State Budget Contains $100K for Safety Symposium in Honor of Slain Caseworker

Peabody native and Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry announced Friday that the state budget for Fiscal 2013, which has passed through legislative conference committee, in honor of slain Peabody caseworker Stephanie Moulton.

Moulton was allegedly killed by a patient at the Revere mental health clinic where she worked on Jan. 20, 2011.

Both the Senate and House approved the budget on Thursday and it now awaits Gov. Deval Patrick's signature -- $100,000 is earmarked for the Stephanie Moulton Safety Symposium.

The annual event, which will be the first of its kind, will be hosted by the Department of Mental health to allow workers in the field to discuss best safety practices, policies and risk management and help avoid future tragedies.

“Ensuring that Stephanie’s name lives on in the symposium is significant so that we never forget the selfless work she did. It is critical that this is an annual event to provide a continuous conversation on best safety practices in these professions. I thank the legislature for recognizing the need and importance of this measure,” said Berry.

The forum is just one part of the overall effort to bring reforms and greater safety to workplaces in mental health facilities. At the forefront of that movement is Moulton's mother Kim Flynn, who has been advocating for a particular piece of legislation, Stephanie's Law, .

Berry has filed that legislation on behalf of Flynn and it appears on its way to approval.