The Caring Force Blog Caring Force Members Testify at the State House

Caring Force advocates have had a busy month testifying on June 13 at the State House and on June 28 via Zoom before the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities to express their support for a student loan repayment program for community-based human services workers.

This week, Caring Force advocates Kristy Buck, a clinician at The Key Program; Elizabeth O’Callahan, an LMHC at Seven Hills Foundation; Elaina Schreckenberger, an operations manager at Action for Boston Community Development; and Paula Collins, Assistant Vice President at WORK, Inc., all provided testimony on behalf of the Providers’ Council bill, An act relative to a loan repayment program for human service workers (S.77 / H.214) before the committee, including House Chair Jay Livingstone and Senate Chair Robyn Kennedy.

Buck and O’Callahan also testified at the June 13 State House hearing and were joined there by Danielle Lopez, a case manager at Bay Cove Human Services; Amy Jozan, an intensive care coordinator at Justice Resource Institute; and Priscilla Weldon, a program director at The Gandara Center.

The Caring Force and Providers’ Council also testified on its livable wage bill at the State House on June 13 with Council President/CEO Michael Weekes, NFI Massachusetts Executive Director Lydia Todd and Road to Responsibility President and CEO Chris White. The panel testified in support of An act relative to a livable wage for human services workers (S.84 / H.191).

Click here to view the Council’s full testimony for its livable wages bill. Click here to view the Council’s full testimony for its loan repayment bill.

What’s to come?

We are now waiting for a favorable report from the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.

Thank you to the dozens of Caring Force members that spoke at the hearings, submitted written testimony, emailed legislators, and shared their stories in an effort to support our pro-workforce legislative agenda. Stay tuned for more updates from the State House.