoit

LEGISLATIVE & JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMITTEE

The Legislative & Juvenile Justice Committee was launched at the end of FY23 with the expressed purpose of integrating our youth and family support with legislative action. Our past engagement included working with the chairs and members of the Joint Committees on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, among work with other legislators in a variety of settings. We also have connections with the MA Court System through many of our members. We are keenly aware of the impact of both of these systems upon youth in care of the state. It is with this in mind that we feel the urgent need to bring our voice and advocacy to these forums.

Our team has assembled to look at the may issues that face biological, kinship, foster, and adoptive families engaged in the MA child welfare system. We have identified numerous areas where our expertise and knowledge can have impact at the legislative and juvenile justice levels. We look forward to working with the Department to advocate, educate, and engage these systems in an effort to create meaningful impact and change.

MENTAL HEALTH/TRAUMA COMMITTEE

The Mental Health/Trauma Committee reviews the needs of families and children engaged with DCF as those needs relate to Department of Mental Health (DMH) realted services. This team assesses and educates families and youth about the broad resources available to support their needs. They also support social workers and educate workers regarding the effects of mental health of children and families.

In FY22 the team trained in Question. Persuade. Refer. (QPR) suicide prevention. In FY 23, they launched a training program designed for parents, youth, social workers and community support persons. They have conducted a number of trainings that help participants learn more about the signs and responses to use with suicidal community members. Their goal for FY 24 is to expand their educational reach and offer a broad and FREE training opportunity to participants across the Commonwealth.

Substance Use Committee

The Substance Use Committee provides support to DCF social workers & community members, provides training on Substance Use Disorder (SUD), and Multiple Pathways to and for Recovery. The team advocates for removing stigmatizing language and educating social workers and community members on the new language of SUD.

In FY23, the team presented informational sessions to DCF social workers and community members. They additionally created a statewide list for SUD resources and supports for those with loved ones of SUD persons.

In FY24, the team is piloting a community-based resource and training program in conjunction with the DCF Worcester West Area Advisory Board. The pilot will run across the Worcester community with the intention to expand the reach to DCF staff and community members across the Commonwealth in following years.

Committee Chair