(BOSTON–6/17/2026) On Thursday, June 11th, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed a child welfare protection bill that includes landmark new policy filed by Senator Feeney to create a new child abuse prevention training for adults who regularly interact with children.  

The new policy, adopted as an amendment to the base bill, reflects years of work across multiple legislative sessions by Senator Feeney and the town of Foxborough to advance state-wide mandated reporter training that mirrors successful training implemented in Foxborough. In July of 2025, Senator Feeney was proud to testify in support of his legislation—S.127, An Act authorizing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to establish additional mandated reporters for the purpose of the protection and care of children—to expand this training state-wide, alongside members of the Foxborough Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Committee, including Foxborough Superintendent Dr. Amy Berdos, Pastor William Dudley, Kay Andberg and former Foxborough Select Board member Jim DeVellis. (Foxboro Reporter coverage of the hearing: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/foxboro_reporter/news/local_news/foxboro-officials-testify-on-beacon-hill-about-beefing-up-mandatory-reporter-requirements/article_1279e612-cf2a-461b-9ec6-dc2ecc4fd997.html). 

Amendment #1 to the base bill, titled "Child Protection Through Training," directs the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) to establish statewide training materials for child-serving individuals and volunteers to recognize the signs of child abuse and neglect. These individuals and volunteers are defined as anyone who regularly interacts with children or is directly responsible for their care in a paid or unpaid setting, such as in youth and after school programs, recreational or athletic programs, or faith-based settings. The OCA is also directed to create and maintain a public website with the training and produce an online certificate following the completion of the training. 

“Too often, child sexual abuse can go unnoticed—not because people don’t care, but because they haven’t been trained to recognize the signs or file the appropriate report. By enacting brand new training for child serving individuals and volunteers, this amendment will help ensure that trusted adults who regularly interact with children, such as in a recreational or athletic setting, youth or after school programs, or faith-based group are better equipped to recognize warning signs, respond appropriately, and help keep children safe,” said Senator Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough). “The survivors who came forward in Foxborough, along with the members of the Foxborough Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Committee, have set the example for how a community can channel grief into action. Their courage and advocacy are actively helping to ensure that what happened to them should never happen to another generation of children in Massachusetts. I’m eternally grateful survivors that have shown unwavering courage, as well as the Foxborough Community for empowering me, former Representative Jay Barrows and Representative Michael Chaisson to do this critical work.” 

The amendment was inspired by the work of the Foxborough Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Committee, a nationally recognized local initiative created in response to the sexual abuse of young men in Foxborough during the 1960s and 1970s. In 2012, a group of survivors came forward to reveal they had been sexually abused by a trusted Foxborough teacher, recreation director and Scout leader, whose name was Bill Sheehan. Instead of being held accountable, Sheehan fled to Florida where he went on to abuse even more children. When the allegations of Sheehan’s abuse became public, warrants were issued for his arrest, but tragically, justice never came. The accused was deemed unfit to stand trial due to late-stage Alzheimer's disease. 

Turning their pain into purpose, the survivors worked with the town of Foxborough to create the Foxborough Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Committee to help ensure that the abuse they endured in silence can never happen again. Today, the committee has trained thousands of coaches, volunteers, municipal employees, and community members on how to prevent, recognize, and respond to child abuse.  

Once developed and made publicly available online, the new statewide training program will allow communities across Massachusetts to replicate the successful model pioneered in Foxborough. By providing municipalities, youth organizations, and recreational programs with easy access to training resources, the amendment seeks to expand awareness, strengthen prevention efforts, and better protect children throughout the Commonwealth. Training materials would include information on prevention, identification, and reporting of child sexual abuse, how to understand what qualifies as abuse and neglect, information for families and children, options for voluntary and mandatory reporting, as well as bias and cultural considerations. 

“On behalf of the Foxborough Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Committee, thank you to Senator Feeney for prioritizing and championing the effort to train mandated reporters and others in preventing child sexual abuse and helping caring adults bring resources to child victims. He has been a champion on this issue, and the passage of this bill will be a major step toward keeping children safe. Again, we thank him for his strong leadership!,” said Pastor William Dudley, member of the Foxborough Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Committee. “We are also deeply grateful to Senator Robin Kennedy for joining Senator Feeney in this effort, she has been stellar in advocating on behalf of children and took time to come meet with us. Thank you, Senator Kennedy.” 

More about An Act enhancing child welfare protections: 

The amendment secured by Senator Feeney was included in broader child welfare legislation which passed in the Senate on Thursday. The bill safeguards the wellbeing of children, particularly those in state care and foster care; increases access to community support for children at risk of court involvement; and strengthens investigations of abuse cases.   

By establishing a Foster Child Bill of Rights, the bill—S.3111, An Act enhancing child welfare protections—guarantees certain basic rights for children in foster care related to their safety, education, and health care.  

This legislation also expands the diversion of children dealing with behavior or attendance problems to Family Resource Centers (FRCs) instead of the court system.   

FRCs provide accessible, confidential support to children and families in crisis close to home and have proven successful in helping kids and teens stay in school, connecting families with services such as mental health or substance use treatment, housing aid, and legal help, and—most importantly—avoiding the need for the child to obtain a court record just to access assistance.  

The bill further strengthens the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) to support robust investigations into reports of harm or abuse to a child. It places the Child Fatality Review Team within the OCA and explicitly empowers the OCA to review cases of indecent assault and battery, abuse or rape of a child. 

This legislation also expands the diversion of children dealing with behavior or attendance problems to Family Resource Centers (FRCs) instead of the court system.   

FRCs provide accessible, confidential support to children and families in crisis close to home and have proven successful in helping kids and teens stay in school, connecting families with services such as mental health or substance use treatment, housing aid, and legal help, and—most importantly—avoiding the need for the child to obtain a court record just to access assistance.  

The bill further strengthens the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) to support robust investigations into reports of harm or abuse to a child. It places the Child Fatality Review Team within the OCA and explicitly empowers the OCA to review cases of indecent assault and battery, abuse or rape of a child.   

Full details of the legislation are included in a fact sheet in the Senate’s press room.  

During the course of public debate during today’s formal session, Senators adopted amendments to further strengthen the OCA’s work to serve children and families.  

Senators also adopted another amendment (Amendment 31), inspired by a family’s story, to ask the OCA to compile resources to better aid grieving families who have lost a child due to Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome (SUDS).  

The bill was reported to the full chamber by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means with a 15-0 vote on June 4, 2026. A previous version was passed by the House of Representatives.  

The Committee on Ways and Means centered its work on a comprehensive omnibus bill assembled last fall by the Senate members of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, led by Senator Kennedy.  

The Senate passed the bill on a 39-0 roll call vote and sent it back to the House for further review.  

Statements of Support  

Marisol Garcia, The Child Advocate, Commonwealth of Massachusetts  

“With passage of this legislation, the State Senate has taken a great step to strengthen child and family services in Massachusetts, prioritizing the safety, health, and wellbeing of children in state care. This bill helps enhance the OCA’s already strong oversight and independence by giving our office additional tools to review child fatalities and critical incidents. We are pleased that this bill reflects the OCA’s research demonstrating that children are best served when they can receive support for educational or behavioral health needs in the community, rather than through the Juvenile Court. As an attorney who formerly represented children in Child Requiring Assistance proceedings, I’ve seen first-hand the challenges with the current system—and the enormous positive impact this bill will have.”  

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