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Appeals court hears challenge to termination, adoption plan for nonverbal child in DCF case
Summary
Attorneys for a mother and for the child disputed whether the juvenile court abused its discretion by terminating parental rights and approving an adoption-by-recruitment plan for a nonverbal child with extensive needs; DCF urged affirmance, saying the trial court's findings and plan were reasonable.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court heard arguments in an appeal of a Department of Children and Families case in which a juvenile court terminated a mother's parental rights and approved an adoption-by-recruitment plan for a nonverbal child with significant care needs.
Mother's attorney Michelle Mousherit asked the panel to reverse termination as an abuse of discretion because, she said, the department's adoption plan effectively rendered the child a "legal orphan" with little realistic prospect…
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