Massachusetts Child-Safety Law Faces Scrutiny in Lindsay Clancy Trial Over 3 Killings
Updated
Updated · NBC Boston · Aug 16
Massachusetts Child-Safety Law Faces Scrutiny in Lindsay Clancy Trial Over 3 Killings
3 articles · Updated · NBC Boston · Aug 16
Summary
Retired Judge Carol Erskine said testimony in the Lindsay Clancy trial has exposed gaps in how Massachusetts law protects children when a parent shows signs of a mental health crisis.
Erskine said state commitment law does not require a suicide plan for hospitalization, arguing the standard is a "likelihood of serious harm" and that clinicians should assess broader suicide risk.
Mental health providers are mandated reporters, she said, and could have involved the Department of Children and Families to build a safety plan or seek temporary custody with relatives.
The debate has widened beyond Clancy's postpartum-psychosis defense to whether hospitals, crisis lines and child-welfare authorities missed chances to intervene before the deaths of her 3 children.