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Legislative Committees & Caucuses
Kay is honored for a second time be appointed as House Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities for the 2011-2012 legislative session. Previously, Kay was appointed Vice Chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure and became a member of the Joint Committee on Health Care Finance and the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight for the current legislative session. She also served for ten years on the Human Services and Elder Affairs Committee, and spent time on the joint committees on Housing and Urban Development, Public Health, Public Service and Judiciary. Kay was the Co-Chair of the Caucus of Women Legislators in 1998 and remains an active member of the Caucus as the Chair of its task force on Women in the Criminal Justice System. Through this task force, she established a working group which meets regularly and includes legislators, advocates, academics and community leaders who share an interest in helping women who enter the criminal justice system and their children. In January 2005 Kay was invited to join the Female Offender Review Panel, a subgroup of the Governor's Commission on Correction Reform chaired by former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger. The Female Offender Review Panel was charged with evaluating the Massachusetts Department of Correction female offender management programs, identifying barriers to adequate treatment, and making recommendations for reforms. In 1998 Kay founded the Legislative Mental Health Caucus. Today she remains a co-chair. The caucus highlighted the need for improved mental health services and laid the groundwork for the creation of the new legislative Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee. In addition, Kay is a member of the Parks Caucus, the MBTA Caucus, the Boating Caucus In 2007, Kay was appointed by the Speaker of the House to the Commission on Ending Homelessness. This commission was established through legislative action in the 2005-2006 legislative session, and is responsible for devising a statewide strategy to end homelessness in the Commonwealth.
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