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Child Advocate Advisory Board
Board Information
Policy Area
Health and Human ServicesPurpose
To 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; 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; examine, on a system-wide basis, the care and services that executive agencies provide children; and 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.Seat Restrictions
As designated by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 18C, Section 4Compensation
NoneLegal Authority
Board Members
↓↓ Sort members table by selecting table header for Member, Seat Name, Appointing Authority, or Term End Date.
| Member↓↓ | Seat Name | Appointing Authority | Term End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Joseph S. Ayoub | Public 2 | Governor | No set end date |
| Ms. Suzin M. Bartley | EXO-Executive Director of the Children's Trust Fund | Ex Officio | - |
| Dr. Monica Bharel | EXO-Commissioner of DPH | Ex Officio | - |
| Mr. David F. Capeless | EXO-President of Mass District Attorneys Assoc. | Ex Officio | - |
| Chief Justice Paula M. Carey | EXO-Chief Justice of Probate and Family Court | Ex Officio | - |
| Commissioner Edward Dolan | EXO-Commissioner of Probation | Ex Officio | - |
| The Honorable Gail Garinger | EXO-Child Advocate (Chair) | Ex Officio | - |
| The Honorable Martha P. Grace | EXO-Chief Justice of Juvenile Court | Ex Officio | - |
| Commissioner Elin M. Howe | EXO-Commissioner of Mental Retardation | Ex Officio | - |
| Ms. Amanda O. Kesterson | Public 1 | Governor | No set end date |
| Mr. William J. Leahy | EXO-Chief Counsel of the Committee for Public Counsel Services | Ex Officio | - |
| Ms. Valdace Levarity | Public 3 | Governor | No set end date |
| Commissioner Jeff McCue | EXO-Commissioner of Transitional Assistance | Ex Officio | - |
| Ms. Laurie McGrath | EXO-Deputy Commissioner of Child Support Enforcement | Ex Officio | - |
| Ms. Joan Mikula | EXO-Commissioner of Mental Health | Ex Officio | - |
| The Honorable Barbara J. Rouse | EXO-Chief Justice of Superior Court | Ex Officio | - |
| Commissioner Linda Spears | EXO-Commissioner of Children and Families | Ex Officio | - |
| Ms. Jane E. Tewksbury | EXO-Commissioner of Youth Services | Ex Officio | - |
| Commissioner Thomas L. Weber | EXO-Commissioner of Early Education and Care | Ex Officio | - |
| Mr. Jeffery Wulfson | EXO-Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education | Ex Officio | - |
| - | EXO-Secretary of HHS | Ex Officio | - |
| - | EXO-Secretary of Public Safety | Ex Officio | - |
| - | EXO-Secretary of Education | Ex Officio | - |
| - | EXO-Executive Director of the Criminal History Systems Board | Ex Officio | - |
| - | EXO-Undersecretary for Criminal Justice (EOPS) | Ex Officio | - |