1 of 1
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 679 FILED ON: 1/17/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1037
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Joan B. Lovely
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act prohibiting discrimination against adults with disabilities in family and juvenile court
proceedings.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Joan B. LovelySecond EssexSal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk1/30/2023Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester2/8/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex2/8/2023Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex2/8/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/21/2023 1 of 9
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 679 FILED ON: 1/17/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1037
By Ms. Lovely, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1037) of Joan B. Lovely, Sal N.
DiDomenico, Michael O. Moore, Jack Patrick Lewis and other members of the General Court for
legislation to prohibit discrimination against adults with disabilities in family and juvenile court
proceedings. The Judiciary.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1083 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act prohibiting discrimination against adults with disabilities in family and juvenile court
proceedings.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 208, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition of the General Laws,
2is hereby amended by inserting after section 31A the following section:-
3 Section 31B. For the purposes of this chapter the following words shall have the
4following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:-
5 “Adaptive parenting equipment”, any piece of equipment or any item used to increase,
6maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.
7 “Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major
8life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an 2 of 9
9impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted in a manner consistent with the
10Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.
11 “Supportive parenting services”, services that help a parent with a disability compensate
12for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will
13enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities, including, but not limited to, specialized
14or adapted training, evaluations, assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, peer
15supports or other psychosocial parental skill building therapies or services, and accommodations
16that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other services, such as braille text or sign
17language interpreters.
18 Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability or its manifestations to be
19considered a negative factor in a determination of custody or of parenting time with a minor
20child, absent a specific showing by a preponderance of the evidence made by the party raising
21the allegation, that there is a nexus between the parent’s disability, or its manifestations, and
22alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged harm cannot be prevented or alleviated by
23accommodations for the disability, including adaptive parenting equipment or supportive
24parenting services.
25 If the court considers a parent’s disability or its manifestations as a negative factor in an
26award of custody or of parenting time with a child, then the court shall make specific written
27findings as to the nexus between the parent’s disability, or its manifestations, and harm to the
28child, what effect, if any, said harm has on the best interests of the child, and whether adaptive
29parenting equipment or supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm. 3 of 9
30 SECTION 2. Chapter 209C, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition of the General
31Laws, is hereby amended by inserting after section 10 the following section:-
32 Section 10A. For the purposes of this chapter the following words shall have the
33following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:-
34 “Adaptive parenting equipment”, includes any piece of equipment or any item used to
35increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.
36 “Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major
37life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an
38impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted in a manner consistent with the
39Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.
40 “Supportive parenting services”, services that help parents with a disability compensate
41for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will
42enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities. The term includes, but is not limited to,
43specialized or adapted training, evaluations, and assistance with effective use of adaptive
44equipment, as well as accommodations that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other
45services, such as braille text or sign language interpreters.
46 Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability or its manifestations to be
47considered a negative factor in a determination of custody or of parenting time with a minor
48child, absent a specific showing by a preponderance of the evidence made by the party raising
49the allegation, that there is a nexus between the parent’s disability, or its manifestations, and
50alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged harm cannot be prevented or alleviated by 4 of 9
51accommodations for the disability, including adaptive parenting equipment or supportive
52parenting services.
53 If the court considers a parent’s disability or its manifestations as a negative factor in an
54award of custody of and or parenting time with a child, then the court shall make specific written
55findings as to the nexus between the parent’s disability, or its manifestations, and harm to the
56child, what effect, if any, said harm has on the best interests of the child, and whether adaptive
57parenting equipment or supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm.
58 SECTION 3. Section 21 of chapter 119, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
59hereby amended by inserting after the second paragraph the following paragraph:-
60 “Adaptive parenting equipment”, includes any piece of equipment or any item used to
61increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.
62 SECTION 4. Said section of said chapter as so appearing, is hereby further amended by
63inserting after the eleventh paragraph the following paragraph:-
64 “Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major
65life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an
66impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted in a manner consistent with the
67Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.
68 SECTION 5. Said section of said chapter, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by
69inserting after the twenty second paragraph the following paragraph:-
70 “Supportive parenting services”, services that help parents with a disability compensate
71for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will 5 of 9
72enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities. The term includes, but is not limited to,
73specialized or adapted training, evaluations, and assistance with effective use of adaptive
74equipment, as well as accommodations that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other
75services, such as braille text or sign language interpreters.
76 SECTION 6. Said chapter, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after
77section 24 the following section:-
78 Section 24A. Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability or its
79manifestations, as defined in section 21 of this chapter, to be considered a negative factor in a
80determination of whether a child is in need of care and protection or for the removal of custody
81of a child from a parent, guardian, or other custodian, absent a specific showing by clear and
82convincing evidence made by the department, that there is a nexus between the parent’s
83disability, or its manifestations, and alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged harm cannot
84be prevented or alleviated by accommodations for the disability, including adaptive parenting
85equipment or supportive parenting services.
86 If the court considers a parent’s disability or its manifestations as a negative factor in
87determining that a child is in need of care and protection or for the removal of custody of a child
88from a parent, guardian, or other custodian, then the court shall make specific written findings as
89to the nexus between the parent’s disability, or its manifestations, and harm to the child, the
90impact this has on current parental fitness, and whether adaptive parenting equipment or
91supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm or render the parent fit. 6 of 9
92 SECTION 7. Section 3 of chapter 210, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition of the
93General Laws, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c)(xii), as appearing in the 2020
94Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
95 Section 3(c)(xii). A failure of a parent to discharge parental responsibilities that is
96reasonably likely to continue for a prolonged, indeterminate period, and that results in harm to
97the child, and cannot be alleviated by adequate accommodations, including adaptive parenting
98equipment or supportive parenting services.
99 SECTION 8. Chapter 210, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after
100section 3B the following section:-
101 Section 3C. For the purposes of this chapter the following words shall have the following
102meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:-
103 “Adaptive parenting equipment”, includes any piece of equipment or any item used to
104increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.
105 “Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major
106life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an
107impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted in a manner consistent with the
108Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.
109 “Supportive parenting services”, services that help a parent with a disability compensate
110for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will
111enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities, including but not limited to, specialized
112or adapted training, evaluations, assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, peer 7 of 9
113supports or other psychosocial parental skill building therapies or services, and accommodations
114that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other services, such as braille text or sign
115language interpreters.
116 Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability or its manifestations to be
117considered a negative factor in determining whether to terminate parental rights, absent a specific
118showing by clear and convincing evidence made by the department, that there is a nexus between
119the parent’s disability, or its manifestations, and alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged
120harm cannot be prevented or alleviated by accommodations for the disability, including adaptive
121parenting equipment or supportive parenting services.
122 If the court considers a parent’s disability or its manifestations as a negative factor in
123determining whether to terminate parental rights, then the court shall make specific written
124findings as to the nexus between the parent’s disability, or its manifestations, and harm to the
125child, the impact this has on current parental fitness, and whether adaptive parenting equipment
126or supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm or render the parent fit; provided further,
127the court shall dismiss the department’s petition under this section if the court finds that the
128department acted in violation of this subsection of section 3, or 42 U.S.C. 12132 or 29 U.S.C.
129794.
130 SECTION 9. Section 5-101 of chapter 190B, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition of
131the General Laws, is hereby amended by inserting before the first paragraph the following
132paragraph:-
133 “Adaptive parenting equipment”, includes any piece of equipment or any item used to
134increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability. 8 of 9
135 SECTION 10. Said section of said chapter, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by
136striking out the fourth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
137 “Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major
138life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an
139impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted in a manner consistent with the
140Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.
141 SECTION 11. Said section of said chapter, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by
142inserting after the twenty fourth paragraph the following paragraph:-
143 “Supportive parenting services”, services that help a parent with a disability compensate
144for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will
145enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities, including, but not limited to, specialized
146or adapted training, evaluations, assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, peer
147supports or other psychosocial parental skill building therapies or services, and accommodations
148that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other services, such as braille text or sign
149language interpreters.
150 SECTION 12. Said chapter, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after
151section 5-204 the following section:-
152 Section 5-204A. Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability or its
153manifestations to be considered a negative factor in determining whether to appoint a temporary
154or permanent guardian for a minor child, absent a specific showing by clear and convincing
155evidence made by the party raising the allegation, that there is a nexus between the parent’s
156disability, or its manifestations, and alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged harm cannot 9 of 9
157be prevented or alleviated by accommodations for the disability, including adaptive parenting
158equipment or supportive parenting services.
159 If the court considers a parent’s disability or its manifestations as a negative factor in a
160determination of whether to appoint a temporary or permanent guardian for a minor child, then
161the court shall make specific written findings as to the nexus between the parent’s disability, or
162its manifestations, and harm to the child, the impact this has on current parental fitness, and
163whether adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm or
164render the parent fit.