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Every so often, laws need to be reviewed and updated. In that spirit, the Massachusetts House took an important step in voting on a bill, versions of which have been floating around for years, to update reporting requirements for state child welfare agencies. Reporting requirements cover the data the agency is required to collect and provide to the public, and they are crucial to making sure that the agency is doing its job and spending taxpayer money wisely. Previously, the House generally favored passing large omnibus bills. State House News Service reported that passage of the Department of Children and Families reporting bill is part of a new willingness to take on “bite-size” legislation. That’s a good way to make sure small but important policies like this one get a shot at passing. Advertisement But there are potential improvements to the bill, and the Senate should fine-tune it before voting. And while the bill focuses on data, that must be paired with rigorous oversight of data and willingness to use them to improve services. The bill, which passed the House Oct. 22, codifies what information DCF must publish in its reports and adds requirements that the agency compile statistics about children with disabilities and report on outcomes of youth who age out of care. Children who age out without a permanent family often struggle with housing, employment, and education, and tracking outcomes provides needed information to improve policies to help these kids. New requirements requiring reporting to the Legislature when a child sleeps overnight in a DCF office could spur additional oversight. The bill also requires more notifications to a child’s attorney about their situation. Advertisement As this board has reported, communication between child welfare agencies and schools when a child moves into or out of foster care can be insufficient, and improving that should be prioritized. This bill requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and DCF to establish timelines for transferring records to schools. It would create a commission to explore an idea advocates for children have been pushing, which is the creation of an automated process to tell schools quickly when a child enters or exits custody or changes placements and to transfer their academic records. The bill also codifies an education office in DCF. If data are shared more quickly, it will be vital that schools use them to provide better student support. As Child Advocate Maria Mossaides prepares to leave that role after 10 years, it’s also the right time to codify the responsibilities and data-sharing arrangements involving that independent office. The bill ensures that future child advocates can continue to collect information from state agencies, investigate critical incidents and child deaths, and report publicly on their work. One provision that should be removed from a final bill, however, is language prohibiting the child advocate from releasing a public report with personally identifiable information. There are times when high-profile cases — like the deaths of Harmony Montgomery or David Almond — cry out for systemic reforms to the child welfare system. In those cases, the child advocate plays an important role in reviewing child deaths and determining what state officials did wrong and how to improve. The child advocate must be allowed to release public reports on specific cases when the public interest warrants it. Policy makers should continue to consider other reforms that go beyond data. For example, one idea that could be accomplished administratively or legislatively is the creation of a “foster children’s bill of rights,” an easy-to-understand document given to every foster child that spells out what rights they have and how to complain if rights aren’t upheld. For example, teens in care have said they had no idea DCF would give them college financial aid. A version of a bill establishing a “bill of rights” includes things like children’s rights to be given advance notice of placement changes, to access items that promote their religion and culture, and to be placed with or near siblings when possible. Advertisement A similar bill is pending in the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which does include a foster children’s bill of rights and some additional policy provisions. A bill that improves data reporting is important — and that data must result in better policies that actually help children. Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us @GlobeOpinion.
