Policy Papers

MSPCC periodically produces position papers which are intended to shape state laws and policies to protect and promote the rights and well being of children and families.  MSPCC’s policy papers receive significant media attention and have resulted in legislative action.  To identify our policy paper topics we survey frontline staff, scan the environment, and research current issues.   
 

• Children's Mental Health (2006)
  MSPCC, in collaboration with Children’s Hospital Boston, has released its 4th policy paper calling for reform in the delivery of mental health services to children.
  
  For a printer friendly PDF of the paper, please click here.
  For more information, please click here. 
  

• 18 and Out: Life After Foster Care in Massachusetts (2005)
  In April 2005, MSPCC released “18 And Out: Life After Foster Care in Massachusetts,” a policy paper with recommendations to address the significant challenges faced by teens exiting the foster care system.
  
  For a printer friendly PDF of the paper, please click here.
  For more information, please click here.
  

• Oral Health and the Commonwealth's Most Vulnerable Children: A State of Decay (2004)
  In March 2004, MSPCC released “Oral Health and the Commonwealth’s Most Vulnerable Children:  A State of Decay,” which highlights the significant and long-term health impacts of poor oral health and lack of access to dental care for poor Massachusetts children and children in foster care.
  
  For a printer friendly PDF of the paper, please click here.
  For more information, please click here.
  

• Massachusetts Welfare Reform: The Future, From Poverty to Self-Sufficiency (2003)
  In 2003, MSPCC released “Massachusetts Welfare Reform: The Future, From Poverty to Self-Sufficiency,” a policy paper urging that the goal of welfare reform should be to help families raise themselves out of poverty and into self-sufficiency; that a self-sufficiency standard — that reflects cost of living more accurately than the Federal Poverty Level — be adopted as an official measure of well-being in Massachusetts; and education and job training be allowed to meet welfare-work requirements.
  
  For a printer friendly PDF of the paper, please click here.
  For more information, please click here.