Product Description

Recent updates:

• Update: November 2025

  Dear Subscriber:

  Thank you for updating your reference library with the 2026 edition of the Massachusetts Juvenile Delinquency and Child Welfare Law Sourcebook & Citator . This updated product—which may be downloaded for enhanced search capability and access—brings the latest in juvenile delinquency and child welfare law within your immediate reach.

  Highlights from the many developments reflected in this edition include

  • numerous amendments to the Massachusetts General Laws, addressing
    • the structure and procedures of the Bureau of Special Education Appeals;
    • transmitting personal data to facilitate special education services in the county houses of correction;
    • behavioral and temperamental assessments of animals in foster or preadoptive homes;
    • reporting of suspected abuse or neglect;
    • operation of educational diversion programs for persons alleged to be delinquent;
    • acknowledgments of parentage;
    • harassment prevention orders; and
    • commitments for substance abuse; and

  • incorporation of recent case annotations, addressing issues such as
    • access to audio recordings of care and protection proceedings;
    • the preclusion of life sentences without parole for "emerging adults" committing murder at eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years of age;
    • clear and convincing evidence for hospitalizations ordered under G.L. c. 123, § 15(b); and
    • numerous decisions on the scope of the care and protection laws; and

  • amendments to court rules and standards, addressing
    • the discovery provisions of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure, including rules for videoconference depositions;
    • the Juvenile Court Rules for First Offense Determinations and Hearings Held Pursuant to Commonwealth v. Wallace W.;
    • selected standing orders of the Juvenile Court; and

  • upcoming regulation of physical restraints announced by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

  Thank you for your continued support as we at MCLE strive to bring you the latest solutions to the issues you face in your practice.

  Very truly yours,

  John M. Lawlor

Table of Contents

Part 01 expand

Selected Statutes

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Part 02 expand

Selected Court Rules and Standards

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Part 03 expand

Care and Protection: An Evidentiary View

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Part 04 expand

Children Requiring Assistance: General Principles and Practices

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Part 05 expand

Department of Children and Families Regulations

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Part 06 expand

Selected Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Regulations

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Part 07 expand

Delinquency

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Part 08 expand

Department of Youth Services Regulations

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Part 09 expand

Department of Youth Services Classification Grid

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Part 10 expand

Sex Offender Registration Requirements

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Part 11 expand

Selected Federal Laws

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