Over the past six months, the Massachusetts criminal justice system has come under scrutiny due to the budget growth in its corrections agencies. This growth combined with the state’s budget crisis has compelled a closer examination of the oversight, decision-making and outcomes of one particular agency: the Probation Department. Originally identified in the Boston Foundation/Crime and Justice Institute at Community Resources for Justice report in December 2009, Priorities and Public Safety, the Probation Department’s budget was found to have increased 163%, adjusted for inflation, between 1998 and 2008. Recent reports have highlighted the Probation Department’s hiring practices, lack of oversight and reluctance to share important public safety data. This scrutiny has led to calls for significant change in the structure, management and oversight of the Department.

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The delivery of human services has been revolutionized over the past 40 years, but in at least two important aspects Massachusetts has lagged—failing to reform the administrative structure of the human services agencies, and retaining too many large institutions for clients who could be better treated in community settings.  The analysis in this report focuses on the seven largest human services agencies within the EOHHS and recommends changes necessary to improve the quality of the services delivered.

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In January 2009, the Boston Foundation, in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, published Informing the Debate, which suggested middle and high school students attending charter schools significantly outperform their counterparts attending traditional schools.  This new study uses the findings from Informing the Debate as a launching point to delve deeper into the issues that may explain differences in student outcomes – thus moving us out of the debate and into the schools.

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