The Massachusetts Appeals Court held that a pending custody case does not displace a distinct Juvenile Court care-and-protection petition or its broader remedies.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed termination of a mother’s parental rights to two young children over a dissent arguing the record showed significant progress across all areas of concern. The majority held the trial judge properly weighed the mother’s recent improvements against a continuing pattern of evasion and recurring behavior, and that the mother’s own testimony that she still needed six more months of preparation after five years of DCF services supported a finding of non-temporary unfitness. Judge Wood’s dissent contends the majority applied too demanding a standard under Adoption of Arianne.