Lawmakers, advocates urge overhaul of child services system

“The premise of this bill is simple,’’ said state Representative Paul Donato, Democrat of Medford, a cosponsor of the proposal. “We’re there to protect the child, but at the same time we want to preserve the family so that when we’re dealing with the child, we should look beyond the child.’’

Donato, who filed the bill with Senator Karen Spilka, Democrat of Ashland, argued that troubled children are often treated as criminals rather than directed to the services they need. The proposal would encourage families to access community-based programs before seeking court intervention for their children. Under the bill, police who encounter runaways must first seek to place them into community programs rather than in the juvenile justice system.

“We want those children who need services to be at a social services agency before they go to the court,’’ Donato said. “This way the child not only has the opportunity to deal with whatever issues that are there at that social services agency but we also want to preserve the family and find out what the family needs are.’’

Under the current system, advocates noted, the courts are the only avenue for families, and assistance is primarily handled by probation officers.

Proponents say parents would still have the option to go to court, if they choose, and courts would still have the power to place children in state custody. Judges may also place children into community or state programs.

“Most families would be able to access, without having to enter court, the justice system or anything like that,’’ Spilka said.

Instead, families would first be steered to voluntary community programs that offer treatment for behavioral, medical, mental health, or substance abuse problems. The programs would include after-school options for both children and families, as well as residential services and evaluations of the needs of individual families.

The bill would also require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop certification standards for truancy programs, which often vary from school district to school district.

Although iterations of the proposal have languished for six years, Spilka said there was “huge’’ momentum behind the proposal from the upper ranks of legislative leadership.

Representative Kay Khan, Democrat of Newton, and Senator Michael Rodrigues, Democrat of Westport, cochairs of the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities — the committee charged with reviewing the bills — stood with proponents at a press conference yesterday and expressed support. The press conference preceded a hearing of the committee packed with backers of the bill, the only proposal on the docket.

The proposal would also scrap what has become common parlance in referring to children who access court-ordered services: CHINS, or Children In Need of Services, a designation that critics say carries a lifetime stigma. Instead, proponents want the system to be referred to as FACES, Families and Children Engaged in Services, which they say is a reflection of their desire to work with families, rather than isolating children.