Nicky’s Law has been finally passed!

I am so excited to update you on the status of Nicky’s Law!  The MA House of Representatives voted unanimously on Wednesday January 15 in a 154-0 vote to approve the Abuse Registry Bill known as Nicky’s Law (merged with Dana’s Law), “An act to protect individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities from abuse.” This is a bill that would create a registry of anyone found abusing the developmentally disabled. It’s been a long six years of watching and waiting for this to finally be approved. Thank you for taking time to affect change for people with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

More Information:

In episode 29 of Parenting Impossible podcast, Annette takes a few minutes to talk about the recent developments in Massachusetts with Nicky’s Law. You can listen to that episode here: Update on Massachusetts Abuse Registry-Nicky’s Law

Annette sat down with Cheryl Ryan Chan on Episode two of Parenting Impossible and the two talked about the critical need for such a registry. Nicky’s Law is named after Cheryl’s son who suffered abuse at the hands of a caretaker. You can listen to that episode here: https://specialneedscompanies.com/nickys-law/

Annette Hines, Esq. is the author of Butterflies and Second Chances: A Mom’s Memoir of Love and Loss. She is a powerhouse advocate for the special needs community. Not only has she founded the Special Needs Law Group of Massachusetts, PC, specializing in special needs estate planning, where special needs families compromise 80 percent of the firm’s clients, Hines brings personal experience with special needs to her practice, as the mother of two daughters, one of whom passed away from Mitochondrial disease in November 2013. This deep understanding of special needs fuels her passion for quality special needs planning and drives her dedication to the practice. For more information, please visit, https://specialneedscompanies.com/ and connect with her on Facebook, @SpecialNeedsLawGroup.