Implementation Committee

Using the panel's recommendations, the Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services convened an implementation committee to develop and implement a coordinated, consistent approach to the investigation of cases involving persons with disabilities. It quickly became apparent to the committee that although the panel's recommendations pertained to DDS, they should also cover other agencies in the Commonwealth that work with persons with disabilities:

• Disabled Persons Protection Commission.
• Department of Mental Health.
• Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission.

In so doing, the seeds of the statewide collaboration, to be known as BPI, were sown.

The committee implemented a new felony reporting protocol outlining the procedure for handling allegations of abuse of a person with a disability. In addition, the committee developed cross-discipline trainings to promote multidisciplinary collaboration and public awareness. BPI was created to coordinate these and other activities to address abuse committed against persons with disabilities. Through collaboration, BPI provides victims with disabilities the protection and services they need to pursue safe and healthy lives and enables communities to hold offenders accountable for their criminal behavior.