Foster Parent Bill of Rights is Law

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BOSTON — Long time priority of State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier, the Foster Parents' bill of rights, is now law.
 
According to a press release from Farley-Bouvier, the Foster Parent Bill of Rights (FPBoR) was sent to the governor's desk for signature in the final hours of the 192nd legislative session and was signed into law on Wednesday Jan. 4, 2023. 
 
This comes after years of collaboration between House sponsors Rep. Farley-Bouvier and Representative Paul Donato (D-Medford), Senate sponsor Senator Jo Comerford (D-North Hampton), and countless foster parent advocates across the state.
 
The FPBoR offers a range of protections for foster parents, namely: anti-discrimination protections; greater confidentiality; training; more information on the child prior to placement and the opportunity to provide helpful information after placements; increased transparency from DCF on reviews, funding resources, and removals; and involvement in the child's action plan creation.
 
Another key provision of the Foster Parents' bill of rights is the inclusion of the prudent parent standard. This standard helps foster parents take away the stigma so often faced by foster children; it gives foster parents the authority to allow foster children to go to birthday parties without background checks, it allows foster families to take a day trip to a farm right over state lines, it allows foster children to ride their bikes to middle school with their friends. All things that allow foster children to have as close to an average childhood as possible. 
 
"I couldn't be happier to have now in statute the fact that foster parents will be treated as respected members of the professional foster care team," said Representative Farley-Bouvier. "Those that open their hearts and their homes to our most vulnerable children are the very core of the child welfare system and just like with anyone else, if you want to recruit and retain them, they need to have positive experiences. Sadly, that is not usually the case."
 
According to the press reelase, foster parent advocates across Massachusetts are excited for these long-awaited protections. Including Berkshire County's Missy Tarjick.
 
"On behalf of MAFF (Massachusetts Alliance for Foster Families) and as a foster/adoptive Mom, I want to express our sincere appreciation to the legislature and the governor for the passage of the Foster Parent Bill of Rights. Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier has been a foster family champion since taking office, and this bill would not have been possible without her.  Foster families dedicate their lives to children in need; without them, many children would be left in unsafe conditions. This bill encompasses much of what foster parents require and deserve, which will always benefit the children in their care," Tarjick said. "For me, the heart of this bill is the recognition from our state leaders that we are an essential member of the child welfare team. MAFF is eager to continue our collaboration with the Department of Children and Families as policies and practices are highlighted and/or enhanced as we move toward implementation."
 
The Foster Parents Bill of Rights is now included in the Massachusetts General Laws for all to review, especially our foster parents, in the Acts of 2022 Chapter 439.

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Pagliarulo, Strout Win Seats on Dalton Select Board

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

The election saw about a 20 percent turnout of registered voters.
DALTON, Mass. — Voters returned one of two incumbents to the Select Board and one newcomer on Tuesday. 
 
Antonio "Tony" Pagliarulo won one of the two seats in the four-way race with 577 votes for the board, outpolling the other three candidates by 107 votes. Coming up second was incumbent Marc Strout with 486. 
 
William Drosehn, chair of the Finance Committee, was 13 votes behind at 473. 
 
Robert Collins, who won a seat by 13 votes in February's special election found himself out of the running this time with 459 votes. 
 

Pagliarulo expressed his gratitude to the voters and hopes that he and the board can do a good job by them.


"Everybody's going to be in office, even though the other two candidates didn't make it. We have a Finance chair and we have a person on the Planning Board, so hopefully we'll work in harmony together," he said. 


Collins holds a seat on the Planning Board; Pagliarulo is a member of the Green Committee and the Public Safety Facility Advisory Committee.


The elections saw above-average voter turnout, with 1,001 individuals voting in person at the Senior Center, and 83 mail-in ballots were counted after the polls closed, for about 20 percent of registered voters. 


Residents lined Field Street with signs in support of their preferred candidates as some played lawn games to pass the time. 


When the unofficial results came in, several of Strout's supporters cheered as they left the Senior Center. 


Strout said he looks forward to serving on the board for another three years and will do so with honesty and integrity. 


This will be Strout's fourth term. When running for Select Board nine years ago, he didn't think he would ever get to this point. 


"But when you get in here and you're able to serve the people and look out for them and take care of the small things for them, whether it's a pothole on their street or the street light out, those are the things that are important to people," Strout said. 


"We got a lot of work ahead of us and bringing people together to get things done, and that's what's going to take for all of us to work together." 


Although losing this race, Collins intends to stay involved in the town, continuing his work on the Planning Board and Storm Water Commission. 


When asked whether he would request a recount given the close results, Collins said he does not intend to and emphasized his trust and faith in the town clerk’s office and the volunteers who handle the counting process. 


Drosehn said he does not believe the results reflected the true vision of the town’s people, feels there was an "anomaly" in the results, and plans to call for a recount.


He said town voters prefer to have someone on the board, "one in particular," that he thinks doesn’t approach the issues.  


Unofficial results for other contested races were: 


The Planning Board had three candidates for its two open seats. Voters elected Dennis Croughwell, who had 729 votes, and Donald Davis with 456. David Martindale had 434 votes. 


The Library Trustees had five candidates for its four available seats. Voters elected Anne Ronayne, who had 1,263 votes, Thomas Condron with 710 votes, Leonardo Quiles with 623 votes, and Sherri Belouin with 576 votes. Michael Jamrog had 356 votes.

 

 

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