BOSTON – Senator Sal DiDomenico played a key role in securing funding in the state budget that will help to ensure a complete and accurate count in the 2020 Census. Senator DiDomenico and his House colleague Representative Michael Moran were the lead sponsors of an amendment in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget that provided $2.5M to establish a grant program for statewide census outreach. This grant program will help to support trusted community organizations and grassroots leaders reach historically hard-to-count communities, such as Everett and Chelsea.

From the beginning of the legislative session, Senator DiDomenico has worked closely with the Massachusetts Census Equity Fund to secure funding needed in advance of the 2020 Census and spread awareness on the importance of a complete and accurate census count. Throughout the year, they have held legislative briefings at the Massachusetts State House to secure support for their budget priorities and help legislators and staff understand what is at stake in the 2020 Census.

“With $16 billion in federal funding to Massachusetts for programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP on the line, it is critical that we do everything we can to get an accurate Census count,” said Senator DiDomenico. “More than half of my district’s population lives in hard to count neighborhoods, which is why I know how important it is that we work with community based organizations that have trusted messengers to get out the count in 2020. I was very proud to secure this funding in the Senate budget and work with Representative Moran to advocate for the $2.5M included in the final budget.”

The Census is a national population count that occurs once every decade. The results of the Census are used to make critical decision that will impact Massachusetts over the next ten years, such as federal funding for local communities, political representation throughout the Commonwealth, and even civil rights laws. To learn more about the 2020 census and what is at stake, please visit https://www.masscensusequity.org/.

###

BOSTON – Last week, Senator Sal DiDomenico was honored by the Equal Justice Coalition and the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) for his commitment to civil legal aid and increasing access to justice. He accepted the 2019 Beacon of Justice Award during their annual event at the State House. DiDomenico has been a longtime champion of legal aid funding in the state budget throughout his tenure in the Massachusetts Senate, and most recently helped to secure $24M in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget. 

“Thank you to the Equal Justice Coalition and MLAC for this honor. Civil legal aid funding is always one of my top budget priorities each fiscal year, primarily because I know how much this funding means to my constituents” said Senator Sal DiDomenico. “Year after year, their stories and advocacy serves as an important reminder as to why this funding is so critical to the residents of our Commonwealth, which is why I am so proud to support the incredible work of MLAC and the Equal Justice Coalition.”

###

BOSTON – Last week, Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness. This comprehensive bill includes two pieces of legislation filed by Senator DiDomenico this session:  An Act ensuring continuous healthcare coverage for youth who have aged-out of the department of children and families (S.35) and An Act relative to children with medical complexity (S.680). 

“The wellbeing of children has been a longtime priority of mine, and I am thrilled that our chamber has passed this comprehensive piece of legislation,” said Assistant Majority Leader Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett). “There are many critical components of this bill, but I would especially like to highlight the provision that authorizes MassHealth to provide benefits to youth who have aged out of the state foster care system. By ensuring continuous healthcare coverage until age 26 for these young people, we guarantee they have the same access to basic healthcare that their peers are afforded and give more at-risk youth a better chance to lead healthy and successful lives.” 

Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid became available to former foster children up to age twenty-six, provided they were in foster care at the age of 18. However, when the ACA went into effect in January 2014, many foster youth who had aged out of the Department of Children and Families (DCF)— but were under the age of 26— were unaware of their eligibility for health insurance through MassHealth.  Consequently, many who were in foster care on their 18th birthday lost MassHealth coverage after aging-out of the system.  The provision from Senator DiDomenico’s legislation addresses this inequity by codifying the policy that allows youth who have aged out of DCF to receive MassHealth benefits until they turn 26, and requires that these youth be automatically enrolled until they are no longer eligible.

An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness also includes DiDomenico’s bill (S.680) that would authorize a comprehensive statewide study of children with medical complexity (CMC) and provide valuable data on this special population. Children with medical complexity are a relatively small, yet growing group. With advancements in medical technology and care, the amount of child-fatalities as a result of medical complexity is decreasing, but the population of CMCs has increased steadily. With the growing number of children with medical complexity comes a growing need to understand this population to make sure the Commonwealth’s laws and medical systems continue to adapt and meet their needs.

The comprehensive bill passed by the Senate also: 

• addresses issues effecting the Department of Children and Families (DCF) by establishing a new data working group to help streamline the agency’s reporting process;

• calls for an examination of the barriers to mental and behavioral health supports for children;

• establishes a commission to study mandated reporting laws and calls for increased education around child sex abuse and exploitation;

• directs insurance provider directories to have the most up-to-date and consumer-friendly information available to avoid so-called ‘ghost networks’; and

• calls for the formation of a task force to study and recommend further improvements to provider directories — particularly information about behavioral health providers.

An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness now moves to the House for further consideration.

###