Why a New State Report on Massachusetts Children Is Sounding the Alarm

The Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate reports a "substantial increase in outreach to the OCA's Complaint Line in recent years," according to a recently released report.

Massive Surge in Calls to OCA Complaint Line

The report states that in FY25, "the OCA received 993 Complaint Line inquiries, an 87 percent increase from FY24 and a 203 percent increase since FY20."

The Office of the Child Advocate, under the direction of Maria Z. Mossaides, is an "independent executive branch state agency with oversight and ombudsperson responsibilities, established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2008."

Among other responsibilities, OCA oversees and monitors the services delivered by child-serving agencies.

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Physical Abuse Reports Double in Out-of-Home Settings

The report states, "critical incidents involving physical abuse more than doubled (from 11 in FY24 to 27 in FY25)." During the same period, there was a "reduction in the number of reports of a child witnessing an overdose."

"Of deep concern, supported allegations of physical abuse increased from FY24 to FY25 across several out-of-home settings, including congregate care (driven by an increase in reports from kinship foster care placements), public schools, and child care settings," the report says.

Mental Health, Poverty, and Demographics of Massachusetts Youth

There are 1,355,719 children from 0 to 17 in Massachusetts, according to OCA. Of that, 51 percent are male, 49 percent are female, 5 percent are transgender, and 22 percent are LGBTQ+, according to OCA.

The agency says 29 percent of those children "have one or more emotional, behavioral, or developmental conditions." Another 14 percent have had two or more "adverse childhood experiences."

Eleven percent of the children live below the federal poverty line, while 25 percent receive government assistance.