Section 2 Office of the child advocate; duties - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 2. There shall be an office of the child advocate which shall be independent of any supervision or control by any executive agency. The office shall:

(a) ensure that children involved with an executive agency, in particular, children served by the child welfare or juvenile justice systems, receive timely, safe and effective services;

(b) ensure that children placed in the care of the commonwealth or treated under the supervision of an executive agency in any public or private facility shall receive humane and dignified treatment at all times, with full respect for the child’s personal dignity, right to privacy, and right to a free and appropriate education in accordance with state and federal law;

(c) examine, on a system-wide basis, the care and services that executive agencies provide children; and

(d) advise the public and those at the highest levels of state government about how the commonwealth may improve its services to and for children and their families.