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Appeals court hears challenge to termination of father's parental rights in long-running DCF case
Summary
Appellate argument covered whether the juvenile court correctly found father unfit based on substance use, mental-health concerns, inconsistent parenting, and domestic violence; children's counsel urged affirmation to allow adoption by current custodians.
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Appeals Court heard an appeal challenging a juvenile court decree that terminated a father's parental rights, focusing on whether the Department of Children and Families proved by clear and convincing evidence that the father was unfit and that the unfitness was likely to continue.
Father's appellate counsel, Nathan Bench, urged reversal, arguing the record shows positive parent-child bonds, engagement in services at times, and that DCF failed to make adequate reasonable efforts to provide supports that would permit reunification. "The evidence of father's engagement with the children, his visits were very positive," Bench told the…
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