Bill > H229

This bill proposes to establish foster parents as public employees solely for the purposes of collective bargaining under Chapter 150E, while specifically limiting their employee status to narrow legal contexts. The bill defines foster parents as individuals licensed by the Department of Children and Families to provide foster care, and allows them to form a collective bargaining unit to negotiate mandatory subjects including payment rates, training opportunities, reimbursement procedures, support services, and dispute resolution mechanisms. However, foster parents would be prohibited from striking and would not be eligible for standard state employee benefits like group insurance or state retirement. The bill maintains the Department of Children and Families' existing rights to place, remove, license, and monitor foster children and foster homes, ensuring that collective bargaining does not interfere with the department's core statutory responsibilities. The legislation aims to improve foster care quality by providing foster parents with a structured mechanism to collaborate with the department, enhance professional support, and address systemic challenges in foster care placement and support. Importantly, the bill specifies that foster parents are public employees only for very specific legal purposes and not in a comprehensive employment sense.

Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H229