MIKE SMITHÂ was 5 years old when he met Justin Pasquariello and Vanessa Fazio. Pasquariello, then 22, had started a Boston-based mentoring program for kids in foster care, and Fazio was […]
Department of Children and Families
Posted inUncategorized
Omnibus DCF bill still in the works
WITH LESS THAN two months left to the legislative session, the House’s lead lawmaker on child welfare policy is continuing work on an omnibus bill that he says would make […]
Posted inThe Download
Budget amendment would create Harmony Montgomery Commission
A week after the state Office of the Child Advocate issued a report about the failure of the child welfare system to protect missing 4-year-old Harmony Montgomery, a state senator […]
Posted inUncategorized
Budget amendment would create Harmony Montgomery Commission
A WEEK AFTER Â the state Office of the Child Advocate issued a report about the failure of the child welfare system to protect missing 4-year-old Harmony Montgomery, a state senator […]
Posted inUncategorized
Report says DCF needs to incorporate family input into policies
EVA LIVES in Central Massachusetts with her four children, ages seven to 11. About a year after her youngest was born, she was in her mid-20s and struggling with postpartum […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Child Advocate says ‘system failed’ Harmony MontgomeryÂ
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES and the court system valued the rights of Harmony Montgomery’s parents more than Harmony’s wellbeing, according to a damning 101-page report issued Wednesday by […]
Posted inThe Download
Only half of foster children graduated on time last year
In 2020, as COVID closed schools for the last three months of the year, only half of students in the custody of the Department of Children and Families graduated on […]
Posted inEducation
Only half of foster children graduated on time last year
IN 2020, as COVID closed schools for the last three months of the year, only half of students in the custody of the Department of Children and Families graduated on […]
Posted inOpinion
Independent foster care reviews needed at DCF
WHEN WE LEARNED of David Almond’s death on October 21, 2020, we were heartbroken. Tragically, this was not the first time we had seen a child die while under the […]
Posted inUncategorized
State scrambles to get federal money to former foster youthÂ
FOR A YOUNG ADULT who has aged out of the foster care system, $3,200 can mean the ability to put a deposit on an apartment, purchase car insurance, or buy […]
Posted inUncategorized
Advocacy groups sue DCF over language services
TWO ADVOCACY GROUPS and a mother who speaks limited English have filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Department of Children and Families, seeking to force DCF to improve […]
Posted inEducation
DCF-involved students attended school 90% of the time last year
WHEN FALL RIVER teen David Almond, who was under Department of Children and Families supervision, was found dead, allegedly due to abuse and neglect by his father and girlfriend, one […]
Posted inOpinion
Sen. Gomez is asking the wrong question about David Almond
MY HEART SANK when I read Shira Schoenberg’s May 6, 2021 article, Did DCF return David Almond to his father because he is White? As someone who has dedicated much […]
Posted inUncategorized
Did DCF return David Almond to his father because he is white?
ADVOCATES SEEKING TO END racial disparities in Massachusetts’s child welfare system now have a powerful legislative ally: Sen. Adam Gomez, the new Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families […]
Posted inUncategorized
Report says 479 children harmed last year under state supervision
The death of David Almond, a Fall River teenager with autism who died of abuse and neglect while under the supervision of the Department of Children and Families, has sparked the question: […]
Posted inUncategorized
Many issues with Fall River teen’s death still don’t add up
AFTER A 107-PAGE investigatory report and hours of public testimony, some of the key decisions that led to Fall River teen David Almond’s death remain inexplicable.  Almond, who was autistic, died […]
Posted inUncategorized
Pandemic puts hold on adoptions, family reunificationsÂ
THE CHILDREN INVOLVED with the Department of Children and Families are already some of the most unsettled in the state. Now, the pandemic has further delayed many of these kids’ chances […]
Posted inUncategorized
Berkshire County couple charged in foster child death
THE BERKSHIRE DISTRICT Attorney’s office has filed charges against two foster parents in Adams for failing to get medical attention for their 10-month-old foster child, who died of complications from […]
Posted inUncategorized
David Almond’s death overshadows DCF budget hearing Â
LEGISLATIVE BUDGET HEARINGSÂ are typically dry discussions of line items and government programs. On Tuesday, however, lawmakers were reminded in stark terms of the life-or-death decisions involved in determining how state […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DCF head admits agency failed David AlmondÂ
THE TOP MASSACHUSETTS officials charged with protecting vulnerable children admitted Wednesday that the system failed badly in not preventing the death of Fall River teenager David Almond. “It is clear to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
What happened to David Almond?
The state Office of the Child Advocate released a scathing 106-page report on Wednesday detailing enormous failures by the Department of Children and Families and others that ultimately led to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Scathing report details DCF failures leading to death of Fall River boyÂ
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIESÂ failed autistic teenager David Almond time and time again, making inexplicable decisions and ignoring danger signs until the 14-year-old died, emaciated and bruised, allegedly at […]
Posted inUncategorized
House passes DCF transparency billÂ
LOOKING TO ADDRESS longstanding concerns about the state’s child welfare system, the Massachusetts House on Monday passed a wide-ranging bill to improve operations at the Department of Children and Families, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Report slams DCF for lack of language services
JUAN ABAD’S son was three months old when he was removed from his mother’s house and placed in a foster home after the boy’s twin was murdered. The boy turned […]