CLCM celebrates a major legislative victory as the FY2026 Massachusetts State Budget codifies the end of the diversion of federal survivor and disability benefits from children in foster care, ensuring these vital funds now directly support youth with disabilities and/or deceased parents. 

CLCM and allied organizations are urging the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Lynn Public Schools School Committee to reverse Lynn's policy, which bars youth as young as 17 from public education. This policy conflicts with state law and guidance, deprives youth of their right to an education, and disproportionately impacts English Learners and those with interrupted schooling. 

CLCM submitted formal comments to the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”) in response to proposed amendments pertaining to the use of restraint, seclusion, and time-out practices in educational settings.  We called for supportive approaches that keep students safe, engaged, and connected to their peers. 

CLCM's Claire Valentin joined fellow advocates at the MA Bar Association Conference to underscore the critical need for holistic, child-centered legal representation for immigrant youth in juvenile court delinquency and foster care cases. 

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court handed down a significant ruling in Gotay v. Creen, affirming that children in foster care have a constitutional right to safety and adequate care. Read our take on this crucial step forward and why our advocacy continues. 

CLCM attorney Alexis Williams Torrey joined Community Legal Aid parent advocates with lived expertise to facilitate a workshop for the Massachusetts Family Preservation Project on identifying warning signs that family separation may be imminent and building the scaffolding to keep families safe and together. Read more about how this collaboration is helping prevent unnecessary family separation.