General Committees EDUCATION COMMITTEE

The Education Committee’s purpose is to assess youth and family needs and provide training for any engaged policy. During FY23 the team took a brief hiatus in response to funding challenges and while awaiting approval the new education policy, and distributed Individual Education Plan (IEP) and Special Education (SPED) training

In FY 24 the team is positioned to work directly with the Education Team at DCF to gather knowledge about Education support Team. That feedback, along with direct feedback from community members will help response to begin to meet those needs, in support of youth’s educational success and engagement.

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The Fatherhood Committee has three main focuses of work. This (FELTs) are engaged in the feedback loop from the community, delivering the larger statewide and national fatherhood forums to ensure that youth and families.

In FY 23, in an effort to assure that the FELT connection is as strong they had accurate information about the leadership of each team. in an effort to better understand the internal DCF response to fatherhood

KINSHIP & FOSTER COMMITTEE

The Kinship & Foster Care Committee was sunset during FY 23. Richard continued his advocacy around of his passion and leadership we have found a home for, and are piloting, the program out of the DCF Worcester

The pilot will offer three youth from each office the opportunity to participate in a formal youth Leadership peer support, homework assistance, leadership skills, and other critical supports. If this program proves

In phase II (after January 2024) the committee hopes to expand the program to four additional pilot sites audience of youth. They will also expand the number of youth engaged in the Worcester program, as they

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engaged families and DCF staff. We liaise with DCF to contribute to education approval on a forward-facing education initiative. The team provided input on training materials.

about the expressed needs of youth and parents, as they engage with the DCF to inform the needs for the coming year. This committee will formulate a

Fatherhood Committee

This includes working across the Commonwealth to ensure that the DCF Fatherhood Engagement Leadership Teams delivering direct training and support to fathers who are engaged with the child welfare system, and connection to that they keep pace with the best practices and current engagement methods used to create positive outcomes for strong as possible, this team engaged in a statewide data collection effort, across all 29 DCF Area Offices, to assure that team. In a second phase (launched in FY 23 and continuing into FY 24) they are exploring the work of each FELT team fatherhood engagement and to seek opportunities to educate DCF staff about current needs, trends and practices. around the need to execute his proposal to support youth after school. Because Worcester East & West Area offices, in partnership with the Greendale YMCA. Leadership Program which includes programming designed to formalize peer-toproves successful we hope to scale this to a statewide version sometime in 2024. sites in DCF Area Offices across the state. This will bring the program to a wider they bring it to scale.

LEGISLATIVE & JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMITTEE

The Legislative & Juvenile Justice Committee was launched at the end of FY23 with the expressed purpose past engagement included working with the chairs and members of the Joint Committees on Children, Families a variety of settings. We also have connections with the MA Court System through many of our members. We 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

Our team has assembled to look at the may issues that face biological, kinship, foster, and adoptive families engaged areas where our expertise and knowledge can have impact at the legislative and juvenile justice levels. We look engage these systems in an effort to create meaningful impact and change.

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The Mental Health/Trauma Committee reviews the needs of families services. This team assesses and educates families and youth about the regarding the effects of mental health of children and families.

In FY22 the team trained in Question. Persuade. Refer. (QPR) suicide community support persons. They have conducted a number of trainings Their goal for FY 24 is to expand their educational reach and offer a broad

Substance Use Committee

The Substance Use Committee provides support to DCF social workers & community members, provides training for Recovery. The team advocates for removing stigmatizing language and educating social workers and community

In FY23, the team presented informational sessions to DCF social workers and community members. They additionally 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 community with the intention to expand the reach to DCF staff and community members across the

Committee Chair of integrating our youth and family support with legislative action. Our Families and Persons with Disabilities, among work with other legislators in We are keenly aware of the impact of both of these systems upon youth these forums. engaged in the MA child welfare system. We have identified numerous look forward to working with the Department to advocate, educate, and