BOSTON- Senator Sal DiDomenico recently received the 2017 Legislator of the Year Award from the Providers’ Council for his work as a Massachusetts State Senator to support working families and his commitment to programs and services that protect the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable populations.

“I would like to sincerely thank the Providers’ Council for presenting me with this award. It was an honor and privilege to be recognized by an association that positively changes lives each day throughout the Commonwealth. The Providers’ Council works with individuals and families that need our help the most, and I am proud to support their mission each day in the Massachusetts Senate.”

Founded in 1975, the Providers' Council is the state's largest human service trade association made up of hundreds of agencies that provide services for people who may need assistance or support, such as individuals with developmental and/or physical disabilities or mental illnesses, children and elders, veterans, and the homeless.

Senator DiDomenico received the award at the Providers’ Council’s 42nd Annual Convention & Expo: We’re All In, held at the Marriot Copley Place Hotel in Boston.

###

BOSTON –Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate last week restored $24.9M to the Fiscal Year 2018 budget, overriding 26 of Governor Baker’s line item vetoes, which totaled $320.6M. These veto overrides bolster valuable programs for children, families and vulnerable residents across the Commonwealth.

“In July of this year, my colleagues and I on the conference committee were put in the difficult position of having to scale back our budget in light of disappointing revenue collections,” said Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett), Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “Ultimately, we released a final Fiscal Year 2018 budget that relied on conservative revenue projections, while doing our very best to protect critical investments in many of our most valuable services and programs. We were confident then that our budget was both balanced and sustainable, and after thorough analysis, we are still confident that this funding is affordable. I was proud to support these veto overrides and maintain the Legislature’s strong commitment to our Commonwealth’s working families.”

“These programs and services provide critical resources for people across the state – from housing support for young people and families, to mental health services for children to basic education and skills training for low income adults,” said Senator Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “The Senate has carefully reviewed vetoes in the context of our difficult fiscal situation and ongoing efforts on health care cost containment. I am confident that the budget remains in balance and cautiously optimistic about revenue collections and potential savings moving forward.”

“The Senate’s analysis shows that these critical services are necessary and affordable and will go a long way toward supporting working families across the Commonwealth,” said Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst). “These investments will ensure that the right resources are in place to educate and promote the wellbeing of tomorrow’s learners and leaders, while also taking care of our most needy.”

The Senate restored funding for several programs that focus on high quality education for everyone, from children at birth to adults making midlife career transitions. Overrides include $200K for the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative and $850K for adult basic education. 

The Senate reaffirmed its commitment to combating the opioid epidemic and advancing public health across the state, restoring $1.3M for early childhood mental health clinicians and $5M for MassHealth Senior Care. In recognition of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, the Senate restored $200K for Samaritans Inc. suicide prevention, intervention, education and outreach services.

The Senate also restored $800K for pediatric palliative care, returning to the full funding of $2.6M needed to eliminate the waiting list for pediatric palliative care. The state's pediatric palliative care network provides services like counseling and case management to children "to achieve an improved quality of life and to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs experienced during the course of illness, death and bereavement.” Pediatric palliative care funding and the elimination of the waitlist for these services has been one of Senator DiDomenico’s top priorities throughout his tenure as a Massachusetts Senator, and he has continually championed this funding each budget cycle.

Other overrides include:

• $1.9M for the Massachusetts Cultural Council

• $675K for Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Services

• $250K to expand the Housing Court to serve all residents across the state 

###

Photo credit: Katie Lannan, State House News Service

BOSTON- Senator Sal DiDomenico was recently appointed by Senate President Stan Rosenberg to serve on a six member conference committee charged with working out the differences between the House and Senate versions of An Act for language opportunities for our kids, also known as the LOOK bill. Senator DiDomenico is the lead sponsor of the Senate version of this legislation that updates the existing statute relative to English language education in public schools to encompass the latest and best practices serving English language learners (ELLs) and to recognize the value of bilingualism as a skill essential to improving career and college readiness and competiveness in the global economy. 

The Conference Committee recently held its first meeting to begin negotiations on legislation to allow Massachusetts schools more flexibility in teaching English language learners. "We all know that the intent of all the work that we have here is to put our students in a position to match their peers, to move ahead with their peers and succeed at the same rate. However, we are not there yet," said Senator Sal DiDomenico. "We understand that the last 15 years plus, there's been a tremendous gap that has not closed in that time, and I am confident that the bill this conference committee will release will address a lot of these issues and put our kids on a path to success going forward."

For some children, the current Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) model is working. However, for others, moving into an English-only program too soon has proven to stunt academic growth and have major implications on future educational success. This has become a growing problem as the number of ELL students in Massachusetts continues to rise.

While overall graduation rates for students have risen in the past 10 years, the achievement gap between ELL students and their peers has not significantly changed. In 2016, the dropout rate for ELL students was 6.6 percent, the highest rate of any subgroup of students and three times higher than the rate for all students. Additionally, only 64% of ELL students graduated from high school, as compared to 87% of all Massachusetts students.

In an effort to reverse these trends, both the House and Senate versions of the LOOK bill allow for greater flexibility for schools and districts to choose programming that works best for their students’ unique needs. The conference committee plans to meet over the coming weeks to continue their progress in working out the differences between the two pieces of legislation.

Joining Senator DiDomenico on the conference committee are Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz (D-Jamaica Plain), Senate Chair of the Education Committee, Representative Alice Peisch (D-Wellesley), House Chair of the  Education Committee, Senator Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth), Representative Frank Moran (D-Lawrence) and Representative Kimberly Ferguson (R-Holden).

###