12 July, 2011
This Thursday, the Senate will consider a bill filed by Senator Karen Spilka (D-Ashland), which aims to transform the Children In Need of Services system. The proposed legislation, An Act Regarding Families and Children Engaged in Services (FACES), was filed earlier this year following the launch of the Families and Children Engaged in Services Coalition Campaign, a group of legislators, advocates, organizations, children, and families from across the Commonwealth working together to transform the way our state assists children and families in their times of need.
The present CHINS system was put in place to correct the behavior of children who are truant, runaway, or seen as “ungovernable.” FACES will transform the system into one which can offer help to children and families in a more effective, timely, and comprehensive manner. The bill will shift intervention from the courts to local family oriented resource centers which will not only provide the necessary services for the child, but will help the families by supplying them with the tools they need to raise their child. FACES would be gradually implemented over four years, building off the existing Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative. The program would be voluntary, giving parents the option of working with the courts if they deem necessary.
Spilka, who has been a vocal advocate for CHINS reform for six years, and her colleagues have held many public hearings in regards to CHINS reform, and have listened to hundreds of stakeholders, including many parents and children involved in the current system. They repeatedly called for implementing a system where children do not have to go court or enter the juvenile justice system to receive services, one which focuses on children and families, not just the behavior issues of the child, and one where families can receive help within their own communities. FACES will divert children from the juvenile courts by using a 21st century approach to adequately meet the needs of the 8,000 children in the CHINS system and their families.
