In 1974, Massachusetts enacted a law that for the first time decriminalized youth who were runaways, truant, or otherwise classified as "stubborn children". This prevented children who committed "status" offenses, like running away, that would not be against the law for an adult, from being committed to the youth correctional system. Although groundbreaking at the time, the Children in Need of Services Act or CHINS, eventually stalled through underfunding, bureaucratic red tape, and turf disputes among law enforcement, courts, schools and social service agencies. The system was breaking, and everyone knew it. By 2005, it was clear that while its purpose remained important, the law needed to be revamped. There began a seven year legislative process that culminated on  August 7, 2012, when Governor Patrick signed into law Senate Bill 2410, reforming the CHINS statute.  Continue reading here...

Newspapers, television and the internet have been exhaustive in their coverage of the terrifying events in Newtown, CT. There is little more that we could add to the dialog here. However, this kind of incident always raises very difficult questions and uncomfortable conversations with children. We've been flooded with "helpful tips" related with how to talk to children about tragedy, and thought we'd pass along some of the more helpful links from the batch.  Click here to view the list of links.