Executive Order  No. 333: Establishing a special commission on foster care in Massachusetts

(Amending Executive Order NO. 332)

WHEREAS, the Department of Social Services protects young victims of abuse and neglect by providing foster care to thousands of children who have bee removed from their homes and who have been voluntarily placed into the temporary care of Social Services by their parents in lieu of a court decision; and

WHEREAS, it is necessary to review in an objective manner the foster care policies implemented by the Department of Social Services;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Argeo Paul Cellucci, Acting Governor of the Commonwealth, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Supreme Executive Magistrate, do hereby amend Executive Order 332 as follows:

Paragraph 2 of Executive Order 332 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2. The Commission shall consist of the following twenty-five members who shall serve without compensation: the Secretary of Health and Human Services or his designee; the Commissioner of Social Services or his designee; two members designated by the President of the Senate; two members designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; one member designated by the Senate Minority Leader; one member designated by the House Minority Leader; and seventeen members appointed by the Governor, including two representatives of the Massachusetts Association for Professional Foster Care, at least one of whom shall be a foster parent; one representative from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; one individual representing Local 509 SEIU; one judge or individual with legal experience in family and probate law; two representatives of the child welfare provider community; one adult who was a foster child under the care of the Department of Social Services; one biological parent of a child or children in the foster care system; one clinical psychologist with expertise in child welfare; one biological grandparent of a foster child; one representative of a chid advocacy group; and one independent member, appointed in consultation with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, who shall serve as chairperson.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this twenty-seventh day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety-two.

Argeo Paul Cellucci

Acting Governor

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Michael Joseph Connolly

Secretary of the Commonwealth