the withdrawal of life support from children in their custody. Recommendations included a number of changes, including increased access to medical, psychiatric, and child abuse expertise, and the creation of a new system for making end-of-life decisions. On July 8, 2008, Governor Deval L. Patrick signed a new law to overhaul the child welfare system in Massachusetts. Changes include a requirement that the case undergo a special review by a state board if the Department of Social Services receives three or more reports of suspected child abuse. The results of that review will then be evaluated by prosecutors and police in the area. A new child-advocate position was also created. This advocate reports directly to the governor regarding severe child abuse or neglect in the state. The new law also involves increased penalties for failing to report child abuse. A new registry for keeping track of foster parents was also implemented. These changes were made largely in response to the Poutre case. Criminal case In 2008, Jason Strickland was tried for the assault. Strickland admitted noticing Poutre's injuries, but claimed he believed Holli's story that the injuries were self inflicted. The story was also believed by the Department of Social Services and was the reason she was not removed from the home despite numerous reports to the agency. During deliberations, jurors questioned whether Jason Strickland had to be present at the time of the assault in order for them to return a guilty verdict. Judge Carhart instructed them that he did not have to be present, but they would have to believe that an "ordinary person" would have realized that leaving Poutre in the care of Holli Strickland presented a serious risk of bodily harm. Strickland was convicted under this premise. Earlier in the trial, a friend of Holli Strickland's testified that she witnessed Holli push Poutre down the stairs three times in a row as a punishment, each time screaming at her to walk back up before pushing her down them again. Jurors did not believe that Jason Strickland was present for the specific assault that led to Poutre's near fatal injuries, but that he knew the abuse was ongoing. He was also convicted of other charges of assault and battery for striking Poutre himself on previous occasions; he was convicted on the assumption that although Holli was the primary abuser, he failed to stop that abuse. Strickland was