By June Ameen, Friends of Children, and Kate Lowenstein, Citizens for Juvenile Justice, with Joan Montgomery Halford, writer
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
— attributed to Albert Einstein
We have fallen into a nightmarish cycle in Massachusetts.
It’s a cycle of child-death incidents followed by investigations, reports, audits, apologies, promises, and reforms—and then the cycle repeats yet again. Meanwhile, for many years, Friends of Children has been publicly asking for specific outcome measures that demonstrate the intended and actual impacts of child welfare reforms in Massachusetts, for children and for families.
There were no answers.
For years, we have been imploring our leaders to step outside the cycle of tragedy and follow up on the endless investigations, news reports, and journalistic pieces that document this litany of systemic failure.
The silence that has followed our requests has been deafening.
Into this silence, the hard data and a timeline of events speak volumes for our kids.
Using federal child welfare data from Child Trends (FY 2019 & 2020) and the report of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF Annual Reports FY2021 and FY2022), Friends of Children and Citizens for Juvenile Justice have conducted a comparison of publicly available key performance metrics related to foster care.* This review first compares DCF to U.S. averages (all states) and specifically to other states (the wealthiest, the poorest, and the most populated, as well as other New England states). Additionally, we identify DCF performance before implementation of the 2015 child welfare reforms of Governor Charlie Baker’s administration and several years later, in FY2019 and FY2020, to look at the impact of the reforms.
*Foster care is a temporary living situation for children and young adults who have been removed from their homes by DCF and the Courts; placements may include relatives, foster homes, and group facilities.
The Data
As you review the graphics and timeline that follow, you’ll learn that Massachusetts is failing children in DCF custody compared to other states on critical measures.
Measures such as:
- The average length of time in foster care;
- The percentage of children in foster care for 5+ years;
- Children experiencing four or more foster care placements while in DCF custody; and
- The percentage of children adopted by relatives.
Children and youth involved with DCF, among the most vulnerable in our society, have very little presence in our legislative chambers, our newsrooms, and our boardrooms. And they have no direct say whatsoever in our voting booths. A total of 13,045 unique children were in foster care during FY2022, a staggering number of young lives (DCF Annual Reports FY2022). Children have no money and no power. They are functionally voiceless in the policy decisions that most affect their lives.
Remember these vulnerable young citizens—their voices, their faces, their futures—as you read the data and timeline that follow.
You’re about to learn that children in DCF custody in Massachusetts would do better to live in almost any other state.
Even with what the Baker administration and the state legislature called “major reforms” in 2015, 2019, and 2021, DCF performance remains among the worst in the nation.
Available data do not currently include meaningful measures of well-being, measures of child development and functioning across multiple domains (e.g., physical, cognitive and social-emotional), yet one can safely assume that the poor performance measures we do have are linked to poor well-being measures for the children and youth currently in the state’s custody—functionally, in our custody.
Time Spent in Foster Care
Average length of time spent in foster care
(FY2020)
A long time in a temporary placement
HIGHER than the national average
3rd HIGHEST compared to the most populated states
HIGHER than the poorest states
HIGHEST among the wealthiest states
2nd HIGHEST among New England states
INCREASING in recent years
Data Sources: Child Trends FY2019 and FY2020 & MA DCF Annual Report FY2021
State rankings for most populated, wealthiest, and poorest (median income) from World Population Review
Children In Foster Care 5+ Years
Percent of Children in Foster Care 5+ Years
(FY2020)
A lifetime for a child…
HIGHER than the national average
Tied for 2nd HIGHEST compared to the most populated states
HIGHER than the poorest states
Tied for HIGHEST among the wealthiest states
Tied for HIGHEST among New England states
INCREASING in recent years
Data Sources: Child Trends FY2019 and FY2020 & MA DCF Annual Report FY2021
State rankings for most populated, wealthiest, and poorest (median income) from World Population Review
Four or more Foster Care Placements
Percent of Children with 4+ Foster Care Placements
(FY2020)
Multiple placements have major negative impacts on child well-being1
MA has the worst performance of all states in comparisons on this critical measure. Why aren’t we hearing more about this?
HIGHER than the national average
HIGHER than the most populated states
HIGHER than the poorest states
HIGHEST among the wealthiest states
HIGHEST among New England states
Consistently higher than the national average
Data Sources: Child Trends FY2019 and FY2020 & MA DCF Annual Report FY2021
State rankings for most populated, wealthiest, and poorest (median income) from World Population Review
1 Children’s Rights
Placed in Group Care
Percent of Children Placed in Group Care
(FY2020)
Is group care appropriate for all of these children? Are there not enough less-restrictive options or services to keep kids at home?
HIGHER than the national average
HIGHER than the most populated states
HIGHER than the poorest states
HIGHEST among the wealthiest states
2nd HIGHEST among New England states
NO CHANGE in recent years
Data Sources: Child Trends FY2019 and FY2020 & MA DCF Annual Report FY2021
State rankings for most populated, wealthiest, and poorest (median income) from World Population Review
Adopted By Relatives
Percent of Children Adopted By Relatives
(FY2020)
Why is MA performing so poorly when DCF has been focused on kin placements?2
FAR BELOW the national average
LOWER than the most populated states
LOWER than the poorest states
LOWEST among the wealthiest states
LOWEST among New England states
NO CHANGE since 2015
Data Sources: Child Trends FY2019 and FY2020 & MA DCF Annual Report FY2021
State rankings for most populated, wealthiest, and poorest (median income) from World Population Review
2 DCF FY2020 Annual Report
Time in Foster Care Before Adoption
Length of Stay in Foster Care Before Adoption
(FY2020)
A significant part of a child’s life without a permanent family
LONGER than the national average
3rd LONGEST compared to the most populated states
LONGER than the poorest states
LONGEST among the wealthiest states
LONGEST among the New England states
INCREASING in recent years
Data Sources: Child Trends FY2019 and FY2020 & MA DCF Annual Report FY2021
State rankings for most populated, wealthiest, and poorest (median income) from World Population Review
Exiting Foster Care to Emancipation
Percent of Youth Exiting Foster Care to Emancipation3
(FY2020)
Aging out of care without permanence has lifelong consequences4
HIGHER than the national average
2nd HIGHEST compared to the most populated states
HIGHER than the poorest states
2nd HIGHEST among the wealthiest states
2nd HIGHEST among New England states
Consistently HIGHER than the national average
Data Sources: Child Trends FY2019 and FY2020 & MA DCF Annual Report FY2021
State rankings for most populated, wealthiest, and poorest (median income) from World Population Review
3 In child welfare emancipation means aging out at age 22, or before, and often after years of trauma, with no “forever” family or lifelong connections.
4 Think of Us “Away from Home" Report
MA Reports Measures of "Well-Being"…
The Results Speak for Themselves
DCF reported only two “well-being” measures for children and youth in out-of-home placement in annual reports from 2019 through 2021: (1) medical evaluations completed and timeliness, and (2) high school graduation rates. DCF’s Annual Report FY2022 includes three additional education well-being measures from the 2021-22 school year: (3) students with “high needs”, (4) school attendance rates, and (5) safety disciplinary action.
Medical Evaluations*
| % of all medical visits completed** | 51.3% | 78.7% | 82.7% | 80.4% | 78% | 76.7% |
| % of medical visits completed in a timely manner** | 29.2% | 45.1% | 49.1% | 49.7% | 44.2% | 42.6% |
*Baker administration reforms included the hiring of a full-time DCF Medical Director and Medical Social Workers for 29 DCF Area Offices.
**DCF Annual Report FY2022
Four-Year High School Graduation Rates*
| ≥67% | 51.4% | 57.3% | 63.4% | 55.6% | 56.8% | 50.6% | 56.7% | 89.8% |
*DCF FY2022 Annual Report
**MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Other Education Well-Being Measures
Students with “High Needs”: 84.8% of children in DCF custody were identified as “high need”, in contrast to 56.2% of all MA students.
School Attendance Rates: Children in DCF custody attended 86.8% of their enrolled school days, versus 91.5% for all MA students.
Safety Disciplinary Action: Children in DCF custody had more in-school and out-of-school suspensions and emergency removals than all MA students.
The DCF Annual Report FY2022 does not include an analysis or indication of what DCF has learned from these well-being data points, nor any indication of what DCF is doing to address these poor results for children and youth in the custody of DCF.
A Chronicle of Systemic Failure
2014
APR 18, 2014
MAY 22, 2014
Detailed policy, procedure, and operational reform recommendations. Read the Report.
JUN 2014
SEP 2014
2015
JAN 13, 2015
JAN 29, 2015
JUL 14, 2015
AUG 15, 2015
SEP 4, 2015
“DCF views the failure to protect Jack as an indication of systemic failures both internal and external to DCF.”
SEP 28, 2015
"Systemic policy reforms are necessary...", Governor Baker states.
SEP 30, 2015
OCT 28, 2015
NOV 20, 2015
NOV 2015
2016
JAN 2016
2017
JAN 2017
2017
Shows substantial disparities in school experiences of foster youth.
DEC 2017
DEC 7, 2017
2018
JAN 2018
“analysis of key data points indicates the increased stability and resources haven’t yet led to significantly better outcomes for children”
Reforms and funding to keep children safely with their families and avoid foster care. Read the law
2019
MAR 2019
APR 6, 2019
“MA has one of the worst records nationally for providing stable placements for children in foster care”
APR 22, 2019
APR 23, 2019
APR 23, 2019
MAY 14, 2019
MAY 16, 2019
JUN 30, 2019
JUL 29, 2019
DEC 30, 2019
2020
JAN 3, 2020
JAN 11, 2020
MAR 10, 2020
JUL 2020
MA DCF does worse than national performance on 6 of 7 metrics.
AUG 15, 2020
AUG 16, 2020
SEP 2020
OCT 1, 2020
OCT 2020
OCT 21, 2020
NOV 18, 2020
NOV 20, 2020
DEC 2020
DEC 2020
2021
JAN 2021
JAN 26, 2021
FEB 21, 2021
MAR 22 – APR 21, 2021
APR 4, 2021
APR 5, 2021
APR 13 & 17, 2021
* A “mandated reporter” is a person, from a profession-specific list of people, required by law to report to DCF if they have reasonable cause to believe a child/youth is abused or neglected.
MAY 4, 2021
MAY 4, 2021
MAY 6, 2021
MAY 2021
JUN 9, 2021
JUN 15, 2021
JUN 30, 2021
JULY 2021
JUL 7, 2021
JUL 14, 2021
JUL 16, 2021
JUL 29, 2021
OCT 26, 2021
Read the article in: MassLive! & Commonwealth Magazine
NOV 9, 2021
DEC 2021
Read the annual report | Read the 12/7/21 State House News Service article “Spears Highlights DCF Efforts Since David Almond Report”
DEC 10, 2021
DEC 25, 2021
DEC 27, 2021
FEB 18, 2022
FEB 22, 2022
MAR 2022
MAR 2022
MAY 2022
MAY 9, 2022
MAY, 2022
The U.S. stands out in its unwillingness to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC); this treaty (1989) has been ratified by 196 other countries.
JUN 15, 2022
Massachusetts is one of the four states.
Read the article | See the U.S. Office of Inspector General report
DEC 2022
2023
JAN 5, 2023
TODAY
The same problems exist that were supposed to be addressed by the 2015, 2019 and 2021 reforms. We welcome a new Administration in 2023 that has the opportunity to change the reality for thousands of vulnerable Massachusetts children and families.
Dare we imagine a day when thousands of kids in a child and family well-being system in Massachusetts look back and remember a time when life got better, when the system improved their situations?
We must.
Here's How You Can Help
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
The data and timeline you’ve just read lay bare a system that should and could be doing a better job. Behind the numbers are real children and young adults—their hopes, their dreams, their futures. Now that you’ve seen for yourself how poorly the child welfare system in Massachusetts is performing compared to most other states in our nation, you may be questioning long-held assumptions. Or you may feel reaffirmed in your sense that something here has been very wrong for a long time.
Our kids need you.
If each of us does our part, together, we can change this system for the better.