Established in 2009, The Lisa Anne Jenkins Policy Maker of the Year Award honors the life and work of Lisa Anne Jenkins, a strong, tenacious, and effective advocate. The award is presented annually at the Massachusetts Alliance for Foster Families (MAFF) Foster and Adoptive Parent Recognition Awards.
Lisa Anne was a dedicated foster parent and active MAFF member who left an indelible mark on her community and those she loved. Along with her husband, Wayne E. Lanphear, Lisa raised her two children, ran her own business and provided a loving home to 27 foster children, each of whom held a special place in her heart. In addition, she was a member of the Wachusett School Committee, a CASA case worker, a family resource liaison with Kid’s Net, a charter member of “Fresh Start,” and a MAFF representative serving the Worcester West region.
This year, MAFF will present the award to Representative Sean Garballey, the current Massachusetts State Representative for the 23rd Middlesex District. We sat down with Representative Garballey to talk about his work and what receiving this award means to him.
Could you introduce yourself?
I’m Sean Garballey, the State Representative from Arlington and Medford, a role I’ve held since 2008. Prior to becoming a State Representative, I was on the Arlington School Committee for three years. I was elected to the House when I was 22 and I’ve been here ever since.
In a lot of ways, my life and work have been shaped by my upbringing. My twin brother, James, and I, are adopted, and being adopted has impacted my worldview when it comes to being a champion for marginalized populations in Massachusetts. With every bill and budget amendment, I am dedicated to working hard to secure safety nets for these populations, including young people in foster care and their families.
I was the chair of the House Global Warming and Climate Change Committee the past four years and currently serve as the chair of the Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development Committee. I am also the co-chair of the legislature’s Foster Care Caucus. I’m really passionate about supporting kids in foster care, kids and individuals with disabilities, and people needing mental health support.
You’ve obviously been involved in public service for the bulk of your entire career. What motivates you to do the work you do, and what’s driven you to get involved in the things you have?
I’ve been very proud of the legislation that I’ve worked on and have passed, and I’d love to share a couple of examples. For more than ten years, I worked on a bill centered on opening the doors of public higher education in Massachusetts for students with autism, Down Syndrome, and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. We were the first state in the country to have legislation like this.
In 2022, a bill I worked on allowing all adoptees in the Commonwealth to be able to access their original birth certificate was signed into law. Prior to that, there was a period of roughly 33 years during which adoptees couldn’t access their original birth certificate. Now, all adoptees, no matter what year they were born in Massachusetts, can access their original birth certificate.
Another bill that was very important to me was around mandating health insurance coverage for kids for hearing aids. That bill was particularly special because the effort to have it enacted was spearheaded by a foster care family in Massachusetts. They organized a large group of foster care families who couldn’t afford the thousands of dollars they would have had to pay out of pocket for their kids’ hearing aids that weren’t covered by health insurance. That bill was signed into law based on that group’s activism and our work together, and now any young person in Massachusetts between birth and age 21 who needs hearing aids will be able to get them through their health insurance.
Could you talk a little bit about your work with the Foster Care Caucus?
We meet regularly with the DCF Commissioner, with colleagues in the legislature, and with advocates of foster care and adoption. The members of the Caucus have been in foster care, are adopted, or have other lived experience. We talk about everything from legislation to budget amendments to ways we can make a difference for families, for individuals who have been adopted, and for those who are in foster care and are either trying to be adopted or be reunified with their family. As a group, we are very committed to doing everything we can to improve those issues here in Massachusetts.
Along with others in the group, I was very active in leading the effort to hire more social workers after the tragic deaths of some individuals that were in the care of the Commonwealth, including Jeremiah Oliver, a young boy who was killed while involved with the system. We still need to do better, but we were able to increase the number of social workers serving young people and families in the Commonwealth. These increases will reduce burnout on the part of the social workers and will enable children to be better served.
I have also partnered with Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier and other elected officials around passing the Foster Parents Bill of Rights, and I’m currently working on legislation to fully fund higher education for foster and adopted children who attend one of the 29 public universities across Massachusetts.
In some cases, there’s a perception that lawmakers are removed from the populations they serve. How do you feel your lived experience shapes your approach to your work?
I was very lucky to have been adopted into a loving home, but a lot of kids are not. And a lot of kids remain in foster care for a very long time. Remembering that has shaped my worldview and my desire to support them.
I’ve had five young people who were aging out of foster care intern in my office. Two of them didn’t have a place to stay, so I would allow them to stay overnight in my office. That’s an example of what young people go through when they’re aging out of the foster care system: they lose housing and other support that many people consider basic and take for granted. I think we really have to recognize that and try to support that population as much as we can. My background as someone who was adopted really focuses me on this work and reminds me of why it’s so important to support foster care families and to support these individuals.
What does it mean to you to be recognized for your work in this space?
It certainly means a lot to receive an award named after someone who was such a strong advocate in supporting families, especially from an organization dedicated to supporting the most vulnerable population in the Commonwealth. I’m very humbled to receive this recognition. It reinforces my mission and goal of continuing to support kids in foster care and improving the system to serve Massachusetts children and families as well as possible.
Looking to the future, do you have longer-term goals for policy efforts targeted toward kids in foster care or targeted toward the system?
I think everyone would acknowledge there are a lot of problems with the system. Continuing to improve the budget to hire more social workers will be key. Additionally, as I mentioned before, a priority of mine is fully funding tuition fee waivers, a program I took advantage of when I was going to UMass Lowell. I’m also focused on supporting young people who are aging out of foster care. The notion that someone is a full adult at that age and we can just eliminate services they rely on is problematic, and we need to extend those benefits to last longer.
I would also love for there to be more support for the families who are currently in the system and those who want to become foster parents, but are intimidated by the bureaucracy or the lack of support. I want to promote recruitment and retention of foster families and work to create permanency and stability.