Tax Processing Unit Scam

Letters from

Tax Processing Unit
__________ County Public
Judgment Records
TOLL FREE: (###) ###-####

proclaiming that a

Distraint Warrant

has been issued against you are a scam, phishing attempt, fraud.

I don't usually post outside of family policing law issues here but a client came to me asking about such a letter. When I Googled "Tax Processing Unit, Middlesex County Public, Judgment Records" I saw alerts from a couple of state governments, a couple of out-of-state county governments, and a couple of law firms but none from Massachusetts or any Massachusetts County, so I thought I'd share the alert.

The IRS does have an alert about how to report letters and phone calls that purport to be from the IRS. The Middlesex County Sheriff's Department has a press release about IRS phone scams. I think it might be mail fraud or attempted mail fraud, so I advised the client to report it to their local post office.

Don't call the number listed in the letter. If you do owe taxes to either the IRS or DOR and you haven't already been in touch with them and don't have a payment plan worked out contact them through IRS.gov or Mass.gov/DOR or a phone number listed there to talk to apply only for one or to talk to a legitimate agent. If your issue is complex or involves large amounts of money consider contacting a tax accountant or tax attorney first.

This post is a public service of your local Children's and Family Law attorney and should not be taken as legal or tax advice.

Homeless Youth Handbook

The Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice has published a handbook for unhoused youth. 

The Homeless Youth Handbook contains the following chapters:

Safety and Stability

Police Interactions

Status Offenses

Foster Care

Turning 18

Housing and Contracts

LGBTQ+

Education and Schools

Employment 

General Criminal Law

Healthcare and Medical Rights

Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Birth Control, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Dating and Domestic Violence

Identification

Consumer and Credit

Public Benefits

Going to Court and General Civil Law

Immigration & Undocumented Youth

Trafficking

The first time you open the Handbook a general disclaimer pops up with a specific head note:

Disclaimer: On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion. The ruling leaves it to the individual states to decide whether to protect the right to an abortion. The HYH has not yet been updated to address these recent developments. We are working on updates.

You can access the disclaimer on subsequent visits by going to www.homelessyouth.org/en/disclaimer.

The Handbook seems to be a great resource. Mass Appleseed's June update newsletter says, "If your organization is interested in receiving a training on the Homeless Youth Handbook, reach out to our staff! 

SCOTUS: ICWA constitutional

The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act in Haaland v. Brackeen. ICWA wins by a 7-2. The majority opinion was written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Justice Gorsuch wrote a concurring opinion. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented. Here is a link to the PDF: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-376_7l48.pdf

IL Court rules that parents have a right to obtain their child’s full electronic medical record

 The Family Justice Resource Center reports in its Summer 2022 Newsletter:

In a new Circuit Court ruling (Cook County IL), Prieto v. Rush University Medical Center, Judge James N. O'Hara ruled that parents have a right to obtain their child’s full EMR and that a hospital’s failure to release a full EMR, complete with the audit log and revision history, is a violation of the Supreme Court’s discovery rules, as well as federal information blocking regulations.

It addresses the issues that come up in child abuse cases when hospitals refuse to give parents access to their children's electronic medical record once the child protection team becomes involved or a report has been made to the government child protective services agency. The article says that under HIPAA and HITECH "Parents are entitled to their child’s EMR as long as parental rights have not been terminated." I believe the federal CURES Act highlights and broadens parents' rights to obtain and share their children's complete EMR.

Often the records that medical providers give to parents or their attorneys in response to release authorizations and to courts in response to subpoenas are incomplete and inaccurate, leaving out statements that do not support the allegations of abuse and entries that were subsequently edited out or amended.

Practice note: Attorneys for all parties in care and protection (dependency) cases need to seek the full EMR including audit trails.

Family Integrity & Justice Works

I just read some of the articles and reviews of the inaugural issue of The Family Integrity & Justice Quarterly Journal, the publishers of which describe it as: 

a forum for bold, actionable movement toward replacing many traditional child welfare approaches that do not support family unity and strengthening with approaches that focus on preventing the need for child welfare involvement by keeping families safely together.

I highly recommend it, as do several of my colleagues. I look forward to reading the rest of the first issue and expect future issues will be as on point for my practice as the first. See more and the free, peer reviewed, journal here:  fijw.pubknow.com/quarterly-journal/

PARENT GUIDE TO SCHOOL DISCIPLINE

The Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law & Justice has released the comprehensive-seeming "PARENT GUIDE TO SCHOOL DISCIPLINE: WHEN MY CHILD IS DISCIPLINED AT SCHOOL, A Guide for Massachusetts Families."massappleseed.org/projects/parent-guide-en/

Mass. Mandated Reporting Law under consideration

The CommonWealth Magazine article, 

State considering major expansion of child abuse reporting laws 

Proposal raises fears of racial disproportionality , Shira Schoenberg, March 29, 2021

takes a close look at both sides of the proposal to add more categories

to the Massachusetts list of people who are required to report to DCF

when they suspect children are being abused or neglected.

See the current list Mandated Reporters here: Mass. General Laws 

Chapter 119, section 21. This subsection tells when mandated

reporters "in [their] professional capacity" are required to 

"immediately communicate with the department orally and, 

within 48 hours, shall file a written report with the 

department detailing the suspected abuse or neglect":

reasonable cause to believe that a child is suffering physical or emotional injury resulting from: (i) abuse inflicted upon him which causes harm or substantial risk of harm to the child's health or welfare, including sexual abuse; (ii) neglect, including malnutrition; (iii) physical dependence upon an addictive drug at birth, ... or (iv) being a sexually exploited child; or (v) being a human trafficking victim as defined by section 20M of chapter 233. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 119, sec. 51A(a) 

Section 51B, the DCF 2009 Intake Regulation, and DCF's 2020 Protective Intake Policy lay out what DCF is supposed to do when it receives a 51A report of child abuse or neglect. Yes, there are unresolved discrepancies between the policy, which are DCF's directions to its employees, and the earlier regulation, which has the force of law. For these reasons, the significance of the consequences of becoming involved in the DCF investigation / intake process, and reasons set out in my 2012 post, "When DCF Comes a-Calling: How to Try to Stay Out of the Fire When You're Already in the Frying Pan" you should definitely consider seeking counsel if someone tells you they are reporting you to DCF or if you get a call or visit from DCF. If you cannot afford and attorney, seek out a Legal Services program for free representation

If, after reading the above and maybe also "The Mandated Reporter Commission Status Report to the Legislature, December 28, 2020," you have an opinion on whether the definitions of "mandated reporter," "abuse," "neglect," when things must be reported to DCF, what protections people who report to DCF should have, and what rights and remedies people should have when they have been reported to DCF, consider contacting your State Representative or State Senator to inform them. If you don't know who they are, use this form from the Secretary of the Commonwealth to find out.