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Appeals court reviews termination, reasonable efforts and visitation disputes in DCF case
Summary
Appellate counsel for a father in a DCF case told the appeals court that, before removal, the family had housing and services and that reduced visitation and service access deserved closer scrutiny; the Commonwealth and children’s counsel defended the trial judge’s finding that the father’s violence and noncompliance rendered him unfit.
Attorney William Comeau, representing the appellant father in a Department of Children and Families matter, urged the appeals panel to examine the record on removal, reasonable efforts and visitation. Comeau said that prior to the September 2022 removal the father had employment, housing and was agreeable to services; he argued the removal and later termination proceedings merited close review and raised procedural questions about the department’s service delivery and the court’s oversight of visitation scheduling.
The Commonwealth, through Claire Gilchrist, asked the…
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