SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1110        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 896

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Barbara A. L'Italien

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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.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1110        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 896

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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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:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 208 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 31A the following section:-

Section 31B. For the purposes of this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:-

“Adaptive parenting equipment”, includes any piece of equipment or any item that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.

“Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.

“Supportive parenting services”, services that help parents with a disability compensate for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities. The term includes, but is not limited to, specialized or adapted training, evaluations, and assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, as well as accommodations that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other services, such as braille text or sign language interpreters.

Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability to be considered a negative factor in a determination of custody of or parenting time with a minor child, absent a specific showing by a preponderance of the evidence made by the party raising the allegation, that there is a nexus between the parent’s disability and alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged harm cannot be prevented or alleviated by accommodations for the disability, including adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services. 

If the court considers a parent’s disability as a negative factor in an award of custody of and or parenting time with a child, the court shall make specific written findings as to the nexus between the parent’s disability and harm to the child, what effect, if any, said harm has on the best interests of the child, and whether or not adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm.

SECTION 2. Chapter 209C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 10 the following section:-

Section 10A. For the purposes of this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:-

“Adaptive parenting equipment”, includes any piece of equipment or any item that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.

“Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.

“Supportive parenting services”, services that help parents with a disability compensate for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities. The term includes, but is not limited to, specialized or adapted training, evaluations, and assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, as well as accommodations that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other services, such as braille text or sign language interpreters.

Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability or its manifestations to be considered a negative factor in a determination of custody of or parenting time with a minor child, absent a specific showing by a preponderance of the evidence made by the party raising the allegation, that there is a nexus between the parent’s disability and alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged harm cannot be prevented or alleviated by accommodations for the disability, including adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services. 

If the court considers a parent’s disability or its manifestations as a negative factor in an award of custody of and or parenting time with a child, the court shall make specific written findings as to the nexus between the parent’s disability and harm to the child, what effect, if any, said harm has on the best interests of the child, and whether or not adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm.

SECTION 3. Section 21 of said chapter 119, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by inserting after the second paragraph the following paragraph:-

“Adaptive parenting equipment”, includes any piece of equipment or any item that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.

SECTION 4. Said section 21 of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the tenth paragraph the following paragraph:-

“Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.

SECTION 5. Said section 21 of said chapter 119, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the seventeenth paragraph the following paragraph:-

“Supportive parenting services”, services that help parents with a disability compensate for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities. The term includes, but is not limited to, specialized or adapted training, evaluations, and assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, as well as accommodations that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other services, such as braille text or sign language interpreters.”

SECTION 6. Chapter 119 of the General Laws is hereby further amended by inserting after section 24 the following new section:-

Section 24A. Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability or its manifestations, as defined in section 21 of this chapter, to be considered a negative factor in a determination whether a child is in need of care and protection or for the removal of custody of a child from a parent, guardian, or other custodian, absent a specific showing by clear and convincing evidence made by the Department, that there is a nexus between the parent’s disability and alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged harm cannot be prevented or alleviated by accommodations for the disability, including adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services. 

If the court considers a parent’s disability or its manifestations as a negative factor in determining that a child is in need of care and protection or for the removal of custody of a child from a parent, guardian, or other custodian, the court shall make specific written findings as to the nexus between the parent’s disability and harm to the child, the impact this has on current parental fitness, and whether or not adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm or render the parent fit.

SECTION 7. Section 3 of chapter 210 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out clause (xii) of subsection (c), and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-

(xii) a failure of a parent to discharge parental responsibilities, that is reasonably likely to continue for a prolonged, indeterminate period, and that results in harm to the child, and cannot be alleviated by adequate accommodations, including adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services. 

SECTION 8. Said chapter 210 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 3B the following section:-

Section 3C. For the purposes of this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:-

“Adaptive parenting equipment”, includes any piece of equipment or any item that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.

“Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.

“Supportive parenting services”, services that help parents with a disability compensate for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities. The term includes, but is not limited to, specialized or adapted training, evaluations, and assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, as well as accommodations that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other services, such as braille text or sign language interpreters.

Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability or its manifestations to be considered a negative factor in determining whether to terminate parental rights, absent a specific showing by clear and convincing evidence made by the Department, that there is a nexus between the parent’s disability and alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged harm cannot be prevented or alleviated by accommodations for the disability, including adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services. 

If the court considers a parent’s disability or its manifestations as a negative factor in determining whether to terminate parental rights, the court shall make specific written findings as to the nexus between the parent’s disability and harm to the child, the impact this has on current parental fitness, and whether or not adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm or render the parent fit.

SECTION 9. Section 5-101 of said chapter 190B, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 2, after the words “this article:” the following words:-

“Adaptive parenting equipment”, includes any piece of equipment or any item that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.

SECTION 10. Said section 5-101 of said chapter 190B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the fourth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

(4) “Disability”, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of an individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. This definition shall be broadly interpreted, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.

SECTION 11. Said section 5-101 of said chapter 190B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the twenty fourth paragraph the following paragraph:-

(25) “Supportive parenting services”, services that help parents with a disability compensate for those aspects of the disability that affect their ability to care for their children and that will enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities. The term includes, but is not limited to, specialized or adapted training, evaluations, and assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, as well as accommodations that allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other services, such as braille text or sign language interpreters.

SECTION 12. Said chapter 190B of the General Laws is hereby further amended by inserting after section 5-204 the following section:-

Section 5-204A. Nothing in this chapter shall allow a parent’s disability or its manifestations to be considered a negative factor in determining whether to appointment a temporary or permanent guardian for a minor child, absent a specific showing by a clear and convincing evidence made by the party raising the allegation, that there is a nexus between the parent’s disability and alleged harm to the child, and that this alleged harm cannot be prevented or alleviated by accommodations for the disability, including adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services. 

If the court considers a parent’s disability or its manifestations as a negative factor in a determination whether to appoint a temporary or permanent guardian for a minor child, the court shall make specific written findings as to the nexus between the parent’s disability and harm to the child, the impact this has on current parental fitness, and whether or not adaptive parenting equipment or supportive parenting services can alleviate said harm or render the parent fit.