Adoption Of Vito

728 N.E.2d 292 (2000)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Vito's mother began using crack cocaine, which she continued to do until 1995. She had been trading food stamps and using public welfare benefits to purchase crack cocaine. Her children were often left at home alone. When Vito tested positive for cocaine at birth, an abuse and neglect report concerning him was filed two days after his birth, alleging his positive cocaine screen and his mother's failure to obtain prenatal care. Vito was discharged from the hospital one month after his birth and was placed in the home of his foster parents; his siblings had been placed in other homes. In March 1992, the Boston Juvenile Court ordered the department to assume permanent custody of Vito and his three older siblings; the mother's whereabouts were unknown to the department at that time. Vito has never lived with his biological mother. From January 1992 until January, 1995, his biological mother visited Vito only once. During that ninety-minute visit, Vito responded minimally to his biological mother, withdrew from her and attached himself to his foster mother. At the end of that visit, the mother agreed to visit Vito again at the end of the month, on his first birthday, but although the foster mother and Vito arrived for the birthday visit, the mother failed to attend; she did not telephone to cancel the visit. Following the failed January 1993, birthday visit, the biological mother made no request for a visit with her son for the remainder of 1993. During 1994, there were no visits with Vito and little contact between the biological mother and the department; she told the department she had relocated to Florida. In 1995, Vito's mother signed a department service plan, entered a drug rehabilitation program and began visits with Vito and his siblings. The judge found that the mother's visits with Vito have been generally consistent since March 1995 and that she has attended monthly supervised visits since her release. The judge found that Vito and his biological mother have 'no emotional sharing' between them and remain dissociated, despite pleasant play and conversation. He is now eight and one-half years old. The judge found that Vito is 'fully integrated into his foster family both emotionally and ethnically.' The judge found that it was 'important' to Vito to belong to his foster family 'because that was the only family he had known,' and that 'the foster parents are invested in adopting [Vito]; they perceive him as their own son.' The judge further determined that 'racial issues may at some time in the future' become a problem for Vito. She found that Vito's relationship with his biological mother is 'crucial' for his 'racial and cultural development and adjustment,' that his best interests will be served by continued 'significant' contact with her after any adoption, and that under the department's adoption plan Vito would have limited or no connection to his African-American family or culture. P filed a petition to dispense with parental consent for the adoption of Vito. The probate judge concluded that the mother was unfit to parent Vito, but found that P's adoption plan was not in his best interest because it did not provide for significant postadoption contact with Vito's mother and biological siblings. P appealed. The Appeals Court vacated the probate decree and directed that a decree enter allowing P’s petition to dispense with consent. The Appeals Court found the judge's proposal for post-adoption visitation was both permissible and sound, but ordered that, given the passage of time, the Probate Court should hear anew any petition for post-adoption visitation filed within thirty days. P appealed challenging the judge's requirement of postadoption visitation in the adoption plan and P involvement after the adoption.