Appeals court hears challenge to DCF reunification efforts in parental-rights termination; matter under advisement

At a hybrid oral argument before an appeals-court panel, attorneys for a mother and the Department of Children and Families disputed whether the agency provided legally required reasonable efforts tailored to a parent with cognitive impairments in a termination-of-parental-rights case, docket number 24P1110.

The mother’s attorney, Kyla Clay, argued that DCF repeatedly failed to provide the hands-on supports the mother needed — particularly enrollment in Department of Developmental Services (DDS) — and that the juvenile court’s decision should be vacated and the case remanded for a new trial after appropriate reunification services are provided. DCF counsel Carol Fizzoli countered that the department provided multiple stabilization and referral services and that the mother repeatedly declined or failed to follow through. Child’s counsel Anna Maria Joy urged the panel to affirm the lower court’s findings and the termination.

The issue matters because the appeals court’s ruling could clarify how and when an agency’s duty to provide “reasonable efforts” must be tailored to a parent’s cognitive disabilities, including whether failing to secure hands-on assistance from DDS or to take specific steps to…