H 205 Massachusetts House · 194th Legislature (2025-2026)

An Act relating to background checks for kinship foster care

This bill requires background screenings for grandparent caregivers in kinship foster care placements. It mandates a 20-year look-back period for minor infractions (excluding repeated offenses), but excludes felonies, violence, and sexual offenses from this time limit regardless of when they occurred. The policy directly affects grandparents or relatives seeking to become foster caregivers for minors. The key change is standardizing the screening process to include a longer review period for minor past issues while maintaining strict exclusion of serious offenses. This applies to all such placements under the department's oversight.
Bill status passed 3 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Feb 2025
Governor
Introduced Feb 27, 2025 Last action Dec 31, 2025
Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
1
Committee
1
Feb 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred
upper
Feb 27, 2025
Committee
Referred to the committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors