Special Commission on State Institutions Statute

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Link: https://budget.digital.mass.gov/summary/fy23/outside-section/section-144-special-commission-on-state-institutions

Section 144 - Special Commission on State Institutions
 

(a) There shall be a special commission to study and report on the history of state institutions for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health conditions in the commonwealth including, but not limited to, the Walter E. Fernald state school and the Metropolitan state hospital.

The commission shall:

1. Review existing records in the possession of the commonwealth related to the network of current and former state institutions for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health conditions;
2. Examine the current availability of, and barriers to accessing, records by former residents of such institutions, their descendants and relatives and the general public;
3. Assess and compile records of burial locations for the residents who died while in the care of such institutions;
4. Determine the likelihood and possible locations of unmarked graves at sites of former state institutions for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health conditions; and
5. Design a framework for public recognition of the commonwealth's guardianship of residents with disabilities throughout history, which may include, but shall not be limited to, recommendations for memorialization and public education on the history and current state of the independent living movement, deinstitutionalization and the inclusion of people with disabilities.

(b) The commission shall consist of 17 individuals:

• person who identifies as having an intellectual or developmental disability, appointed by the commissioner of developmental services, who shall serve as co-chair;
• person who identifies as having a mental health or behavioral health condition, appointed by the commissioner of mental health, who shall serve as co-chair;
• commissioner of developmental services or a designee;
• commissioner of mental health or a designee;
• chief of the archives division in the department of the state secretary or a designee;
• executive director of the disabled persons protection commission or a designee;
• director of the Massachusetts office on disability or a designee;
• member who identifies as a person with a disability appointed by Arc Massachusetts;
• member appointed by Massachusetts Advocates Standing Strong;
• member appointed by Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change; and
• 7 members appointed by the governor:
  1. 1 of whom shall be a representative of a center for independent living
  2. 2 of whom shall be current residents of the Hogan Regional Center or Wrentham Developmental Center
  3. 1 of whom shall be a family member of a current resident of the Hogan Regional Center
  4. 1 of whom shall be a family member of a current resident of the Wrentham Developmental Center
  5. 1 of whom shall be a former employee of a state institutional facility between 1970 and 2014, inclusive, and
  6. 1 of whom shall be a self-advocate member of a mental health peer recovery group

(c) The commission shall file a report of its findings and recommendations to the state secretary, the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery not later than June 1, 2025. The Massachusetts office on disability shall make the report publicly available in an accessible format on the office's website.

Date published:	May 30, 2023