Last week, Democratic State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier of the 2nd Berkshire District was sworn in for her sixth full term in the Massachusetts legislature. After redistricting in 2022, she’s just one of three state representatives for the region — down from four. On the final day of the legislature’s previous session, one of her passion projects – a foster parents’ bill of rights – was signed into law by Republican Governor Charlie Baker in the waning hours of his term. Farley-Bouvier spoke with WAMC about the provisions of the law, and her plans for the new session.
FARLEY-BOUVIER: I've always felt that supporting foster parents and ensuring that they have what they need is the very best way to recruit and retain foster parents, which means our foster children are getting better care. And so, we put together the Foster Parents’ Bill of Rights. It was always actually- Josh, this is getting into the weeds a little bit, but it was always a pretty popular idea, and what was happening each session was it was being folded into larger bills, larger what we call omnibus bills. And then the omnibus bills were getting stuck. And so, this time, I worked to ensure not only was it- That it had multiple pathways of getting in, including a standalone bill. And I worked with my counterpart in the Senate, Jo Comerford, senator from Northampton, and the chairs of the committee and we were able to get it through on the last day of session. And we are grateful to Governor Baker for signing it, really in his last hours as governor.
WAMC: If you had to highlight some of the key provisions of the legislation, what would those be?
I would say, you know, the right to have the information about a child that's being placed in their home- Their medical history, you know, basic things like what foods they like, basic information. That they have the right to get appropriate compensation. For example, they're supposed to get a clothing allowance twice a year, but sometimes foster parents don't even know those things. And then a very important part of it – there are several of these rights – but a very important part of it, though, is something called the Prudent Parenting Standard. And that is, you should be able to decide if a foster child that you have in your home can go to a sleepover or go swimming in their friend’s pool or go over the state line because that's where you’re going for ice cream or something like that, and different offices, different social workers have a different standard for that, about whether they have to have permission ahead of time or something like that. And it can be kind of rough on foster parents. But this is a way to put all the rights of foster parents in one place so that they better understand what's going on. And, you know, we have to do whatever we can to support the people who are opening up their hearts and their homes to our most vulnerable children.
Now, does this bill include the right for foster parents to unionize?
It is not. That is a separate piece of legislation we're still working on this session. We're going to refile that this session.
What are your thoughts on that? Can you explain why you would work to include that as part of the foster parent experience?
Yes, I just think it's an opportunity for foster parents to have a better voice at the table to be better supported through union work. Of course, this is not a typical union, like a teachers union or a nurses union, or something like that. But when foster parents have an opportunity to collective bargain on rates, for example, they are going to have a stronger voice. We did a similar thing when we unionized home daycare providers, and it has made a real difference in their working conditions, and this is another way for foster parents to be supported.
With that legislative accomplishment behind you in the 192nd, what lies ahead for you in the 193rd, Tricia? What's on the docket?
Yeah, so talking about the unionization of foster parents will be something else. Other child welfare bills, you know, early education. I really believe early education is a secret sauce, and we need to do everything we can to support our early ed centers, our early ed workers so that we can provide high quality early education for our kids and support our families. It cannot be this expensive to have our kids be in childcare. We know that it's at the very center of our workforce issues. So, we're going to be doing that. And then there's some local things- Of course, I'll do whatever I can to support people here locally in the city.
Looking at committee assignments, in the last session, you were the vice chair of the House Committee on Steering Policy and Scheduling and you sat on committees about technology, consumer protection, tourism, the arts, cultural development, the special joint committee on redistricting. Looking ahead, do you have a sense at this point where you might sit and on what committees heading into the newest session?
So, we file bills of the next couple of weeks, so that's going to go on for a few weeks, and usually committee assignments are mid to late February.
