What is “Trial” in a Care and Protection Case?
The custody trial in a Care and Protection case is a hearing which determines who will have permanent custody over your child. The trial is also known as the “hearing on the merits.”
Trial will take place twelve (12) to fifteen (15) months after your Care and Protection case was filed. At trial, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (MA DCF) or whoever else filed the petition for the Care and Protection, must prove you are an unfit parent for your child.
MA DCF (or whoever else was the petitioner) will offer a permanent placement plan for where your child will live. Parents and caretakers can tell the judge their side of the situation and present their own witnesses.
At trial, parents have the right to fight for custody of their child. They can ask the judge to return custody of the child to them. Or, parents can provide the judge with another option for where their child should live.
What are the Possible Outcomes of a MA DCF Trial?
After trial, the judge has a number of options regarding what the outcome should be. The judge can:
- Place the child with another parent
- Return the child to your custody
- Place the child with a relative or family friend
- Order a “guardianship” for your child (when someone files a guardianship petition)
- Place the child in the legal custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families until the child is eighteen
- Terminate your parental rights
Do All Care and Protection Cases go to Trial?
Not all Care and Protection cases go to trial. The following are alternatives to having your Care and Protection case go to trial:
- Settlement (by a mediator or by the parties)
- Open adoption agreements
- Guardianships
What does it Mean when MA DCF Terminates Parental Rights?
If the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families terminate your parental rights, you will lose your right to parent your child forever. Another family will have the opportunity to adopt your child.
What is a “Settlement” in Care and Protection Cases?
A “Settlement” in Care and Protection cases is a negotiation between parents and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (MA DCF), or whoever else filed the petition for the Care and Protection case.
A settlement is an agreement all people involved in the case come to regarding the parent’s rights over their children, the child’s permanency plan, and how the family will move forward with the case.
Parents can choose to make a settlement decision before their case goes to trial. Settlements before trial are helpful because they lead for the case to be closed without it going to trial.
If parents choose, their attorney can negotiate a settlement plan for them after a judge makes a final decision, or “judgement,” about their case as well. Settlements after trial are helpful because they give parents the opportunity to cooperate and work with MA DCF without things getting bloodier.
MA DCF’s regulations let parents settle a case after judgement because they understand that a parent’s decision about what they want regarding their child can change after a judge makes a formal decision.
Parents are allowed to receive help from their attorney regarding settlements in the following ways:
- Deciding whether or not to settle
- Determining what the settlement should be
- Proposing the settlement to MA DCF before trial
- Proposing the settlement to MA DCF after trial
Why Would Parents Want a Custody Trial Settlement?
Parents would want to make a settlement when there is a low probability their case will have a successful outcome.
When parents, for example, know that they are going to lose their parental rights no matter how hard they try to fight for them, they may choose to negotiate a deal with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (MA DCF) so that they get whatever visitation they want with their child.
For example, a lot of parents who may have been reluctant to settle earlier, but now have a termination judgment against them may be willing to forego their appellate rights in exchange for some post adoption contact with the child.
What is the Benefit of a Custody Trial Settlement?
The benefit of a settlement is that it avoids more issues regarding the case. It is essentially a peace offering by parents to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (MA DCF).
The children in question benefit from settlements because they do not have to go through lengthy and unpredictable processes. The settlement allows them a definite permanency plan and prevents them from going through any more court proceedings, which let’s face it, is an absolute inconvenience.
